Winning the city’s Arts Education award has helped propelled the Richmond Music School forward in the midst of the pandemic, according to board president Ginna Ng.
Ng said the award, handed out at the annual Richmond Arts Awards held this year online, is not only “great recognition” for the school, but also an “assurance” for their hard work during these difficult times.
“It’s a pleasant surprise and an honour to receive the award especially during COVID-19 because there has been a bit of change and people are uncertain how things are proceeding,” said Ng.
“Being able to receive this award gives us recognition for our hard work and it’s worthwhile -- especially for our 40th anniversary.”
Richmond Music School provides lessons in piano, violin and choir classes at reduced costs for community members.
They also have a teacher apprentice program for those who are interested in becoming music instructors but don’t have fundamental music training.
Ng told the Richmond News that the Richmond Music School was established in 1979 when a group of parents wanted some “quality education” for their children.
“The school started offering small group music lessons for kids in pre-school from the basement of the Trinity Lutheran Church,” said Ng.
“We started with eight kids and grew to about 110 by September of 1980, which is when the school was officially registered as a charity.”
Since the pandemic hit, said Ng, the school has moved its classes online.
“We are still able to connect with each other during this difficult time, and I’m glad to see our students still interacting with each other in a socially distanced way,” said Ng.
“Music and art is like a language people can communicate in even between different cultures and is a medium that connects people together.”