The National University of Samoa's Faculty of Education (F.O.E.) will host a concert called "One Solitary" this coming Saturday for performing arts students to perform.

The live concert is an annual activity that the F.O.E. has been running with the performances reflecting what the students had been learning in the first semester of their music and performance arts course as well as showcasing their talent. 

Music and performing arts lecturer and the founder of the concert, Susau Solomona, told the Samoa Observer that they wanted their students to perform in front of the public for their talents to be recognised.

"Therefore we have been working with the team on training them on how to sing in a choir, finding their singing voices, play instruments, and many more," Mrs. Solomona said.

"Samoa has a rich choral culture, and we need to take it into account with the hope of building these young people so that they will help their churches and communities with singing practices in order to improve church services and so forth."

Mrs. Solomona said the title of the concert was taken from a note in a Christmas card, which focused on the life of Jesus Christ, and is the reason behind every part of the concert including the poetry focusing on events around Jesus' life story. 

As part of the event, guest artists will share the stage with the students, in order to deliver powerful and inspirational stories through the concept of music and poetry, according to the N.U.S. lecturer.

"These well-trained artists have been offering musical training and singing lessons. Classical pianist and our upcoming pianist who has been accompanying music training will also join the program. 

"Through that, it will become an enriching experience for the foundation musicians, an enrichment of what we teach, and an enrichment of our students. 

"Singing or playing instruments like the piano is the strength of other students and most people have earned a lot of money from it to develop their families."

Mrs. Solomona said that there are two different programs for people who want to take up music training, which she said is the formal music for students enrolled in the music course, but other people just join as members of the N.U.S. community program. 

Members of the N.U.S. community program include students who are enrolled full-time in other programs such as nursing but still want to learn how to play musical instruments. 

Emphasising that Samoa needs to look at developing choral education, the N.U.S. lecturer said it will inspire those who have the talent in singing and playing the instruments. 

She added that it is also an encouraging development that F.O.E. students are part of the program, as by the time they start teaching in schools they will be able to build the talent of the students who are interested in music, not only as a career but another way to voice their opinions and thoughts. 

In collaboration with the F.O.E. the concert will be attended by the International Association of Youth and Students for Peace who will give a presentation on mental health. 

"This is very productive because they have been on campus and working alongside the students on their mental health. This is what we do. We create programs and invite groups to talk about the issues that relate to the lives of our students," Mrs. Solomona said.

Asked about the challenges they are facing, she said they do not have enough instruments for students to use in order for the course to be effective. 

For that reason, with the money that will be collected from selling tickets and donations from the guest artists, a portion of that money will be spent on food and transportation. The rest will be used to purchase other instruments for the students who are currently taking up the course as well as future participants. 

She added that raising funds to pay for the venue is another challenge as every venue is costly, even when they use the university's facilities. 

"We managed to buy new instruments that are now on shipment, because of the funds we collected from last year's concert. That is also the aim of the program this year," she said. 

A group of senior musical players will be leaving the country in the near future to fundraise in order to buy a grand piano for the F.O.E. music and performing arts class. The guest artists have made a positive contribution to improving and promoting students' talents in music, according to staff. 

Mrs. Solomona said there are a lot of successful students who have gone overseas and led orchestras in other countries, but they were the ones whom the faculty has been struggling to nurture into the music industry because of the lack of musical experience they had.

The concert will be held at Niule'a Centre of Samoan Studies at the N.U.S at 4 pm on Saturday 22 April 2023. The program is not only a show but for students to learn from experienced musicians and inspire the next generation.