The Music Advocacy Group, with the community’s help, hopes to put ukuleles in the hands of all third to fourth grade students at Orcas Elementary School.  Thanks to the Orcas Island Community Foundation, which has selected this project to appear among 14 grant opportunities on their on-line catalog, you can go directly to https://oicferp.smalldognet.com/erp/donate/create?grant_catalog_id=1157 to help fund this grant, or go to www.giveorcas.org to see all grant requests. The total request of the MAG grant is $1,662. But you can help contribute with a donation in any amount of $10 or more.

Two years ago, for the first time, ukuleles were introduced to fourth graders thanks to the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival.  Beginning this year, third graders share music class-time with fourth graders. So now MAG hopes to expand the ukulele program to third graders, so that all students in combined third-fourth grade classes have instruments to take home and play.

“Most of my younger students have never played an instrument, other than a recorder,” said Pamela Wright, Director of K-4 General Music, 5-6 Choir and 5-12 Strings. “In fact, purchasing an instrument such as a ukulele would be a luxury that many of my students’ families would be hard-pressed to do. So when I place ukuleles in my students’ hands for the first time, it feels a little like Christmas. You can see it in their faces. Knowing that they are being trusted to take this instrument home and care for it – it’s a feeling of pride and responsibility, an excitement at being able to accompany themselves singing, and they are motivated to practice.”

Wright says that by playing the ukulele, students enhance ear training and learn about chords.

With the successful funding of this grant, the sounds of “Down in the Valley” and “Clementine” will be filling the school hallways. Then they will invite everyone in the community to attend the K-4 school music concert in June to hear what the kids have learned.