LJYO in the News

May 06, 2007

Ontario Trillium Foundation and La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra team up to promote healthy posture.

      Port Hope – The members of La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra (LJYO) have new silent partners for their concerts – rows of specially designed “Nota” music chairs which promote healthy posture for musicians during their long periods of rehearsal and performance.
      The 40 Nota chairs were purchased this spring as part of a three-year grant from Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), and will be important assets for the LJYO for years to come. OTF representative Jon Tondeur was on hand at the LJYO’s “Sonic Bloom” concert on May 6, to receive the Orchestra’s thanks.
      "This grant allows for the young people in the Orchestra to have the tools they need to best perform in the dynamic world of music," stated Lou Rinaldi, M.P.P. for Northumberland Quinte West. “I wish the La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra my very best and my sincere congratulations in being chosen for this Ontario Trillium Foundation grant."
      “School music students have their own unique aches and pains,” states an article by the Wenger Corporation, manufacturer of the chairs. Most students believe that pain is acceptable in overcoming technical problems, the study notes, but serious or disabling injury often results when dedicated musicians push themselves relentlessly, working on increasingly demanding repertoire.
      The physical stresses on musicians vary greatly according to their different instruments, – violins, flutes, trombones, or double bass. A musician’s chair needs to promote proper spinal column position while also allowing wide freedom of movement, good circulation, and maximum breathing capacity.
      The Nota chairs, designed expressly for musicians, have a narrow convex back, which bows outward toward the seated musician, helping to encourage the natural curve of the spine. Other features of the chair promote a fluid range of movements, and comfort for musicians of widely varying heights – of particular importance to a youth orchestra, where the musicians are growing from month to month.
      The Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Ministry of Culture, receives funds from the government’s charity casino initiative. The Foundation allocates grants to eligible charitable and not-for-profit organizations in the arts and culture, environment, human and social services and sports and recreation sectors. For more information, please visit www.trilliumfoundation.org.