They may have only started playing in the fall, but a group of young Midland musicians has already won a national music contest.
Called The Overdue Books, the group of children aged eight to 12 participated last fall in his six-week, beginner ukulele series at the Midland Public Library.
Under the guidance of local teacher and long-time musician Sean McGaughey and assisted by a Grade 10 volunteer Noah Chamberlain, the group decided to enter the CBC’s Canadian Music Class Challenge.
"It was very cool and the kids were over the moon," says McGaughey, who retires from his full-time teaching job at Bayview Public School next week, but plans to continue working with kids to help them hone their musical chops.
"Music is such a formative activity for any community and this is a very wonderful way to do it."
Together The Overdue Books learned to play and sing You Can Be Anything by Jeremy and Jazzy and entered their video in the Public Library Performance category of the contest.
The children then waited patiently for the submissions to be reviewed. On December 9th, it was announced that the group was in the top 10 for their category, and a week later, they were proclaimed the winners.
Along with bragging rights, the group won a plaque and $1,000 in musical instruments for the library.
“The library has hosted ukulele programs (for teens/tweens) in the past, but I believe this was the first one for younger children,” Midland Public Library children’s services coordinator Larysa Essex explains.
The Overdue Books met on Tuesday evenings from the beginning of October through mid-November in the downtown library’s multipurpose room.
Essex says the program’s success really comes down to two main things, beginning with a great deal of credit going to McGaughey and his obvious love of music and teaching others to play.
“He is a music teacher and his passion and enthusiasm are infectious,” she says, noting the second reason is the fact the program as completely voluntary.
“Everyone that participates is there because they have elected to be, not because they have to.”
Adds McGaughey: "These kids were extremely motivated and they were learning so quickly."
Essex says the kids also enjoyed the program because they were in a supportive learning environment where everyone was a beginner.
“They learn together and make mistakes together, as a group,” she says. “The kids also really enjoyed coming into something knowing nothing about it, and leaving with a sense of accomplishment.”
McGaughey says that on occasion some of the children's parents would bring along their own ukuleles to partake in the jam sessions.
He adds: "It was very much a whole family affair and the kids were going home and practising mom and dad."