St. Alban's boys and girls given opportunity to be musicians.
Jake Brauch, left, Tobin Kravchenko, Wolfgang Schulz, P.J. Kussin, Benjamin Gordon and Max Brauch participate Thursday in the St. Alban's Boys' and Girls' Club After School Bandz program concert. (Nov. 4, 2010)
Staff photo/JUSTIN SKINNER
Children at St. Alban's Boys and Girls Club showcased their inner rock stars thanks to a special music program and a donation from Paper Jamz.Paper Jamz instruments use circuits to emulate actual guitars and drums. After weeks of practice, the kids at St. Alban's put on a mini-concert in front of an attentive audience of parents, peers and celebrity judge Matt Wells of TV's MuchMore.The youngsters broke into groups and performed a variety of hits ranging from The Troggs' 'Wild Thing' to Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing' to a version of Queen's 'We Will Rock You', complete with lyrics written by the participants themselves.After the show, the musicians were thrilled with the reception from the crowd and the judge, who offered effusive praise."I was a little nervous I was going to mess up, but I think it went really well," said 10-year-old Max Brauch. "It was a lot of fun with the audience being there."While playing in front of a crowd was a thrill, the youngsters enjoyed the weeks leading up to the concert almost as much, said 11-year-old Emma Tesch. "We all really liked learning to play the music and joking around about it," she said.The Paper Jamz program was an offshoot of St. Alban's' regular music classes, with Paper Jamz sessions starting in September and running weekly up until the concert on Nov. 4.The instruments come programmed with a basic musical scale, and students were asked to choose and learn songs that worked within that scale.Creative arts teacher Jeremy Chitan led the classes and said he was amazed at both the skill and the dedication of his students. "We didn't have too long to learn it so it was straight business, but the kids came in and brought straight business every week," he said.The concert allowed the youngsters to show the results of their hard work, and they played the classic songs without a hitch. The program was an ideal way to expose kids to the arts and ensure they have a positive creative outlet, fulfilling St. Alban's' mandate.In addition to learning how to play the instruments, the participants also managed to make new friendships as part of their involvement in the program."Some of these kids didn't even know each other, but they came together and worked well together," Chitan said.While there are no immediate plans to continue the Paper Jamz program on a regular basis, performers will reprise their instruments for St. Alban's Boys and Girls Club's holiday concert in December.In the meantime, Paper Jamz has kindled a new passion for music among the participants."Now that I've tried it, I'm going to try to take guitar lessons," Max said.