As the Guyana Music Festival sounded its closing notes yesterday, there was more than sufficient evidence among the children and young people that there is a new generation of performers waiting to emerge.
Yesterday afternoon the Children’s Championship Session was held and the competitions took place in five categories. These were the vocal solo, best verse speaking, instrumental solo, instrumental duet and choral championships.
This time, the youths were able to perform in front of a fair-sized audience, who gathered in the Bishops’ High School Auditorium. The majority of the audience was dominated by parents who were supporting their young ones.
The support seemed to have the desired effect as several crowd pleasing performances were delivered.
In the verse speaking competition Bishops’ High School Student Prudence Julien delivered a convincing delivery of Rudyard Kipling’s “If”, which won over the audience. Her delivery was unmatched and she seemed to capture the different moods and tone in the poem excellently. After the competition, Julien told this newspaper that she enjoyed the challenge of participating in the festival and said that she even had to overcome her initial dislike of the poem.
An excellent performance was also delivered by Bishops’ High School Student Vania Legall who recited John Agard’s “Palm Tree King”.
In the choral championship, the Bishops’ High copped the first prize in “choral speaking” with an entertaining recital of Paul Keens Douglas’s “Panman”. The resounding applause as the students left the stage spoke volumes.
The children from the Green Acres Primary School also captured the hearts of the crowd as they delivered a well-received rendition of the Martin Shaw’s “Song of the Music Makers.”
Meanwhile, in the vocal solo championship, Hilary Bose of Marian Academy copped first prize with a solid performance.
Jamaal Skeete captured first prize in the instrumental solo championship as he delivered a piano rendition. He later teamed up with Joshua Gittens to cop first prize in the instrumental duet championship.
After the competition, prizes were handed out to the different participants and the winners.
The session closed with a sterling steel pan rendition delivered by the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School Steel Orchestra. This group had emerged victorious in the Steel Band School Contest held on Friday, and demonstrated to the audience exactly why this was so.
The Guyana Music Festival concluded last evening with the Adult Championship Session.
