Campers rehearse their award-winning play 'The Journey' in the Knox College gymnasium. The play won the best drama production for Manchester in the JCDC Drama Competition 2008. - JIS Photos

Beautiful strains of music came filtering through the calmness of the evening air, as the luminous faces of the performers reflected an inner peace. No, it was not an evening at the Grand Opera, or the performance of an award-winning orchestra. It all came alive on the Knox College campus during the staging of their Visual and Performing Arts and Culture Summer Camp.

Instead of the typical scholastic pursuits of 'reading, writing and 'rithmetic', the camp was held as a means of helping students to better understand themselves and their culture through the use of fine arts.

The group consisted of approximately 130 students, some of whom were first-timers. For others, it was just another opportunity to hone skills they had learnt at the camp in previous years, or dabble in other areas, which had always aroused their interest.

Participants in the Knox College arts summer camp.

social ills

The majority of the students were full-time students of Knox College in Manchester, while some came from schools as far away as Kingston's inner cities.

Principal of Knox, the Rev Dr Gordon Cowans, explained that the camp was geared towards providing solutions to some of the social ills plaguing Jamaica.

"We think that more and more, if the schools were to utilise the performing arts, many of the problems we are facing, could be solved. It's highly recommended, both within the normal education project and also in this kind of situation, outside of the structured timetable of a school year," said Cowans.

Admittedly, the camp, held for the fourth time, required "quite a deal of planning and tremendous generosity on the part of the instructors," said the headmaster.

Cowans was quick to point out that the camp's activities would not be packaged and placed on a shelf until the following summer, but would be merged into the school's regular schedule.

"The Jamaican culture should be the bedrock of the education system. We should find in our culture the ways to teach and to educate our children," said Cowans.

Speaking to the influence he hoped the camp would have, Cowans said: "It is important that it not be seen as an event, but rather a process, part of the development of the arts in our school."

Yekengele, one of the organisers of the camp, himself an acclaimed performer, believes that music and other art forms can inspire behaviour modification.

"We have the reputation of being one of the most violent countries in the world. Our music needs to be on the cutting edge of whatever transformation we are expecting to make.

"It needs to be one of the areas of deep focus. Where the crime is most intense, that's where the music needs to happen most intensely. It's not just music, its therapy," he stressed.

Yekengele believes every school should have an orchestra, as it could only serve to enrich the lives of students and greatly minimise behavioural problems.

"When students learn a new instrument and they discipline themselves to the kinds of routines it takes to master that instrument, not only does it give you something to do but it goes directly to your brain in terms of organising," he explained. "You catch a vision of what's possible in life.

different backgrounds

When you see how children of different backgrounds respond when they learn the disciplines of an instrument ... marvellous."

Kevon Bonner, Knox High student who participated in the camp, believes what he has learnt is invaluable and will contribute to him performing outstandingly in the CSEC art exam next year.

Ten-year-old Vanessa Sinclair of the St Francis Primary and Infant School, who is determined to become a doctor, the experience has only served to better her life, as it has exposed her to many different areas of her culture.

For Delroy James, head of the Visual and Performing Arts Department at the school, the experience was "tremendously beneficial".

He expressed his elation at the way students took to the camp. Particularly impressive, James said, were the passion and growth demonstrated by the students of Joy Town in Kingston.

In spite of the limitations of time, he believes the children hold tremendous potential and have acquired many skills over the period.

"These students will be picking up tons of gold medals in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission competition next year," he predicted.

This feature is a special collaboration between The Gleaner Company and the Jamaica Information Service. Email comments to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com.