Local talent on display at NIFCA Music finals

It was certainly a night for all to remember as the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) Music finals took centre stage at the Frank Collymore Hall on Sunday night.

One of the highlights of the show had to be the young members of the Coleridge and Parry student choir who received tremendous applause for their two pieces, “Go to Sleep Baby, Go Sleep” and “Millie Gone to Brazil”. The latter was a dramatic piece with an “elderly lady” dressed in a nightgown coming on stage to gossip, finally revealing that ‘Millie gone to Brazil’, whereupon the choir ventured into their song. They were led by their Award winning Music Teacher, Marlon Legall.

The Coleridge and Parry choir are certainly no strangers to the NIFCA stage, being the recipients of awards such as the James Millington Award, the Prime Minister’s Award and the Arden Clark Founder’s Trophy in the past.

Another showcase of young musical talent was the Barbados Cadet Corps Band who showed off their orchestral talents with “Hallelujah” and “Accolade”.

The group consisting of youngsters from 12 to 18 years old, who have received passes in different practical and theoretical examinations in Music from Grades two to eight with the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music, did not just showcase their musical talents, but also the discipline that naturally goes into being a Cadet, even in the way that they entered and left the stage preceding and completing their two songs respectively.

A devout member of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church, Leandro Layne performed two originals on the violin, starting with “Forbidden”, in the first half. This piece was a musical journey into the various and oftentimes contradictory feelings that Adam and Eve could have experienced before, during and after they had eaten from “the tree of knowledge of good and evil”.

In the second half, Layne took to the stage again to perform another Christian-themed musical piece on his violin, this time the piece entitled, “Holy Breath” was centred around the second verse of Genesis chapter one in the Bible, which took the audience on the path that God’s active force and power in action, the Holy Spirit took right before the creation of life.

Frederick Smith Secondary School student, Theres Lambert proved to be a “breath of fresh air” as she showcased not only her singing talent, but also her skills in songwriting and playing the keyboard with an original called “Weirdo”.

Krystal Cole brought a change from the singing, while also displaying her talent in playing a Caribbean musical instrument, as she played “Despacito” and “Feting Family” on the steel pan. Rounding off the night to boisterous cheers and applause were the young members of the Israel Lovell Foundation with a performance of them playing their different musical instruments, drama and rhythm with the African-themed piece, “The Connection”.