MONTEGO BAY, St James — The Cornwall College School Band recently received a donation of a drum set from a past student of the Montego Bay institution and, while music teacher Robert Green welcomes the addition, he says they are still some way from having all the pieces they need.

On March 2, 2026 Albert Spence, a 1989 graduate, handed over the equipment in a brief ceremony at the school’s chapel saying they were hoping to spearhead “a comprehensive revamping of the school’s performing arts programme aimed at developing a sustainable cultural environment in which creatively inclined students can fully realise their potential”.

Spence said: “This initiative will provide structured training, mentorship, and performance opportunities across disciplines such as music, drama, dance, and technical production. Our goal is to cultivate excellence, discipline, cultural awareness, and career pathways within the creative industries.”

While welcoming the gift, Green, himself a past student, said the lack of enough musical instruments for members of the band was holding them back.

“We have students who are very talented, but we are lacking resources, but now that we have a drum set this will really pushes students who can get the chance to practise and better their skills.”

Green shared with the Jamaica Observer a list of what the items they school did not have, explaining that, while not exhaustive, the acquisition of these equipment would go a far way in building out the programme to meet the identified needs.

“So we are currently out of speaker boxes, we have keyboards, but they’re like practice keyboards, they are not professional keyboards that the students can be trained, sound wise. We don’t have a bass guitar and we would love if we could get a bass amp as well,” he said, “We have a guitar, and we have a few wind instruments [with] which would need some technical assistance.”

Green, who has been at the school in varying capacities since February 2025, said not having the proper instruments has held back the development of the raw talent many of the students have displayed.

He added that there is interest among the student population to get to the point at which they can make public performances.

“For me, however, I think it would be very much unfair to send out unprepared students to embarrass themselves. So once we get equipment and they’re trained and skilled enough, then I’ll try to get them into events and also to host events as well,” he explained.

Spence said they understood that the vision of making the school’s band better was not the job of a few, “As such, we will actively seek the support of our old boys’ association and broader alumni network to provide mentorship, funding, and industry linkages.

“We also intend to pursue strategic partnerships with leading cultural institutions, notably the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, as well as collaborate with other institutions to support their cultural endeavours while strengthening our own programme,” he said.

A view of Cornwall College (Photos: Philp Lemonte)