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I love watching them learn when they are getting into the mode of being curious,” music educator Philippe LeBlanc says enthusiastically of his elementary-aged students at École-sur-mer in Summerside and École Évangéline in Abrams Village. “Teaching them different styles of music is like trying to teach them a pulse—you want to show them everything in this world with a pulse.”
Philippe did not have the benefit of the kind of teacher he has become. He began his musical studies when he was eighteen—inspired to take up flute by seeing a Jethro Tull concert. After a preparatory year before university studies, to “bring things up to snuff to gain admission,” he knew he was on the right path. “I liked it so much. I wanted to learn, and I was fascinated by what I was learning. But it was very hard work.”
Work got harder when he graduated into his first teaching job in the Evangeline region of PEI—moving here from Moncton—and, in the same year, became father of twin daughters.
“When I came to PEI, traditional Acadian culture was not alien to me, but I was more into jazz, listening to that. Here was more a fiddling community…. Eddie Arsenault was the fiddler of the area, and he's an autodidacte, but he's a very good one—a really well-learned musician. And that really touched me.
“I thought, ‘I'll learn some of these fiddle tunes on my flute.' And I learned to really like the music,” says Philippe. “The girls grew up in that environment, and they really grew well. And now, that's what my daughters play.
“In fact, they are living off their music now,” he notes with pride. (Both Philippe's daughters, Pastelle and Emanuelle, are members of the energetic traditional band Vishten.)
While he says he is “always in the background” of his daughters‚ musical careers, Philippe himself has not stopped developing his musicianship; he has continued to play the flute and explore the same diverse range of music he tries to introduce to students. Recently, he has formed a trio, with Brad Fremlin (piano) and Rick Tersteeg (cello), to work up new material and fresh arrangements. “I've always loved trios. I love that format,” he says.
Philippe is excited by the way the Acadian tradition has expanded and embraced new musical ideas. “The quality of everything is a lot better now,” he says. “We've created a cultural community here, always with an objective of training the young people, improving the knowledge of music.
“They all had the musicality, but to train the ears and refine the sound has been the challenge. Rhythmically, it's hard to beat the Acadians in this region!
“Of course, there's always room for improvement,” Philippe says, “We're not short of ideas—but we're sometimes short of trainers, those to pass it on.
“But,” he continues, “the nice thing about this community—as soon as someone learns something, they are willing to teach it. That's what's vibrant here.”
In a community of musically and rhythmically gifted folks, avid for teaching and learning, it's no surprise Philippe has felt welcome. “Careerwise, I've very much liked working on PEI. I created whatever was there to make the job fit what I thought it should become, and now I teach the second generation of kids,” he says. “Their parents pay a bit more attention,” he adds jovially.
He hopes that parents and students both will grow in appreciation for what music education offers. “Students are learning, but the whole process is changing,” he says. “A student has more knowledge than 25 years ago, but how does he handle the information in his hands? What does he do with it?” Learning music, Philippe believes, is essential. “The pride of learning an instrument—learning to do something well, in harmony with others in a group, creating beautiful sounds, evoking emotions—that is what music is about.” These are skills he sees as vital for “troubleshooting in life,” and his experience shows they also add vitality to whole communities.