(Pictured above: Members of the Sonic Blues Band pose for a picture following their performance March 12 at Benson Public School. The grades 5 and 6 students from Benson were transformed into a blues band under the tutelage of three musicians brought to Benson through the Blues in the Schools Program.)

(Cardinal) - The blues can work a certain magic.

In the case of Benson Public School, that magic converted a group of Grade 5 and 6 students into the Sonic Blues Band thanks to the Blues in the Schools Program – sponsored by the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest.

Over the course of the two-week program, senior students at Benson were transformed from blues neophytes to a band of composers, musicians and vocalists that thrilled parents Friday with a short concert featuring their own composition called Hobo Joe.

The band performed the piece under the tutelage of three professional blues musicians who delivered Blues in the Schools to Benson students: Steve Marriner of Ottawa, and Cardinal residents Jason Fryer and Caroline Addison. The three spent the past two weeks at Benson and South Edwardsburg Public School teaching the students a variety of lessons about the blues from its early history as a form of communication for slaves to an appreciation of the genre through performances and sing-a-longs with students to classic blues tunes. Marriner, Fryer and Addison spent the mornings at South Edwardsburg and the afternoons at Benson.

Over the past week or so, the trio met with the grades 5 and 6 students at Benson to help them compose Hobo Joe. Teachers and parents cobbled together loans of guitars, a keyboard and harmonicas for certain students to play while other students did their part as vocalists. With the help of the three professional musicians, the students wrote the lyrics, and learned a basic 1-4-5 riff on the guitars so they could play the song. They were also required to take the composition home at night to practice and master.

Benson Vice-Principal Hedy Gutman said that the program offered an amazing learning opportunity for her students.

“It’s something totally novel for the students,” reflected Gutman. “These students would never have had the chance to learn about the roots of blues music had they not participated in this program.

 “They’ve composed lyrics and gained an understanding of rhythm. It’s a real gift. You can see the excitement and the engagement in their faces. They feel so important.”

Addison and Fryer said the process of learning about music offered much more for the students than simply an appreciation of a new song – it taught them a sense of teamwork.

“When a kid is having a good time and there is the whole sense of togetherness you are creating a much more harmonious environment for that child and that makes for better learning,” said Fryer.

And experiencing a sense of personal accomplishment through music also instills a greater sense of self-worth in children, he says.

“Hopefully it will spark the joy of music in their hearts and they will continue with it,” he said.

Gutman says she hopes to bring the program back to Benson again next year.

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For more information, please call:

Hedy Gutman

Vice-Principal

Benson Public School

613-657-3095