Tokyo Cement partnered with The Music Project, a non-profit initiative dedicated to empowering and uplifting the lives of children through music. The partnership will see Tokyo Cement sponsoring three schools; two in Mullaitivu and another from Mawathagama, Kurunegala, to further their music education. Nearly 140 students from Yohapuram MV and Therankandal MV of Mullaitivu, and 50 students from Gunananda MV of Kurunegala will benefit from this collaboration which will enhance their music education during 2017.
S.R. Gnanam, Managing Director of Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC said, “The Music Project aims to unite communities through children who love to learn music. By working with farming communities in the North and South of Sri Lanka, who come from similar backgrounds, the project links these families who unanimously wish to create better opportunities for their children, regardless of race or religion. Not just in music, the program aspires to develop finer values in these children through respect for each other, as they strive to achieve greater goals.”
Now, in its fifth year, The Music Project aims at making music accessible to children in all corners of the country who do not have access to required facilities. In addition to the many events and venues at which the children get to perform, it also conducts residential programs, alternatively, in Kurunegala and Mullaitivu, giving the children of two formerly divided communities an opportunity to connect as a family, united in music. The children of the North and South work alongside their peers, sharing musical scores and their lives, while working and practising together to make the orchestra happen.
At Therankandal MV in Mallavi, Mullaitivu, currently, 40 students practise in sessions conducted every Friday, before the commencement of school. During the sessions, these students learn to play orchestral instruments, including, the recorder, flute, violin, cello, trumpet, clarinet and a wide rang of percussion instruments. They have the benefit of learning from specialist instructors dedicated to the project, as well as, volunteers who visit from various parts of the world, who whet their appetite to learn the universal language that breaks all forms of barriers.
“The Music Project, inspired by El Sisitema of Venezuela, aims to create opportunities for children to learn music through holistic teaching methods.”