Our Program
It’s new, it’s different….it’s better than most everything else. — Drumline student
I see progress…she practices, she seems more settled already. — Parent of Beginning Strings student.
- Students receive a musical instrument to take home and use as their own.
- Students are enrolled in classes appropriate to their progress. Those who demonstrate superior progress or require special attention are offered private lessons.
- All students are enrolled in an ensemble. All levels of ability are able to participate.
- Orchestras and small ensembles perform in concerts.
Harmony Project Sooke offers the following programs for students in School District #62:
- Beginning Strings for students in Grades 2-4
- Drumline for students in Grades 6 and up
Our Mission
TO PROMOTE the healthy growth and development of children through the study, practice and performance of music.
TO BUILD healthier communities by investing in the positive development of children through music.
TO DEVELOP children as musical ambassadors of peace, hope and understanding among people of diverse cultures, backgrounds and beliefs.
Our Team
NORMAN NELSON, Founder
is Conductor and Music Director of the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra. He studied violin at the Royal College of Music in London, was a founding member of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and has performed as a chamber musician in major cities around the world. He became Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1965, and later was appointed professor of violin and chamber music at the University of Alberta, where he was Conductor of the Academy Strings and the University Symphony Orchestra. In 1997, he founded the Sooke Philharmonic. Norman received the Orchestras Canada Betty Webster Award in 2007 and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
LORNA BJORKLUND, Executive Director
is a music teacher, pianist and designer/developer of music programs for K-12 levels in Canada, Brazil and the Cayman Islands. In Sooke she developed the Journey Middle School Concert Band, elementary and high school music classes, a school orchestra program for Westshore Learning Centre, an academy for instruction on all instruments and a piano teaching studio. She plays auxiliary percussion with the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra. She has studied with Lyell Gustin, Winifred Scott Wood and Robert Holliston and has a Masters degree in Music Education.
MARGARET MARTIN, Founder of Harmony Project in L.A.
founded Harmony Project in 2001 in Los Angeles, California. The program has provided instruments and tuition-free group and private music lessons to thousands of L.A.’s most vulnerable children as a means of positive youth development and social inclusion. In 2011, Ms. Martin went from being a homeless single mother to earning her Ph.D. degree, and received the Citizens Medal from U.S. President Barack Obama.
Teachers
ANNE MCDOUGALL, Head Teacher and Strings Teacher
is Concertmaster of the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra, and a private string teacher in Sooke. She has performed extensively as a professional violinist, primarily with the Edmonton Symphony and the Alberta Baroque Ensemble. She has 40 years teaching experience, including over 20 years at the Alberta College Conservatory, where she was head of the String Department from 2002-2004. Anne has her Masters of Music degree from the University of Alberta, where she studied with Norman Nelson.
Dr. Jack Edwards, Drumline Teacher
was a member of one of the finest marching bands in America, the Marching Southerners of Jacksonville State University in Alabama. He taught marching band for 16 years and has extensive experience as a performer and teacher of saxophone, bassoon and percussion instruments. He teaches with the Victoria Conservatory of Music, the Sooke School District, and the Sooke Music Academy, where his students have consistently earned high marks in Trinity College Examinations.
Board of Directors, Harmony Project Society of B.C.
Terry Cristall, President
Wendy O’Connor, Secretary
Paul Martin, Treasurer
Jenny Nelson (membership)
Brenda Parkinson (fund-raising)
Bonnie Sprinkling (policy-writing)
David Watson
Sheila Whincup (publicity)
Gratitude
Harmony Project Sooke is grateful to the Sooke Philharmonic Society and its Orchestra for their ongoing guidance and support. We also acknowledge Harmony Project L.A. for their help and inspiration. We sincerely thank the following for financial and in-kind support: The Victoria
Foundation, District of Sooke, School District #62, RBC Sooke Branch, Tom
Lee Music, MusiCounts, TD Bank, and many kind individual donors.