Students of the Barbados Community College’s (BCC) music programme, Springer Memorial School, Alleyne Secondary School and Princess Margaret Secondary School were given the opportunity to interact with popular contemporary jazz group, Huntertones, during

Students of the Barbados Community College’s (BCC) music programme, Springer Memorial School, Alleyne Secondary School and Princess Margaret Secondary School were given the opportunity to interact with popular contemporary jazz group, Huntertones, during an extremely engaging workshop on Friday morning.

During the workshop, which was held in the performing hall at BCC, students were given the opportunity to ask questions and learn about careers in the music world and how to broaden their horizon when looking at careers in music. The Huntertones also exposed them to some of the challenges that usually happened in the music industry and gave some pointers and encouragement to those looking to embark on a life in the music industry.

Gaina Davila, Deputy Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy told The Barbados Advocate that the Embassy was hosting a four country tour, which included St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Barbados and Antigua.

“We’re touring with the Huntertones. The Huntertones is a jazz band and what they’ve done is focussed on mixing jazz with soul and funk to really bring about an adventurous sound that a lot of people could connect to,” she said.

“The purpose of the tour is really to highlight the diversity and the excellence of American music. We’re hoping that during this tour, they’ll be a genuine exchange that happens between the musicians and the people. The idea is that when we’re exchanging culturally, both parties really get something out of it. But at the end of the day, the students will be able to see real life musicians who are excellent and who have toured the world.”

She revealed that when they were in St. Vincent, the group was able to tap into the culture and really connect with the Vincentian audience and there was a warm reception to their music and art.

Based on the feedback from the Barbadian students it was clear that they too gave a warm reception to the Huntertones as the workshop was one of learning from both parties.