Tina Fedeski

OTTAWA – Nine-year-old Emily Yu plays the cello like a dream, but learning music wasn’t a reality for the young girl just nine months ago.

“It’s very expensive,” said her dad, Xiaofu Yu, of the instrument and lessons.

Private lessons in classical music can cost thousands of dollars a year, not to mention the hefty price tags that comes with instruments.

But this week’s Global National Everyday Hero, Tina Fedeski, wasn’t about to let money stand in the way of music for Ottawa’s inner city kids.

“Playing classical music in England was still rather an elite thing to do,” said Fedeski, who grew up playing the flute in a youth orchestra. “And I was thinking, it was such a shame that all children didn’t have the opportunity to do this.”

Inspired by a music program started in the slums of Venezuela, Fedeski started the Leading Note Foundation – a musical charity that gives 150 children from lower-income neighbourhoods music lessons and instruments to use for free.

Kids learn music in an orchestra-setting, taught by volunteers, and using donated instruments.

But music isn’t all they are learning. Tina’s goal is to help the mini-musicians learn discipline, self-confidence and how to build community.