New Brunswick·NewAn orchestra program based in Oromocto for children that come from military families is seeing its numbers grow. The program is for kids between 8 and 12 whose parents and guardians work at the Canadian Forces Gagetown base. The program had roughly 40 students when it started in April. Now, it has over 60. Sistema N.B. program aims to give kids skills they can take with them no matter where they liveNipun Tiwari · CBC News · Posted: Nov 11, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 30 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The Sistema N.B. Oromocto Centre recieved funding from Veterans Affairs Canada to extend its music education programs to serve children of military and veteran families. (Aniekin Etuhube/CBC)A new music education program in Oromocto is now helping children of military families learn to play an instrument and experience the joy of being part of a musical orchestra. It’s part of Sistema N.B., a program of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra that offers free, daily, after-school programs for children of military personnel and veterans how to play musical instruments.Gibson is centre director at the Sistema N.B. Oromocto Centre, which opened earlier this year. He said for children in military families moving from place to place, music is a skill they can carry with them wherever they go.“My mom grew up in a military family so I remember stories of her saying every couple of years they had to just sort of pack up and they moved across the country,” Gibson said. The Sistema N.B. Oromocto Centre serves students from Summerhill Street Elementary School, and Hubbard Elementary School, as well as École Arc-en-ciel. The program is not exclusive to children from military families but it is funded by Veterans Affairs Canada and was created with these children in mind. Founded in 2009, Sistema N.B. currently runs programs in 9 different centres in communities across New Brunswick, including Miramachi, Edmunston, Fredericton and Saint John. Centre Director Ian Gibson says the program gives young people skills they can take with them as they move from place to place with their families. (Aniekin Etuhube/CBC)Gibson said children of miltary families often have to move from place to place because of job posting changes or promotions. “This is a skill set that I think they can then take with them,” Gibson said. “Hopefully they will be able to find another program where they can continue this love of music that we’re hopefully giving them.”There are currently 60 students registered in the program — up from about the 40 students who were enrolled when the program began in April. As more students join, the group can explore more styles and sounds.“This year we now have a full concert band sound,” Gibson said. “Because [in April] we only had flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone and percussion.”The program has since expanded to include french horns, more trumpets, and saxophones.“We’re the only program in New Brunswick for Sistema that has saxophones,” Gibson said.“It ties in with the military band tradition.” Kids build confidence, community through musicStudents in the program are currently working through beginner band music. Gibson said as students build their skills they can progress through different levels of musical programming — a progression that could take them far in their music careers. After participating in Sistema after-school programs, students will be able to take part in regional youth orchestras and from there, be able to audition for the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra. Sophia Trepanier, 9, who plays percussion instruments says her parents work at the Gagetown Military Family Resource Centre and she’s had to move three times before, which has been diffcult. (Aniekin Etuhube/CBC)Teaching children how to play musical instruments goes further than teaching a skill, Gibson said. It also builds confidence and offers children a way to make friends and build community in new places.“A lot of kids can succeed in the right environment,” he said.“For some, it’s just seeing that they can do really well at something that they didn’t expect. It’s a huge confidence builder for them.”Nine-year-old Sophia Trepanier’s parents work at the Gagetown Military Family Resource Centre. She said her family has already moved three times in the past, which has been hard.“It’s because I miss all my friends,” she said.Trepanier plays percussion instruments, including the timpani, bass drum, and her favorite — the glockenspiel.“It’s fun to learn all the notes and stuff,” she said. “It sounds nice, if you don’t hit it too hard. It could really hurt your ears if you do.”Tyler Ellis, 10, says his dad is in the military and he’s been a part of the Sistema program for the last 2 years. (Aniekin Etuhube/CBC)Ten-year-old, Tyler Ellis, whose father is in the military, has participated in the Sistema NB program for two years, where he plays the trombone.“The teachers are really nice. The way they teach you is like it makes you learn very fast and there are a lot of instruments,” he said. After practicing over the last two years, Ellis said he’s excited to take his trombone playing to the next level. “Altogether it sounds nice when we get to the better stuff because right now we’re starting at the low level and then we’re going to get higher.” Program aims to create new opportunitiesGibson said the plan is to eventually merge with the Sistema N.B. Centre in Fredericton – which has a larger focus on string instruments – to create the Fredericton Youth Orchestra, comparable to the existing Saint John and Moncton Orchestras. He said overall the goal is to give students skills that can help them thrive in any new environment they step into and also bring new opportunities.“We will get them to a stage and they unfortunately will move on to Ottawa and they will then join the Ottawa Youth Orchestra and hopefully flourish,” Gibson said.“We’ll also get students that have maybe enrolled in that program for a number of years come to us. So it’ll hopefully be a give and take.”ABOUT THE AUTHORNipun Tiwari is a reporter assigned to community engagement and based in Saint John, New Brunswick. He can be reached at nipun.tiwari@cbc.ca.With files from Viola Pruss and Aniekin Etuhube
Children of N.B. military families find community, confidence in orchestra program
