The head of the Ministry of Education is optimistic about the future of the country's national orchestra, especially after the opening of the Samoa Arts and Culture Centre.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture (M.E.S.C.), Aeau Chris Hazelman, told the Samoa Observer in an interview on Thursday that as the head of the Ministry, he is already reaping the benefits.

He said the development of the national orchestra is on track and he sees it as "building art from the heart", especially after the Government's decision to house the orchestra at the new China Government-funded Centre at Malifa.

"I am a mere 13 weeks into my job as C.E.O. but I am reaping the rewards for the orchestra. It was created in 2013. Ten years ago the vision was born to create a classical orchestral music podium for Samoa," he said.

"I am blessed to be looking at the fruition of those ten years in the making. The national orchestra used to be housed in a small old heritage building here. 

"But now it has all the gimmicks and modern requirements thanks to the Government of China for the donation of the Culture center, and also to the previous government for this vision.

"I am also thankful that the new Government is very supportive of the Culture Center so the orchestra is in good hands and can only get better. It is a fantastic initiative."

The next step for the national orchestra's development is quality performances at the centre at Malifa, according to Aeau, who added that any performance in the centre has to be of good quality.

"Now the dream is to perform quality performances, to step up our game so if you want to perform in the Culture center, you have to produce quality performances," he said.

"It looks like the passion of our youth is taking us to unexpected heights. What is interesting to me is that while there is hip hop, rap, and other modern influences, these youth opted to learn the classics. That is a wonderful thing to see."

The official opening of the Centre in December last year made a big impression on the Ministry's C.E.O. who said he was moved by the sound, lighting, and quality of the stage 

"Because of the sounds, the lighting, the quality of the stage, when Benjamin Solomona sang, I was very moved.

"Perhaps one day we will have a Samoan from our shores playing in the next Avatar background music in Hollywood."

However, while all appears well for the national orchestra and its new-found home, Aeau said he remains concerned about how the Ministry will fund the maintenance of the musical equipment as well as the Centre.

"There is a specific room just for the orchestra. The equipment is not cheap. For instance, there are violin strings made of horse hair. If those get torn, it will cost a lot to replace," he said.

"Part of the training for the kids who are playing in the orchestra is to keep clean and maintain the musical equipment and the orchestra space." 

Another example of costs they will incur include the paper that is used to write musical notes added Aeau. 

"This means that we will need to keep improving to justify the need for financial help with maintenance and sustaining it," he said.

There are also two groups for the orchestra: the youth orchestra and the junior orchestra. The former comprised older kids while the latter was made up of children between 6 and 17 years of age. 

It is understood that older children were no longer in school and were looking for something to do as well as younger ones usually from underprivileged families. 

Aeau then talked about his definition of the different art forms: "I don't like to use the term non-academic learning. No, as an educator I believe that everything is learning.

"So we know that with art, including music, it is something we have to feel to appreciate it. Building art from the heart is what we are doing with the orchestra, and it is important.

"We have a lot of violinists, bases, double bass, and pianos, but there is more in the plans to come."

Samoan heritage and talent in singing were also not lost on the top bureaucrat, who recalled some of the pioneers in Samoan music.

"We have also seen many great talents in the past and even now who master the art of music. Now we have the likes of Sula and Tanuvasa whose contribution to music cannot go unnoticed because of their passion," he said.

Aeau also mentioned the late Jerome Grey and other older artists whose music he says cannot be duplicated.