Sabian Donates $100,000 to N.B. Youth Orchestra Program
SAINT JOHN — New Brunswick cymbal manufacturer Sabian and the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (NBYO) announced this week $100,000 worth of instruments and funding for the Sistema NB Program.
The donation includes $50,000 of funding from Sabian, paired with $50,000 of in-kind instruments to support Sistema NB programs. The organizations say they hope the donation will help “transform the musical landscape in New Brunswick.”
Sabian also says it will support the program through its “international network and social media channels.
Sistema NB is a free, daily, after-school program that uses music and the orchestra to “create social change for children who otherwise would not have the opportunity.” Participating children are engaged for three hours a day, five days a week, in nine orchestra centres across New Brunswick.
The NBYO launched the program in 2009. Today, more than 1,100 children take part in the program, making it the largest program of its kind in Canada.
Sabian was established in 1981 in Meductic, New Brunswick (today: Lakeland Ridges), where it is still headquartered. Over the years, the company has become a global leader in the manufacturing of hand-crafted cymbals and percussion instruments.
“The generosity of Sabian is simply overwhelming,” Ken MacLeod, NBYO’s president and CEO, said in a news release. “Their contribution to the NBYO – to the children and youth of this province – will influence generations.”
Sabian and the NBYO unveiled the donation at Sistema NB’s Saint John Centre on May 29. As part of the announcement event, which featured a performance by the Saint John Youth Orchestra, music educator Ian Gibson was named an official Sabian artist.
MacLeod said the NBYO is “particularly grateful” to see Gibson honoured in such a way.
“That means a lot to Ian and to all of the Sistema NB and NBYO family,” he said.
Gibson, a percussion teaching artist at Sistema NB’s Saint John Centre and percussion coach for the NBYO, has more than twenty years of experience as a percussionist and music educator across the country.