Winning Music Festival moments

Over four weeks, at venues in north and south Trinidad, and Tobago, the country enjoyed the sounds of thousands of youngsters and young-at-heart folks. The music festival was a whirlwind of emotion.

On many days, the songs were so touching that members of the audience had to wipe away tears of joy from the corners of their eyes.

There was a highlight of the festival for every possible human emotion.

Worship: Winning the Marionettes Cup for best junior choir, the girls of Bishop Anstey Senior Choir carried listeners away to a cathedral of the soul. As they sang “Sweet Nightingale”, a section of the lower voices sang, the higher voices came sweeping in to blend beautifully.

Rivals St Joseph Convent in “Wonderful Wonderful World” recreated the feel of wind blowing through trees as they drew out their words, “Sing-with-the-wind-in-the-willows”.

Unity: A moment that really touched listeners was when adjudicator Prof Bruce Trinkley asked more than 30 primary school choirs in class 14 to come on-stage and sing ad hoc as one huge combined choir. They sang “One Single Light”.

It really moved the audience to realize that in the midst of all the terrible crime being reported daily, here were a thousand children all singing in unison of a higher ideal, truly a thousand points of light to give our nation hope.

Joi d’ vivre: The adult singers at night sang their folk songs with gusto showing their sheer joy of being alive. St Anthony’s Senior Folk Choir had a ball as they shook and sang, with expressive faces and hands-on-hips leaning left and leaning right.

Humour: With the folk songs “Linstead Market” and “John Boulay”, the youngsters of Signal Hill Primary School exuded such good humour and energy that they made the audience forget where they were, drop their Queen’s Hall decorum, and jump out of their seats and cheer!

Togetherness: Arima Girls RC School Instrumental Ensemble had two girls on tenor pans coordinated beautifully with three girls playing recorder, all underlined by two pals on bass pans.

Courage: The lot of the solo singer was like that of the batsman at the wicket.

It’s you and you alone, and what courage was shown by our youngsters. Feryal Qudourah made her name as the country’s top vocalist aged 13 to 15 years, once even singing a song in German! Tahira Osborne was likewise the top solo vocalist in the 16 to 19 age group as she made the taxing “Virgin Slumber Song” look effortless.

In addition to young talent, the Music Festival had performances at night by veterans like the Lydians, Malick Folk Performers and Jeunes Agape.3