Music Connects
Music Connects is a project made by Netherlands Enterprise Agency and includes the collaboration of Musicians Without Borders, Fontys Rock Academy, Mitrovica Rock School (Kosovo), Enterprise Music School (Skopje) and Roma Rock School. The idea of the project is to utilize the power of music to connect communities and leave behind social stigmas. Since 2018, Roma Rock School has enrolled around 40 young people eager to study and practice musical instruments, and gain life skills through music.
Throughout the year, students have different instrumental classes, such as guitar, percussion, bass guitar, woodwinds, vocals, solfege and music theory. The academic year culminates with a week-long summer school in Skopje, with students from the different organizations participating. The summer school ends with a free community concert at the Havana Summer Club in Skopje, an event that is always packed and well-attended!
The project also established a home sound engineering studio at Roma Rock School, and all bands recorded original songs during the 2019 Summer School.
Though still underway, this project project has thus far made a big impact on the students’ lives. They are constantly improving their performance, communication, and sharing their cultures with students from the other organizations.
