How did we get here ?
Previous experience in Cameroon
While living in Cameroon between 2016 and 2018, Xavier founded a community based music school with four music teachers. They taught instrument and music lessons to nearly 25 kids aged 6 to 18 years, twice a week. Building on that experience, the objective now is to create in Lorentzville and Troyeville a structured music school with professional music teachers, quality instruments and dedicated spaces for lessons.
Since 2019 - A new project in South Africa
Since the beginning of 2019, Xavier Duménil has introduced more than 50 kids to music and trumpet through group and individual lessons one to four times per month at the non-profit organization “Timbuktu in the valley” (see Our Partners ).
While some kids have only attended 1 or 2 introductory sessions, others (around 15) have shown a real interest and motivation. Despite the relatively small number of lessons and the fact that they have no personal instrument to practice they have shown tremendous commitment and have greatly improved.
However, being on his own and not having, up to recently, a lot of time to dedicate to this passion project, it has remained at a small scale level, with a light structure and organization.
Today
Having more time to dedicate to this project, Xavier’s goal is to settle strong foundations for the music school in 2021.
During the first three weeks of February 2021, as schools were closed due to Covid, “Timbuktu” kids have
been able to attend almost every afternoon trumpet lessons given by Xavier.
Since the progressive re-opening of schools, the music school project has been slowly expanding with two new trumpet and piano teachers.
As a result, from beginning of 2021, more than 200 kids have benefitted of our project attending to more than 2200 lessons (considering 3 kids attending to 1 trumpet session as 3 lessons).
And from January 2022 to September 2023, we have given more than 4000 lessons to more than 50 kids out of whom half of them are very regular students.
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The biggest change is the opening in May 2022 of our new studio dedicated to our music activity.
It’s a brand new 78 m2 space that we rent from Victoria Yards with 1 main room, 3 smaller rooms, allowing several kids to have lessons or practice at the same time, 1 office and 1 bathroom.
It has changed the life of the music school and of our students and teachers.
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