A young St Lucian musician is beaming with pride and appreciation for the support which she received from the National System of Orchestras and Youth and Children Choirs in Venezuela that enabled her to attend an intensive workshop of musical training in violin in the South American country.
Melody Fevrier, accompanied by her parents went to the Venezuelan Ambassador last week to express their appreciation to Venezuelan Ambassador LeiffEscalona and First Secretary Juan Echeverria for the four months Fevrier spent in the cities of Guarenas and Guatire in Miranda State.
Fevrier’s trip arose from a cultural exchange programme that has been developed in recent years through the ALBA-Petrocaribe Integration Scheme, with the aim of creating a Caribbean Orchestra, with Saint Lucia being chosen as the pilot project.
The young student expressed her intention to share her knowledge and experience with other students from Saint Lucia, noting that she had the opportunity to train with the Youth Orchestra and the Regional Orchestra of Miranda State, and to participate in a series of concerts in Caracas and other cities around the country.
Fevrier received training in technical skills on her favoured instrument ¬ the violin, and also in orchestral direction, as well other aspects of performance in the musical industry under the guidance of specialist teachers of the Simon Bolivar Musical Foundation.
Her parents, Mr. Peter and Sophia Fevrier, were very appreciative of the opportunity presented to their daughter. Said her father: “From 2013 to date, through the support of the Venezuelan Government in collaboration with the Saint Lucia School of Music, music students in this country have been able to participate in and share wonderful experiences in the area of musical training, which has increased the skills level of the children and young people of the island, and this co-operation and exchange should continue and be further strengthened.” Ambassador Escalona, expressed her pleasure with the family’s visit to her office, while thanking “the Saint Lucia School of Music and the Simon Bolivar Musical Foundation for having opened the doors to “this talented young lady” in order to form linkages with the experience offered by ‘The System’, as part of a cultural exchange between Venezuela and the Caribbean.”
“We are proud to hear a student from Saint Lucia speak that way about our National Orchestra, which has trained more than 787,000 children and adolescents mostly from low income families, and who have the opportunity to learn and perform classical and popular music, and to enjoy learning the art,” Escalona said.