(Photo: Mural, submitted by Petitcodiac Regional School)
The students and Music teachers at Petitcodiac Regional School, have created something positive from the pandemic.
They produced a CD, written and performed by students and a few professional musicians including, Singer Songwriter Keith Mullins and Singer Songwriter Christian Kit Goguen (Cirque du Soleil)
Music teacher Christopher Mersereau says it all started in September with a song called “The Atlantic Bubble” that he wrote with three grade 11 and 12 students, “From there, we ended up doing songwriting workshops with students, which ended up being 14 different songs, which ended up being a full length album, which ended up the students playing on all of the songs and writing all of the songs.”
Mersereau says music has played an important role for the students in a tough year.
“Given the pandemic, kids have been going through a lot of stuff and they have been on their own through this in a lot of ways, looking to teachers for sometimes guidance, and sometimes just examples. I think making this album brought us closer together as a group, and we were able to discuss difficult topics,” Mersereau says.
Their hope is to sell 1000 CD’s by the end of June.
“I know it is ambitious, but I have put it out to businesses, we have an Adopt an instrument program. Friends and relatives from all over are ordering it, and we have been shipping them from all around. I don’t think it’s impossible,” Mersereau says.
The money will be used to support the music program at Petitcodiac school with the purchase of new instruments.
“We have instruments, but we need more options. I have had informal conversations with students, and many students have gravitated towards a headphone environment, with keyboards, electronic drum sets, electric guitars so we could have several of those in the same room.”
All of the students have also contributed to a mural that now hangs at Petitcodiac Regional School, “I wanted something to tie in the whole K-12 and I thought long and hard about it. So I contacted Fred Harrison who is a fantastic mural artist who lives in the area. He and I had a few discussions and then we met and we came up with a theme that would involve all of the kids and staff from the school. Basically everyone was asked to trace their hand and add symbols or letters or things that were unique. Then Fred took all of those, around 600 hands, and pieced those together into an 8X20 mural that now hangs in the school,” Mersereau says.
To purchase a copy of the CD, you can go to the school website. If you live outside of the province, contact the school or email Christopher Mersereau and he can make arrangements to have one shipped. There is also a digital download available.
The students have also created videos for some of their songs, which can be found on their You Tube channel.
