FMSI visits Mount St. Michael Drum Circle Project
On the 18th May, FMSI representatives, currently in New York, USA, to attend the 2011 resumed session of the ECOSC Committee on NGOs, visited Mount St. Michael Academy, in the Bronx, where the Foundation has recently approved a micro-grant for the “Drum Circle” project.
Mount St. Michael Academy is a boys’ school that caters to about 900 students. Among the extra-curricular activities, it offers a course to train the students in African drums. The Drum Circle has become very popular among the boys and the grant allocated by FMSI allowed them to purchase more instruments and to extend the course to a larger number of students.
When the representatives of FMSI arrived at Mt. St. Michael, in the afternoon, a group of seven boys was attending their African drum class with Mr. Michael Duff, who is also a teacher of history at Mt. St. Michael Academy. The visitors enjoyed a pleasant essay of the young performers’ ability. They also appreciated the enthusiasm of the boys and the dedication of their music teacher.
The course is currently attended by 15 boys who play different kinds of African drums. Some of the boys are new entries, while others have participated in the Drum Circle in the past. The classes are once a week at the moment, but the schedule will hopefully increase to twice a week in the near future.
The success of the Drum Circle project among the students of Mt. St. Michael Academy confirms the opportunity of associating to the traditional curricular programmes alternative paths for formation, personal growth and socialization.