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Paradise music teacher nabs prestigious national award

By Mark Squibb/December 30, 2022

Elizabeth Park Elementary music teacher Andrea Lane-Gardner has been named a recipient of the Canadian Music Educators Association’s 2022 Builder’s Award.

“It was very humbling to receive this recognition,” said Lane. “I’m so fortunate to work with people who believe in building music education.”

The award is presented annually to a music educator who advances music education in any Canadian province, through building community or establishing significant collaborative efforts.

Lane-Gardner was recognized for her work with students during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when music groups were suddenly finding themselves forced to meet together online instead of in person, and also for her involvement in the launch of a song and music video created in partnership with local musician Damian Follett and Elizabeth Park students in 2022.

That project began in 2021, when she partnered with Follett to help students compose and perform a piece about self-love, acceptance, and kindness.

The “Just be You” project began as a song writing endeavour, but soon grew into something much larger.

“I had Damian come in to work with the students to learn about song writing, and the idea for this song really came out of that,” said Lane-Gardner. “The best part was to see how proud the students were when the song came out, and to see the impact, and to see how much it resonated with people.”

The video accompanying the song reflects the ever-changing guidelines governing music classes once schools reopened following the initial shut down. In some shots, students are singing spaced apart, but are standing side-by-side in other shots. Students are masked at one moment but not the next. They are sometimes singing inside, and sometimes singing outdoors, all depending on what the regulations called for at the moment.

Outside the classroom, Lane-Gardner has been involved in a number of choirs and music operations over the years.

“Music teaches us to be human,” said Lane-Gardner. “It teaches us to process the world around us. And if we didn’t have that, we wouldn’t fully realize what being fully human is. And that certainly came to the forefront during COVID, because immediately artists and musicians were soothing people, and providing comfort and understanding through musical creation. We could still come together, even though it was online.”

She said teaching music to children helps them to better understand their emotions and process their experiences.

“Sometimes we don’t know what we’re experiencing or what we’re feeling until we can express it in an artistic way,” said Lane-Gardner. “And that’s true for everyone.”

She added that music is important not just to individuals, but the community at large. “Without music education, we cannot preserve the culture of Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Lane-Gardner. “The musicians are artists celebrating our culture and expressing it, so many of them wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing if they didn’t have music education. We’re a province

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