No question, music has been a part of my life from the time I was a very young child. Music was everywhere. From the radio station (Lucky 13, 105 Jamz) to the sound systems my father and uncle built so that they could dj around the island as Middle Line Productions (MLP).

I remember going on boat rides to smaller islands and beaches with my dad, as they played for beach parties. The house parties were just as fun, being able to stay up late, as the grownups danced the night away.

I started writing music from elementary school. I remember working on one of my first songs with a group of friends about Love. What did we know about love? Not much. And that’s exactly what we wrote as part of the lyrics. “Love, what is that word?”

It is one of the first songs, in my cosmopolitan notebook that houses most of my original work that I wrote between elementary school and high school (until I ran out of pages). Now, I have numerous books scattered all over my home, with finished and unfinished works, ranging from songs to poems to stories.

But for this post, we’ll keep it about the music.

March is Music Month – VI Dept of Education

I was browsing on the Virgin Islands Department of Education website and I came across a Save the Month banner and clicked on it to read more about what was going on in March for Music in our Schools.

It only mentions that in the month of March there will be auditions, musicals, solo competitions, concert series, and music programs around the territory. This made me think about my days in Lockhart, singing “Queen Mary” in Mr. Leonard’s music class or singing in the choir in junior high.

VI Music Legend Assignment

One thing I liked about choir in junior high was one of our assignments that had nothing to do with signing. We had to write a paper on a musician from the Virgin Islands. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet a relative (I think a daughter, memory fuzzy on the who) of the person that I was assigned, Mr. Cyril Creque.

When I was trying to research Mr. Creque, there were no books in the library or information on the internet that I could find about him. Therefore, I had to dig until my music teacher (Mr. Taylor) connected me to a relative of his that still resided in the Virgin Islands.

I went to their home in Round the Field and saw some of his original music. They even gave me copies of his music sheets that my father still has to this day with my old school keepsakes (see pics below). I also borrowed a book that told me more about him and his life as a musician which was quite interesting.

Even in the Virgin Islands, we had our own musical legends and it was a great experience getting to learn about them.

Support Music in Our Schools Month – March 2018

If you are still in the Virgin Islands and able to participate, I encourage you to support the movement. Children who are encouraged to participate in the arts such as this, have a better experience in school. Through the music, they get to escape in the rhythms and beats of a melody.

I know I remember most of the times I spent with music in the Virgin Islands. From singing in the school choirs, to playing my tenor pan, music will always be a part of my life.

Even now I still write a tune every once in a while if I am inspired enough. (Check out my IGC Youtube Channel) That’s the musical life on island gurl. We get to experience it all from reggae to soca to calypso to the everyday hip-hop and R&B.

I like to think of it as the best of both worlds, but hey I’m biased, since music has been in my genes from birth.

 

Please support the Virgin Islands Department of Education’s, Music in Our Schools – March 2018. Do you have a musical memory from when you were in school? Where were you when experienced it? Where you listening from the sides or were you playing an instrument? Let me know in the comments.