Page 13 - Info Magazine nr 14 december 2020

Is there anything else you would like to do in
the Class Band?
Gaia: I would love to play those popsongs. Now
we still play those very simple songs. That
would be nice. It would be super fun to be able
to play the songs I listen to.
Sometimes I find songs we play like Christmas
carols quite difficult, because I don't know all
the notes yet.

Would you like to continue with the clarinet
later?
Gaia: I would like to play in an orchestra, I think
that would be very nice.
Rodenborch College in
Rosmalen, a part of the
city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch
in the Netherlands, was
the first school to start a
Class Band outside Ger-
many, 15 years ago. Tea-
cher Marion Zwanenberg is also interviewed in
this magazine. At this school there are 7 Class
Bands / Orchestra Class in total. Children start
in the 1st Class and can continue till the end of
their school career.

Cooperation with Yamaha Corporation America

We had a very fruitful TEAMS meeting with two colleagues from Yamaha America (Education
division - Heather Mansell and Lisa Steel MacDonald). There is so much knowledge
we can share. Many High Schools in America have
School Bands of high quality. They practise every
day. Teachers directing these bands, are also using
Essential Elements. The Yamaha America team also
produce a magazine for teachers, sharing articles,
experiences, ideas and good practice. It was also
great to hear about plans to a create a worldwide
network, to support the teaching and learning ex-
periences in Class Bands. After all, the world is very
small when it comes to music! Although there are
differences across counties, we will let you know about interesting news, learning and focus on
common issues relevant to any Class Band. It is also very interesting what is going on in Japan
with the school bands there. They practise many hours every day and have a very high standard.
what can we learn from them? We will share all of our learning with YCB teachers across Euro-
pe, so we can all benefit!