If you’ve been out and about in Saskatoon’s downtown lately, you’ve likely spotted posters with sculptures of a conductor, in various poses, made by tiny hands. It’s the work of Grade 1 students at Saskatoon’s Brevoort Park School. These works of art were made as part of a poster series from artist Monique Martin and her Bach at School project in partnership with SK Arts and the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra.

“So many people coming together to make something beautiful, it’s the same thing with these projects”

“A teacher had approached me a while ago to come up with an idea. I love the symphony, so many people coming together to make something beautiful, it’s the same thing with these projects” says Martin. “Every month, the students would be treated to a visit by an SSO musician. We created art in response; drawings, paintings, silkscreen prints, and sculpture to reflect what we learned from them.”

The posters, a new set each month, have been on display this year. The sculptures in June’s series are of SSO guest conductor Judith Yan. Yan visited the school and shared what she does in the world of classical music.

“It was very exciting to be working with 250 up and coming artists. We talked about conducting and then two students got to try it for themselves,” says Yan. “It went off brilliantly and it was one of the highlights of music making for me of the season.

“Once the posters went up, they were buzzing with pride.”

After Yan’s visit, Brevoort Park Grade 1 students set to work on creating sculptures of Yan doing her thing.

“They were super excited trying to make her look like she did in the performance,” says Martin. “When we put it on the stands to take the poster photos, they were amazed. For many of them, this is a chance to remove the barriers and just create. Once the posters went up, they were buzzing with pride.”

“Oh my gosh! That’s the biggest honour of my entire life.”

When she saw the posters that were about to go up all over the city, Yan was flattered.

“Oh my gosh! That’s the biggest honour of my entire life. To have all the different versions, the smiles, the head, the hair… My heart burst,” says Yan. “I feel very lucky to have been a part of project that brings music to life.”

Yan is excited to see the works in person. She’ll be visiting the city June 18^th and plans on a tour of the posters with Martin to see the students’ work.