Air guitar on a shovel, rhapsody with a rake or hold the beat banging a barrow, some young musicians now have the chance to improvise between lessons thanks to the Lake Chapala Garden Club.
They are all pupils of the four-year-old San Juan Cosala based Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of Lake Chapala (Orquestra Filarmonica infantil de la Ribera de Chapala).
The orchestra – part of the ECOS program of the Casa de La Cultura de Jalisco – recently found a new home, thanks to individual donors and big name charities.
Yet they needed to create a more sympathetic outdoor space for the 70 strong group to practice. The rubble strewn neglected area they found behind the building, maybe once a garden, hardly came close.
The Lake Chapala Garden Club stepped in with a donation of nearly 9,000 pesos.
“The orchestra and choir use music as a hook on which to hang so many other elements and support young people in the area,” said Lake Chapala Garden Club President Judi Keck. “These strands include responsibility, a sense of community plus the value of education and accomplishment.”
Added Coco Wonchee, president of the Youth Orchestra: “We wish to thank the Garden Club warmly for their most welcome injection of funds. We also look forward to donations in kind plus ideas for garden design and expert guidance.”