By Precious Mills
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Wednesday 17th July 2024)-Under the theme ‘Music is Essential’, the upcoming 18th edition of the Traditional Musical Instrument Workshop, coordinated by wellknown local Cultural Preservationist Winston ‘Zack’ Nisbett, this time around will cater to adults and not only children in offering an opportunity for participants of all generations to come together and learn.
During a recent interview with this media house, he highlighted the reasoning behind such. “This year, instead of having the five to twelve-year-olds as usual, we have gone from five years to above because there are many persons who are into music, they have their own instruments at home but can’t get anybody to train them.” The summer workshop will run for four weeks from Monday 22nd July to Saturday 24th August 2024 at Zack’s HistoricalCultural Library and Museum located at Buckley’s Estate in Basseterre.
Daily sessions are expected to run from 9 AM to 3 PM, finishing with a graduation ceremony on Saturday 23rd August. Participants will receive lessons on a range of traditional instruments, including the fife, banjo, baho, quatro and guitar.
In addition to music, the workshop will feature classes on clown suit making, fife making, arts and crafts, and reading comprehension in providing a holistic educational experience. Nisbett emphasized the practical benefits of the workshop, noting, “I want them to master the art of that because the string band is important, and they can make their own money.
Those who are not that academically inclined have something they could bank on, and you make good money, especially when the tourists come.” “We are a strong, thriving tourism industry, like what we have here in St. Kitts-Nevis.
We need to have that authentic type music for the visitors and to back up some of the sports. The big drum, the kettle drum; all that are going into teaching about the kettle drum and the bass drum,” he added. In addition to musical training, participants will gain knowledge about the cultural aspects of St.
Kitts and Nevis. “Apart from learning how to play musical instruments, students will gain invaluable knowledge about the cultural aspects of St. Kitts and Nevis. This is not just about music; it’s about preserving our heritage and fostering a sense of identity and pride among the youth.
It is important that we preserve our cultural heritage, and music is a unique custom. It enhances your versatility in terms of the various instruments and the sound, and it gives you a chance to meditate and concentrate; it depends on the type of music.
Music is essential for real.” Nisbett also emphasized the importance of discipline in learning music. “Discipline is essential in music because there are some people who want to come and leave and go and come when they feel like and have distractions, and so you cannot learn that way.
That is why we’re trying to incorporate the big people so the band itself, the string band for me, will have both young and old inside the workshop. We could formulate a proper band to play for any function, any occasion.” He highlighted the inclusion of the bajo instrument this year.
“The bajo is important. The bajo keeps the background, the bass and the marimba. We’ll be teaching them how to play the marimba as well. That is like a bass guitar as well but the bajo always looks within a band. Somebody will play the bajo because that keeps the backbone when you don’t have a guitar.” He has expressed gratitude for the unwavering support from the business community and other contributors over the past years.
Registration for the workshop is now open, and interested individuals including parents and guardians are encouraged to contact Nisbett at 664-9016 for more information. Front Page Image: Four participants of Traditional Musical Instrument Workshop, coordinated by well-known local Cultural Preservationist Winston ‘Zack’ Nisbett pose for a photo during a graduation ceremony in August 2018 (Spokesman Snap)
