Birdsong Academy should be the model for all community music programmes everywhere. It successfully combines music tuition, music making and a space of sanctuary at the heart of community. Yet unlike any other community music programme I know of anywhere in the world, Birdsong Academy also offers the opportunity for its most talented students to aspire to university places here and also in some of the most prestigious music schools in the world. Birdsong achieves that rare balance of community at heart and a network of internationally active musicians only too willing to support its excellent work. Why isn’t everyone setting up a Birdsong Academy?

birdsong Academy represents what is important to us…community collaboration and cultural inclusiveness… providing free music education to children least able to afford...harnessing and disciplining youthful energy..building foundations for our youth to access opportunity

There are no words to describe the way I feel when I think about the current dilemma of birdsong.  It is one of the only spaces in this country that provides a program of this kind that caters to young men and women pursuing musical excellence.  I think of all the teenagers whose lives have been changed and whose future were made so much brighter because  of the vision and the work of the birdsong academy.  What are they to do?  Where are they teenagers to go?  I've spoken to them, they love this space, they love this program and they NEED birdsong, they need this space, they need to be heard. 
Right now we need more.  More programs like this, more spaces like this.  This is how we combat crime, this is how we fight guns and drugs. 
I beg of all the powers that be............we have to do ALL that we possibly can to save this space or find a space, this vision, this program must continue.  Too many people will "die" if it does not.


I have been involved with the Academy for most of the years of its existence as a person of support. I have given unqualified support Only because the Principals and Pupils have always demonstrated a passion for excellence and this is  rare, very rare within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The Birdsong Academy is about all races, religions and underscores the need for People! If as you read this note you are reminded of the Gray Friars Church that was pulled down and destroyed on Frederick Street - remember it was the oldest church in Trinidad and we allowed this to happen. I ask you to do whatever you deem legally appropriate to stop this country from making yet another mistake! 


Stop the eviction of THE BIRDSONG ACADEMY!

The Birdsong Academy is a visionary social experiment that has created a space in the community for the youth and the elders to share Intergenerational knowledge through music, all for the price of free.

birdsong Academy has been making a solid contribution to education, culture and social development

birdsong is a social, educational and economic institution in Tunapuna for the development of the arts in Trinidad and Tobago. Through its Academy, the band has led the way in introducing 'El Sistimo' model of music education to Trinidad and Tobago and providing access to life-changing educational programmes for talented, but disadvantaged young people. The success of this programme is evident in the Academy's achievements in the National Music Festival, international scholarships offered to its top performers and expanded access to international faculty. 
In service to the community, the band periodically rescues Auzonville Park for public use in its annual Christmas concert, hosts Divali celebrations as a community event and provides CPEP services to maintain the environment. In fact, the band is distinguished by its full integration into the life of the community, an institution in which Tunapuna indeed remains proud.

As a music teacher and performer of over 20 years experience, I keep a close interest in the musical education of the youth of Trinidad and Tobago and nowhere is this more important than at the birdsong Academy.  birdsong was the first musical venue I visited when I came to Trinidad 7 years ago and I have returned a number of times to enjoy the music and to coach some of the students. birdsong has produced many of the new professional musicians that are now playing professionally in Trinidad and Tobago and the contribution to our society cannot be underestimated. I urge the respective authorities to intervene and ensure the uninterrupted continuation of the birdsong academy at their current venue.