In a vibrant gathering that brought together two local learning communities on the island of Antigua, students from Freemanville Primary School and Seaview Farm Primary School came together for “One Stage, Infinite Rhythm – A Celebration of Music Education”, a full day dedicated to artistic exploration, collaborative learning, and celebration of school-based music programming.
Hosted on the Freemanville Primary School campus, the event was anchored by the core theme “Keep Music Alive in Schools”, an initiative conceived and organized by Kezzary David, a music educator at Freemanville. David designed the collaborative gathering to address the critical role of sustained music education in youth development, while creating an accessible, low-pressure platform for young students to uncover their innate creative abilities and nurture emerging skills.
Throughout the day, attendees took part in a diverse lineup of hands-on interactive sessions covering a wide range of artistic disciplines. Musical workshops offered students the chance to explore choir performance, guitar technique, recorder playing, steel pan performance, djembe drumming, and marching band coordination. To expand the scope of artistic learning, professional instructors from the Antigua Dance Academy also led guided dance classes for participating students, giving young learners the chance to explore movement as a form of creative expression.
Beyond practical workshops, the event included a friendly inter-school poem competition, which concluded with Seaview Farm Primary School claiming the top spot. To heighten the excitement and offer students inspiration from working professional artists, the event featured special guest performances from three popular local soca musicians: Peetron Thomas, De General, and Dior. The performers not only entertained the crowd of students but also shared words of encouragement, urging young attendees to prioritize the ongoing development of their creative talents.
The event also received tangible support from local community partner Bona Petit, who operates under the business name Bone Appetite. The organization made a special in-kind donation of a set of drums to Freemanville Primary School to support the long-term growth of the school’s music education programming.
In closing remarks following the successful day, David extended sincere gratitude to the leadership and teaching staff of both participating schools, as well as to parent volunteers, corporate sponsors, workshop facilitators, and all other community supporters whose contributions made the event possible. She emphasized that collaborative gatherings like this create critical space for young people to explore new interests, learn from experts and peers, perform in a low-stakes setting, and grow their creative talents for lifelong enrichment.