The accordion is king at Stephenville Elementary
Musicians teach kids how to play accordion on their lunch breaks
Before the front doors of Stephenville Elementary open, you can hear the twenty of more students playing This Land is Your Land on accordion.
Students, ages nine to 17, sit in a semicircle in the music room, all with large accordions in their laps. And they are beaming.
"I remember picking this up and thinking it was the coolest thing ever," said Chase Brake, as he taps the side of his accordion.
"It's actually fabulous," said Grade 4 student Grayson Jarvis.
Jarvis said his grandmother played the accordion at home, but he wasn't interested in the instrument until he joined this accordion group at school.
"It feels like home," he said.
Over a decade ago, members of the Bay St. George Folk Arts Council got word of 10 accordions sitting unused at the school. They started teaching kids how to play on their lunch breaks.
The program expanded to the junior high school as well. The volunteer musicians and students have developed wonderful friendships and a new-found love for an old instrument.
"It's a real joy for us to come here each week and do that," said Jim Mercer.
Mercer plays guitar and sings along with the students. He wasn't sure the younger children would take to the accordion, but he was pleasantly surprised by how much they love it.
"I wasn't sure that little ones in Grade 4 and Grade 5 would like Mussels in the Corner, but as you hear, that is their favourite," he said.
For some students in the room, like Avery March, learning the accordion lead him to pick up other instruments like the guitar, violin and piano. He said he is so thankful for the council and their support.
"My dad used to like playing it," he said. "I think it's kind of cool, right. I kind of just played it for a bit and thought it was pretty fun and it kind of sparked off like that and kept going with it."
Mercer and the other volunteers sincerely enjoy teaching the accordion a couple of days a week until the end of the school year.
As students zip their accordions up into their carrying cases, they shake Mercer's hand or give him a big hug before leaving for the summer.
"None of us thought that this would be happening, but it did. And they are a great crowd, a wonderful bunch," he said.
Mercer and the other volunteers plan on returning in September.
Click on the video above to see more.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With Files from Amy Feehan