Recycled Orchestra - RJC Report
On Tuesday May 6, 2014 Rosthern Junior College and Eigenheim
Mennonite Church co-hosted two performances of the Paraguayan Recycled
Orchestra in the RJC Auditorium.
The Recycled Orchestra is comprised of students from Cateura,
Paraguay who play instruments made from recycled goods collected from a garbage
dump near where they live. The
orchestra comes from humble beginnings, but they have recently traveled the
world to raise funds to improve their school, and educational programs in
Paraguay. It was an honor to host
them and assist in their fundraising efforts.
The afternoon show began at 1:15 PM and was for students in
the area. Students from all four
Rosthern schools (Rosthern Elementary, Rosthern High School, Rosthern Christian
School, and Rosthern Junior College) were in attendance as well as student
guests from Waldheim, Osler, Beardys’, and Saskatoon. In total over 600 students filled the auditorium; the energy
in the room was palpable. The
orchestra did not disappoint and proceeded to entertain, educate, and inspire
the students with their interactive show.
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| The auditorium was full of local and surrounding area students. |
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| Favio Chavez, the orchestra director describes how some of the instruments were constructed. They were made with bits and pieces of trash recovered from the garbage dump. |
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| Kylee a grade 11 RJC student was invited to try the violin and had the opportunity to play with the orchestra. |
The evening performance began at 7:00 PM and was open to the
public. Support from the community
was amazing, and the auditorium was packed for a second time. The orchestra played a variety of tunes
ranging from songs by Frank Sinatra & John Lennon to Amazing Grace, and
some Latin American anthems. There
was even a tango! Over $17,000 was
raised during the fund appeal, including a cheque for $1,300.00 that was
presented by the students at RJC from their ‘Have a Heart’ fundraiser. Another highlight for RJC students was
the opportunity to perform two songs at the show.
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| RJC Concert Choir contributed two numbers during the performance. |
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| Faith and Life co-leaders, Benjamin and Gabby presents the orchestra with the money raised during the 'Have a Heart' Campaign. |
A reception followed the performance, and the audience
interacted with the orchestra and saw (and in some cases played!) the
instruments. The reception also
featured the RJC Peace and Justice Studies class’ ‘Rethink/Recycle’ art
exhibit, which highlighted social justice issues in the world through art
projects made from recycled goods.
Coffee was provided by 10,000 Villages, and cookies were baked by
members of Eigenheim Mennonite church.
Thank you also to the Town of Rosthern for their sponsorship of the
event! Families from town hosted
the orchestra in their homes.
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| Favio Chavez |
“The World
sends us trash, and we give them back music”, said Favio Chavez, the orchestra
director; and, their music is a gift that we will not soon forget. It was inspirational to see how hope is
rising in one of South America’s poorest communities, and to be reminded that
not all that is broken is beyond repair.
