Young talent highlighted at Joyful Joyful concert

Officials at the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) are pleased with the turnout of Sunday’s Joyful Joyful Concert held at the National Botanical Gardens.

“We had a lot of moving parts, but in the end, it came together, and I’m very proud of what we were able to accomplish in this short time frame,” said Aisha Butcher, cultural officer for musical organisation at the NCF.

Patrons gathered with chairs and blankets to enjoy the two-hour musical showcase highlighting the talent of mostly young rising stars, the youngest being six years old and a few experienced artistes.

Led by musical Director Dr Joy Knight, the 100-member Barbados National Youth Symphony Orchestra performed new pieces by local arrangers Nicholas Brancker, Tito Gittens, Trumpetboy Entertainment, Steve Sobers and Mark Husbands.

“I enjoyed seeing the orchestra in their element, and seeing all of the young people on stage was definitely a good look for the event. Based on the audience’s reaction and their applause, I could also tell they were very appreciative of what was happening on stage,” Butcher added.

Chief Executive Officer of the NCF Carol Roberts-Reifer also deemed the event a success.

“I think the event was fantastic and achieved our three primary goals – to showcase a wide variety of youth talent, to get people to come out and to give our Youth Orchestra an opportunity to showcase all that they have been doing after months and months of rehearsals,” she told Barbados TODAY on the sidelines.

“Very shortly, we are going to be announcing the rollout of our music in schools programme, which will be headed by Kevin Moore, who is in charge of Music education in schools. While we want to ensure that the youth orchestra is healthy in terms of numbers, what is equally important is the value of this kind of training and discipline in the arts and culture. Whether it is music, literary arts or visual arts, it makes for a well-rounded citizen. Our primary goal is to ensure that students are grounded in good citizenship.”

Among those to take the concert stage was Jasiah Moore, who sang Rise Up by Andra Day. Other National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) stars performed renditions of both local and international songs backed by young musicians Kemal Blackman and Ronel Parris.

Skyy Dowridge sang serenely as she performed Goodness of God, Harmoni Haynes gave a beautiful rendition of Summertime, and Shaneka George lifted the spirits of the crowd with Can’t Give Up Now. Kenola Greenidge serenaded the audience with Feeling Good, while Chelsea Cadogan-Goddard wowed the crowd with her powerful voice as she performed Never Enough, and Joshua Osbourne performed John Lennon’s Imagine.

Mark Husbands’ arrangement of Amazing Grace featured songstress Carol George and Darien Bailey on keys, while Alexandra School student Maya Sobers delivered a fine performance of Rihanna’s Lift Me Up.

Closing out the day’s performances was artiste Ch’an as she paid a tribute to Barbados’ First Lady of Song, the late Carlyn Leacock, with her soulful performance of Love and a Song. (BB)