Film Awareness Night is doing things differently this month by adding live music to its Dec. 14 event.
In collaboration with the Sooke Philharmonic Society and Harmony Project Sooke, the group will present For the Love of Music, an evening of film and refreshments to raise funds for both organizations.
The evening will begin with a performance by the Harmony Project Strings Class, followed by the screening of a 30-minute documentary For the Love of Music, described as “an intimate look at the celebrated Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra.
This will be followed by several shorter films about the founding of the Harmony Project, including testimonials by graduates and fascinating research on the benefits of learning to play a musical instrument.
The Harmony Project was founded in Los Angeles in 2001 to provide free musical education to children in inner city neighborhoods. When maestro Norman Nelson visited the Harmony Project in L.A., he was inspired to bring a similar program to Sooke.
“Although the context in inner city L.A. of violent gangs and extreme poverty is quite different from our context here in tranquil and relatively well-off Sooke, both communities share the need for more access to musical education,” said Film Awareness coordinator Jo Phillips.
Harmony Project Sooke runs a Beginning Strings class for grades 2 to 4 students and a Drumline class for grades 6 and up. The children and youth attend classes two to three times a week outside of school time.
After the screenings, a concession will offer coffee, mulled cider, baked goodies and popcorn.
The evening starts at 7 p.m. and will end when the music, mingling and mulled cider ends.
More info at: awarenessfilmnight.ca, harmonyprojectsooke.ca and sookephil.ca.