Music Monday brings message of reconciliation to Cape Breton

Hundreds of students gathered in the gymnasium at Shipyard Elementary School in Sydney, N.S., for Music Monday - and this year's music came with a message.

"Our program today was built around the theme of reconciliation,” said Kelli Brewer, arts education consultant for the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education.

Two of Monday's performers were Emma Stevens and Devon Paul, a well-known singer and rapper – respectively - from Eskasoni First Nation.

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"Being as focused as I was on music as a kid, music class was a really big thing for me,” Paul said. “To have people come in and do something like this, would have really inspired me at a lot earlier age."

The Mi'kmaq performers were joined by the Cape Breton Orchestra. Organizers say the idea was to show how people of different cultures could be united through song.

"The message that we hope students take home today is that music is a powerful avenue to express stories, to communicate truth and to have other people respond by listening and learning and then we all move forward together,” Brewer said.

Organizers said more than 1,000 students from across the Centre for Education took part in Music Monday festivities during three separate shows while more watched via webstream.

Some students may not have fully understood the theme of reconciliation, but said music already plays a part in their lives through theatre or their school band.

"I like the melody. I like all the different notes you can play, and how you can make it feel,” said Ella MacNeil, a Grade 5 student at Tompkins Elementary in Reserve Mines, N.S.

As students and the musicians came together for a final number - called We Are One - Paul had one more message for the children.

"That anything is possible,” he said. “Doesn't matter where you're from, who you are, it doesn't matter as long as you put your heart and soul into it you can do anything in this world."

Monday also marked the 20th anniversary of Music Monday celebrations across Canada.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.