Bridgetown High school and Athlone School for the Blind have come together to compete in the High School Band Slam.
Bridgetown High School and Athlone School for the Blind have found a common harmony for a high school music competition.
The Bridgetown High / Athlone School for the Blind group - which plays base guitar, lead guitar, drums, saxophone and keyboard - was formed with the help of the Bridgetown Theatre Company, according to Vernon Piedt, the chairman of the theatre company.
The High School Band Slam is on at the V&A Waterfront until this Friday, and other high schools taking part are Paul Roos Gymnasium, Pinelands, Alexander Sinton, Curro Durbanville, Wynberg Girls’, Parel Vallei, Bishops, Elsies River, Belhar, Bergvliet, and The Settlers. Every night, three to four school bands will perform, and entry to the event is free.
The Bridgetown High School/ Athlone School for the Blind group was mentored and taught by guitarist Allou April, and she gave the free lesson after school, according to Mr Piedt.
“The energy and talent of the students made it a pleasure to teach. The results of all their sacrifice, hard work and commitment are evident in the beautiful music they created. Their music repertoire is a confluence of old school jazz, R&B, amapiano and soul.”
Gabriel Booysen, a Grade 9 pupil at the Athlone School for the Blind, said his circle of blind, sighted, and visually impaired friends had grown while working with the music group. He said he had grown up not knowing many sighted people.
“I felt very socially isolated because everyone was learning to drive, go out clubbing and I was not part of any of that. Whether it was because it was not ‘cool’ to hang around with the blind guy, we will never know, but I believe that experience and feeling of isolation made me so much stronger and more prepared to face the outside world.
“When I felt low and isolated, I could have done with sighted, blind and visually impaired friends in my life, even if it was just for reassurance that I was not going through that myself and that in fact those feelings are completely normal. Now that I have sighted, blind and visually impaired friends, I am a lot happier.”
Ms April said she had learnt a lot from teaching music to both blind and sighted pupils.
“They never made me feel as if teaching them I was speaking down to them because I taught them, all of them, the same music theory and technical knowledge in exactly the same manner,” she said.
On Friday, the three bands that make it to the finals will vie for R25 000 in musical equipment for their schools. There is also a R25 000 cash prize for the winning school as well as a R15 000 second prize and R10 000 third prize.
For more information, visit the Bridgetown Theatre Company’s Facebook page or call 082 536 3651.