THE British Artist Leonie Adams from the Dionysus Ensemble, a musical group, is currently in Honiara as part of their visit to the Music Club called Piano Association of Solomon Islands (PASI).
Speaking in an interview with Paoa FM on Friday, Adams said the club has a lot of students learning piano and violin and they don’t have many resources and that there’s no many experience teachers available which leaves the kids having a lot to learn by themselves using YouTube and other forms.
“We have come and we do a big teaching program with the students working with them and some of their teachers.
“We also doing some concerts where we play with the students and we also allow them to play by themselves which is a good training for them,” she added.
Adams said the training also includes how they can present themselves when they perform with the equipment and how to write their own music.
She said on Wednesday, they have put on some of their musical performance at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) Children’s Ward with her violins as well as at the Heritage Park hotel.
“One of the other core things that we did with the British High Commissioner is we set up a Commonwealth music library that’s going into your public library system as off next week,” she said.
She said the Dionysus Ensemble has started back in 2003 in London and they usually do a mixture of concerts and education projects.
Adams said just last year, they were approached by the Commonwealth to become the first ever musicians in residences for the Common Wealth, the first time they have musicians.
“It’s their first time to have their own professional musicians as part of the Commonwealth and we were so excited to be chosen,” she said.
She said they use the opportunity to tell every commonwealth country what they do and offer and to see if those countries are interested.
“We were fortunate that Solomon Islands immediately was first to say ‘yes we want it’ and so that’s why we are here,” she said.
Adams said her interest to play violin was developed from her parents as they have no chance to learn music when they were kids though involved a lot in choir doing singing.
“My parents didn’t have the chance to learn music when they were small but they loved it and they both sing a lot in the church Choir and other choirs,” she said.
Adams said she has two sisters and their parents were determined that the three of them should start learning something such as music.
“That’s when I thought it’s brilliant and so I decided with this forever,” she said.
She said one of the highlights in her carrier was in March last year when they were chosen to play at the Commonwealth Day, South East London, which was also internationally broadcast-ed on television and radio.
“I was also asked by the Palace to meet the Queen. She was so lovely and all of her family including, Charles & Camilla and Willian & Kate.”
By IAN M.KAUKUI
