The Westerner for January 5, 2015 (Jan 12, 2015)

Stories

The Westerner for January 5, 2015

Posted by David J. Turner

January 5, Meeting Notes

Meeting: chair, Ingrid; music, Jerome; grace, Rob; first meeting at Chateau Louis

Attendance/Guests: 30 including Carl Simonson and Lucas Walden, joint guest speakers

Move from Edmonton Petroleum Club to Chateau Louis: Ingrid thanked the movers including Brian, Lorne, Chris, Jennifer and Ed for their good work

Rotary Club Social: Rotarians, spouses, family members and friends are invited to the Derrick Club at 4:30 p m on January 17 to participate in fun curling or just the refreshments while overlooking the action. Contact Spencer to register or look for the registration email link.

Future Speakers of note: January 26, combination of Robbie Burns Day with haggis and piper plus Mayor Don Iverson; invite family and friends

February 2, the Right Honourable Kim Campbell, former Canadian Prime Minister, again invite family and friends to attend.

McCauley Rink 4th annual Edmonton Police Service Hockey Game: Ingrid attended the event and superbly represented our Rotary Club including discussions with Al Hamilton and Sparky Kulchinsky; so much so that she brought the smoke from the bonfire home with her.

Casino January 7-8: Ingrid thanked Bill for his work to put the event together with many hours setting up volunteers and the schedule

Member Induction: Darrel Ripley introduced Andrew Day who is married and a former Rotarian from Drumheller. Ingrid performed the ceremony

Finemaster: David Gibbens raised funds by table questions about various cultures for New Years celebrations after he fined everyone that did not grow a beard over Christmas (he did!)

50/50: $335 in the pot; 6 cards to choose from; Doug Sollows and Brian did not match

Guest Speaker: Jerome introduced Carl Simonson who belongs to Rotary Club of Edmonton Riverside and has participated on a medical trip to South America. He has become very involved in promoting education and out reach for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Carl started the Centennial Interact Club at Ross Shepard High School with Jennifer Lawley as our 2 clubs were join sponsors. He thanked our club for a previous donation to YONA Sistema . Carl then introduced Lucas Walden, a conductor with the ESO who also promotes Yona Sistema outreach for youth in Northern Alberta as ESO community ambassador and has talked to our club on a previous occasion.

Lucas has previous knowledge of Rotary as his wife is a member of the Whyte Avenue Rotary Club and mentioned that 2 ESO musicians are members of Rotary. He showed a power point presentation and video on YONA Sistema which is an after school music program. They aim to build citizens rather than musicians. YONA means Youth Orchestra of Northern Alberta and aims to transform lives through music. It is inclusive and accessible to all; free of charge for instruments and attendance. It aims to inspire a sense of community, encourage development of social and interpersonal skills and inspire youth by building confidence and leadership skills through encouraging excellence and accountability.

ESO laid a foundation for a long term music program which starts in grade 2 & 3 but involves the students into junior high school. It is a 3 hour program so starts with a nutritional snack followed by instrument time (in groups of 10) followed by break time. Then musicianship where they learn about music followed by choral music where they learn to sing. It ends with a 45 minute academic session which concentrates on their daily educational needs and expressive arts. 2013/14 had 20 students in Mother Theresa School; 2014/15 increased to 40 students. Next year they will move to a dedicated site and develop an actual youth orchestra. 2015/16 aims for 80 students. Rotarians can help through donations, guest speaking at workshops or participating in school visits by introducing more students to music.

On the video, one student observed "joy is making new friends". Rotary needs to be involved as kids have 3 hours (3 to 6 p m) where they normally are unsupervised but YONA fills a void. The power of music is used to positively influence children. Links to TED Talks will be made available.

Carl and Lucas were thanked by Rob