HOPE Violin Project

t first hand the magic with which a music education can transform a community. We truly believe that music education can and should be for EVERYONE regardless of ability to pay. "Research from around the world has shown that cognitive ability, literacy and numeracy skills and above all attention focus benefit enormously from learning a musical instrument at a young age." (from St Agnes Music Crumlin website)

Sisters, Eimear and Larissa O' Grady, are professional musicians based in Ireland. They both have a wealth of experience in teaching, playing and performing in many genre's of music. Eimear graduated with a BA in Performance from the Royal Irish Academy of Music. She is principal cello teacher and deputy conductor of the St.Agnes Violin Project, as featured in the award-winning RTE documentary "Music Changes Lives" by Mind The Gap films. see www.stagnesmusiccrumlin.com
Larissa is a professional freelance violinist based in Dublin. She graduated with an MA in Violin Performance from the Cork School of Music. During her degree in Cork, Larissa also studied Music Therapy and was employed to teach music classes in Our Lady of Good Counsel - Lota, to children with a range of special needs. She has performed with all of the major National Orchestras since, including the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, Crash Ensemble, Irish Film Orchestra and the Wexford Opera Festival Orchestra. We plan to travel to Kolkata in September 2012 with all the materials needed to begin a Violin Project for street children. This is being facilitated by the Hope Foundation. We will be organising events with regard to fundraising such as concerts, exhibitions, plays. If you have an idea for event that you would like to share with us please feel free to contact us. Our aims are:

- To set up a sustainable, transportable, violin project in Kolkata,
- To encourage street children from Kolkata to enjoy learning a classical instrument that is available for them to play with the hope that they will earn a skill for life in a safe and fun environment.
- To supply all materials and training needed.
- To train a volunteer/s in the method of group violin teaching and to encourage music professionals here in Ireland to volunteer. (Re: a Professional string tutor programme).
- To create awareness of the project through media exposure and professional networking here in Ireland. DESCRIPTION

We hope to initiate and equip a sustainable violin project for street children, in association with THE HOPE FOUNDATION in Kolkata, India. Our experience is in group-based learning incorporating 30mins music lessons. We aim to train teachers in the method of group teaching within our two-week visit, with the aid of instructive videos and group training. We also aim to begin the initial lessons. We firmly believe that music education is an intrinsic tool offering skills and development valuable to for social inclusion for EVERYONE. We are both experienced community music teachers and have used and studied various methods of String Teaching. one of the predominant methods we use in early learning is the well-known Suzuki method. We begin by teaching the children songs, such as Twinkle Twinkle. We also incorporate games and physical movement to emulate our violin playing in the lessons. The over-riding aim of the initial lessons is FUN! The format for the lesson is based on the children having their own “area” in the room. Classes can be taught indoors or outdoors (weather permitting). All we need is some space for twelve 2”x 2” mats. We place a mat, a violin and a bow on the floor. This is the children’s area for the lesson. We aim to initially take twelve violins (ten for the children and two for the tutors), which we will leave in Kolkata for the project on our departure. We will also bring 7 music stands and 7 Essential Element method books, two for the tutors and 5 to be shared by the children. These Essential Element Method books tutor a beginner Violin player from day one, and come with a CD that can be played for accompaniment. These stands, books and instruments can be complimented after our departure by donations here in Ireland which I hope to encourage through media interest and word of mouth here in Ireland. The project is not age dependent, although we usually begin violin teaching at the age of 7. Prior to this age, there are pre-instrumental classes and they involve singing songs and moving to music in preparation to learning an instrument. We would propose that we take violin lessons in groups of ten (maximum) initially. The violins will be named or numbered (a chance for the children to have their “own” violin during the lessons). There is vast potential to expand the project considering it is very transportable. The lesson method can be repeated over and over (10 x 10 x10…) and in a wide variety of locations. If you have a violin/bow/strings "gathering dust' we would be most appreciative of it and can guarantee that it will be given a fantastic home. If you do have an instrument to donate please don't hesitate to contact Eimear at [email protected]

If you would like to donate financially we have a mycharity.ie page under HOPEViolinProject. Any donations would be most gratefully appreciated. If you yourself are a musician and would like to find out more about the possibly of traveling to Kolkata to tutor, please contact us. It is an incredibly rewarding experience. In time, we hope to initiate a Professional Music Tutor Programme. We will be completely transparent in all of our finances with regard to this project. Patrons of the HOPE Violin Project
Declan O' Rourke and Edward O' Rourke. Please read about The Hope Foundation here
www.hopefoundation.ie

The Hope Foundation, set up in 1999 to raise funds for one girls’ home, now works with 16 Indian NGO partners to rescue thousands of children from the streets and slums of Kolkata (Calcutta) in India, improve their quality of life, and give them a better future. Today, The Hope Foundation funds 64 projects including education; primary healthcare; shelter; vocational training; child protection; and drugs rehabilitation; and has reached out to over 22,000 children through education alone and hundreds of thousands more through primary healthcare, in partnership with Irish Aid.