N.S. news: Music show teaches reconciliation [Video]

Hundreds of students gathered in the gymnasium at Shipyard Elementary in Sydney for Music Monday – and this year’s music came with a message.

“Our program today was built around the theme of reconciliation,” said Kelli Brewer, arts education consultant for the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education

Two of Monday’s performers were Emma Stevens and Devon Paul, a well-known singer and rapper – respectively – from Eskasoni First Nation.

“Being as focused as I was on music as a kid, music class was a really big thing for me,” Paul said. “To have people come in and do something like this, would have really inspired me at a lot earlier age.”

The Mi’kmaq performers were joined by the Cape Breton Orchestra. Organizers say the idea was to show how people of different cultures could be united through song.

“The message that we hope students take home today is that music is a powerful avenue to express stories, to …