The people in the area have a lot of respect for the work we are doing. Many are our ears and eyes, so they are always looking out for us.

We are preparing for our first exams to be taken in October this year with the London College of Music. So while the students are taking a winter break we are preparing for the next term where we hope to get them ready for their first concert. This will create excitement amongst the the families and hopefully bring some of them together again. After all we are Restoring The Sound. That can mean many things.

On Friday and Saturday nights we were also able to give the local community a glimpse of the aims of the centre by running outdoor concerts with some great local musicians. Some of these musicians have come through programs similar to the ones we will run at the centre and its exciting to see how these graduates can get a crowd jumping! Saturday night’s concert was a ‘Praise Party’ and was warmly received by the many residents in attendance.

It was a great night and the audience thoroughly enjoyed performances by some of the young local musicians, including guests from Xulon Music Tech. We’ll be uploading some more photos soon, but don’t forget about the Helderberg Music Seminar coming up this Friday and Saturday. Registrations will be taken from 12 midday on Friday for sessions starting at 2pm. We hope to see you there for some inspirational and practical sessions with some of South Africa’s leading musicians. Even if you can’t make the seminar, come down in the evening for a fun filled concert starting from 7.30pm!

check out this great new video to see more about the work being done on the project. You can also find this on our ‘About’ page. Special thanks to the Imagine network of churches in Australia for their assistance in the production of this video.

I’m happy to welcome you to the new Restoring The Sound web site. This is where you can find out more about the project, the latest news and events or just drop us a line. We want to give you a quick update on what has been happening on the project this past year.

Macassar Centre

In January ‘07, we started work on our first centre in the neighbourhood of Macassar, a township of about 75000 inhabitants, with various economic, drugs, gangsterism and related challenges.

The building site was formerly used as a tavern until it was closed down after shootings resulting in some deaths in the mid 90’s, but we’ve been fortunate to have been allowed to use the facility rent free until the launch. When we started work on the site, we didn’t even have enough money for a bag of cement, but we’ve seen some really miraculous provision and work as the centre is now about 85% complete. We’ve completed the ceilings, tiling, the bathrooms, the main studio and foyer and most of the work on the main auditorium. We’ve also just received broadband connectivity to the centre, meaning that we can now incorporate learning resources from the internet into the programs running at the centre. We currently have a computing expert from Australia volunteering with the project until March ‘08 to complete the installation of the computer network, further work on the website and video and computer training for project members.

Pilot projects

May-September ‘07 we were running some pilot workshops to determine the number of potential students and their level of play. The first workshop was for guitar players. Sixty responded of which twenty five were from one high school class alone. So between the drummers and the guitarists I think the centre will be quite a noisy place.

Partners

I am happy to announce that Yamaha (Global Music SA) is partnering with us in the capacity of Subsidizing Sponsor of the instruments and equipment we need for our RTS projects.

London College of Music (A department of Thames Valley University UK) will provide the curriculum and will also give the accreditation for all the students participating in the formal music training programs at RTS.

Sampsongs will continue to provide it’s expertise in the broader Music Business arena in particular Recording, Publishing, Showcasing and Management of Artists and their musical works.

Launch

We will be having an official launch of the centre on the 20th February ‘08, with bands from associated projects performing to help the community envision what is possible as well as some workshops covering various music subjects. This will also be the official launch of our partnership with London College of Music (Thames Valley University). We will be the first LCM Exam Centre to be launched in SA.

Songs Worth Singing

Even prior to this launch, RTS has been involved in an exciting initiative by the South African Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, called ‘Songs Worth Singing’. This project aims to investigate the potential for using the traditional sounds and songs of South Africa as a tool in the healing and reconciliation process. As part of this project, Trevor was responsible for a major part of the research as well as organizing a mass choir with members from all walks of life. The concert was performed on December 17 at the SABC studios, Cape Town, and recorded to produce a CD and DVD for distribution to 1000 schools as an educational tool.

On behalf of all involved in the Restoring the Sound project, I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to all who have helped to support this project and I’d like to encourage you that this support is already making a difference in the community. As I wish you the best for the new year, I believe that this impact will increase.

Trevor C. Sampson
Ethno-Musicianary