May 4, 2010 A letter from Gord Osland, OK International Children’s Festival
April 30, 2010
Dear Colleagues,
I want to help build a case for the fact that Arts makes life worth living. Its not fluff, its essential.
I have a story; it was music that saved me. I was dead in the water at school. Hated it. Kicked around by bullies and humiliated by teachers, I nearly fell thru the cracks. Started playing drums at 11 years old and never stopped. It was all I had to give me any sense of self-worth. Went on to a 40 year career in the music industry and I’m still playing. Music saved my life.
People ask me why I keep doing this work after 30 years working with kidsfests. I see similar stories to mine unfold every year at our festival. This is the big pay-off for me.
Children’s festivals with an international scope provide kids with possibly their first eyeball-to-eyeball connection with performing, literary and visual arts from around the world. They get to interact with artists and then go and do their own thing in the hands-on workshops on the festival site. Many kids go on to careers in the arts, both as artists and technicians. I have many letters from kids over the years that did just that and credit our Children’s Festivals for exposing them to life-changing attitudes and decisions.
Thank you and cheers all!
Gord Osland
Executive Director
Rotary Okanagan International Children’s Festival
Tags: art, children's festival, gord osland, music
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Gary Hart
said
Re: Gord Osland and music for kids.
Way to go Gord! Gord and I knew each other through mutual acquaintances (through our fathers). We both played drums . . . me badly, Gord with a natural talent. If it wasn’t for Gord (in Sea Cadets) I wouldn’t know a parradiddle from a flam.
He went on to play professionally, while I dabbled jamming with jazz bands and rockers. I had to pass music to complete high school and later I ended up with a 29 year career in TV. My education allowed me to direct many programs including drama such as Shakespeare, and variety shows, heavily laden with music, which annually raised millions of dollars for charity.
Years later I ran across Gord 1500 miles from home. I was making preparation to direct, as part of an ongoing music series, a show with him playing the traps. It seems both Gord and I got to develop an Arts career with music that set us on different yet similar paths regardless of our pluses or minuses in education. There is a part of the brain that is focused on music and it needs to be developed as well. Education is important, but one needs to be reminded that there are plenty of educated derelicts and many from the arts who contribute in the language of the world.
It never ceases to amaze me how dumb many educators are. Some are like lemmings never reaching beyond the old school, the school board, or politics. Even the best colleges stateside have great music programs. I’ve never met a miserable or failing child bent on learning music. Exceptions are simply exceptions.
One final note . . . if you think percussion is just beating some skins you’ll want to catch Gord playing some time.
PS Gord taught me some lessons. You’d be wise to pay attention to his POV. You just might learn sumpin’.