Empowering Jukskei Park Youth through music education

Frank Sturgess’s love for music dates back to when he played the piano at the local convent when he was only eight years old. After nurturing his passion, he added playing the violin to his skillset years later.

He is now passing on the baton and showing the community in Jukskei Park the ropes of how to play these musical instruments. He said he is doing this as he believes that music is a way of starting where language ends.

“You can go beyond things and deal very directly with emotions, feelings, and things that are difficult to put into words. You are able to do this more easily with music. I have always been a teacher at heart. After university, I started teaching immediately. I was living in the Cape and teaching at local schools but after my father’s passing, I had to take over the family business for a while.

“I got married and did other things including becoming a pilot which I did for 10 years. But somehow the music was always calling. It was something that I could not live without so got involved and worked with the Miagi Youth Orchestra and the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy among others.”

Sturgess said he decided to go into private teaching because it is convenient and saves him a lot of time.

“For the last 11 years, I have been teaching my students at my home and we have annual concerts and participate in community events. It is going well but I do not have many students at the moment because we are living through tough economic times and people are making tough choices financially. This makes it hard for some to see how important music is in a child’s general education.”

“Music is always one of the first subjects to be cut when it comes to budget constraints, but mathematics usually always survives. People do not realise how music is such an essential part of a people’s education. It has been showing over and over how children who are active participants in music have increased brain activity and end up doing better in other subjects.”

He said his lessons start with a free trial for anyone between the ages of 4-104.

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