IN a brief ceremony at the Umana Yana last evening, winners of the first ever National Choral Song Festival were awarded their cash prizes and trophies. First place winner in the Large Groups category, New Amsterdam Secondary School, was awarded a whopping $300,000 and trophy, while runners-up Saska Heraldiers and the Brickdam Cathedral received $200,000 and $100, 000, with trophies.
The elated Messengers, of the East Coast Demerara were the winners in the Small Groups category and took home $200, 000 and their trophy. Receiving the second place cash prize of $125,000 and trophy was the talented Queen’s College J4 Inspiration Choir, that treated the audience to a rendition of ‘His Eye Is On The Sparrow’. The Circle of Love was awarded $75,000 and a trophy for their third place position in this segment.
After a very stirring folk rendition by the Messengers, the event’s coordinator, Andrew Tyndall, addressing the small gathering noted that the festival was initiated to resuscitate choral singing in Guyana. He noted that since Guyana’s rich choral tradition was disappearing, it was the Culture Ministry’s move to host the song festival to promote the singing of national songs, promote national pride, and the beauty of Guyana through music.
He said the festival also provided technical workshops for all the participants, thus giving them the capacity to excel at the finals. He added that similar workshops will be launched in 2013 to sustain and further develop choral music.
Tyndall said that the Culture Ministry will also be looking for new groups to indulge in choral singing this year, adding that in April and May a Musical Arts Festival will be hosted to foster development in the expressive arts.
In his address, Minister Frank Anthony commended the organizers of the National Song Festival for their efforts, noticing that from countrywide comments and responses, the event was a huge success. He said that presentations were of high quality, emphasizing that the festival was actually a springboard in the ministry’s much larger quest for revitalizing music in Guyana.
The minister added that the Culture Ministry had noticed that many Guyanese are incapable of reading music, thus leaving a gap in ‘musical roundedness’. He said that as such, the ministry, not so long ago, saw it fit to open a National Music School.
He said the Ministry had put out a call for interested musicians for the school and was surprised to have received some 125 positive responses. He said while the Brickdam location will not accommodate that amount, the ministry however will work towards accommodating all potential applicants into the programme.
According to the minister, there are hopes of having satellite schools to ensure all Guyanese outside of Georgetown also benefit from their musical initiatives.
Citing the song festival as successful, Minister Frank Anthony informed that the event has now been placed on their official calendar of events, and workshops to further enhance the event will be promoted.
He told the gathering that the ministry is planning to have a song festival that will allow participants to sing songs in the Amerindian languages, making their dialect more accessible.
It is hoped that the first such competition can be staged in September of this year.
The minister informed that in the 2014 staging of the National Choral Song Festival, the winning entries will be recorded and placed on special CDs to ensure the event’s legacy is preserved.
In closing, the minister added that while the ministry would normally sponsor the Health Song, Chutney, Calypso, and Soca Monarch contests, they hope to expand and enlarge all these projects in the near future.