The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra made a last minute appeal for $50 thousand dollars from the city for its Sistema program whose aim it is to transform the lives of young people from economically disadvantaged upbringings. Councillors voiced support for the progam while conceding the money just isn’t there.
President and C-E-O Ken MacLeod says the young people who take part learn how to play musical instruments in an orchestra and the transformation in just a matter of weeks is amazing. He says the program not only teaches the young people how to play an instrument, it improves their school attendance and perormance, boosts their self esteem and instills such values as focusing on the task at hand as well as teamwork.
The 200 students now in the everyday program commit themselves to three hours each day after school, five days a week. MacLeod says they’re hoping to expand the program in the next four years to 250 students along with an intermediate program with an additional 50 to 75 students.
