Alexandra learners and Norwegian students find harmony in music
Alexandra’s young learners and Norway’s future music teachers came together through music, proving its power to unite across distance and culture.
The end of the school day does not always mean silence at Skeen Primary School.
On Tuesdays, when learners close their books, pick up their bags and leave, others lift their instruments, and the familiar hum of the Alexandra Field Band fills the air.
Read more: Stars of wonder shine during a night of classical music in Alexandra
But on February 24, the music carried a different weight, the kind that only comes when two worlds meet.
Third-year students from the Norwegian Academy of Music, training to become music teachers, joined the learners for an exchange that was as much about discovery as it was about performance. At first, the practice seemed ordinary, yet under patient guidance, the learners began to find their way. When the group finally played as one, the sound was startling.
Assistant professor at the academy, Ellen Stabell, said the Norwegian students learned to teach without words, relying on body language, demonstration, and clarity of performance. “That was a big learning experience, and it is also how you lead without talking, really, so you need to be very clear with your body language and the way you play and demonstrate,” she noted.
Also read: Musical collaborators call for Alex’s attention
Alexandra Field Band Programmes officer Phumzile Twala said such exchanges were important because they could open doors for learners at the foundation phase. “They could be part of the exchange programme because already in the field band, we have students who have been in an exchange programme, also learning music through a similar partnership we have with the Norwegians,” she said.
The exchange was not one-sided. Stabell emphasised that the Norwegian students gained just as much. “For the Norwegian students, it is the first time they have gone out to experience a completely different culture. It is really important to get the experience of working with kids in big groups.”
She added that Alexandra’s rhythm left its mark, noting that in Norway they did not have the dancing rhythm as the learners in Alex do, so when the students go back to play in Norwegian bands, they will be able to transfer what they have learnt from Alexandra to others.
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