IN one of the greatest moments of her life, cultural icon Ms. Norma Romalho Bacchus was honoured Tuesday by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for her dedication and long and distinguished contribution to the development of the arts and music in Berbice.

The simple ceremony saw Mrs. Bacchus and her husband, popular travel agent Mr.  Jim Bacchus, being guests of honour at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street, here in the city, where the award was conferred by Secretary of the Music Teachers Association and representative of the Woodside Choir, Mrs. Marilyn Dewar, who did the honours on behalf of the Ministry of Culture.
Gracing this auspicious occasion with his presence was Mr. Vic Insanally, Managing Director of Guyenterprise, at whose initiative the iconic music figure was honoured.  The Woodside Choir was also amply represented, as was the Music Teachers Association; and there was a multitude of other close friends of the Bacchuses.
The octogenarian couple, who has been resident in the United States for the last 35 years, has come home for a brief vacation.   They now reside in Freeport, New York, where they are closely bonded with their children and grandchildren.
With her husband by her side, the award winning musician who has done Guyana proud through the years beamed when the honour was bestowed upon her.
Expressing gratitude to the organizers, she admitted the occasion was a rarely delightful and defining moment for her.  “I am very happy to have been honoured for my contribution to music in Berbice.  “Over the years, seeing others’ works being recognized, I sometimes wondered what (had) happened to me,” she modestly asserted with a shy smile.
Mr. Jim Bacchus added that the recognition of his wife’s work was something to which she had always looked forward, and so, “for her, this was a great and exciting moment.”
Mrs Norma Romalho Bacchus was  presented with a plaque, ‘A Book of 100 Folk Songs of Guyana’, and a DVD of the Woodside Choir’s Concert.
A celebrated musician, Mrs Norma Romalho Bacchus, whose name is now indelibly etched in the annals of history, is today the last surviving individual from a team of distinguished musicians accorded the distinctive honour of participating in the selection of  the National Anthem on the attainment of Guyana’s Independence. “But unfortunately,” her husband says, “she was the only member of the panel of judges for the National Anthem who never received a national award.”
Born in New Amsterdam, the capital of Region Six, Norma as a young girl displayed a talent for the piano, which was quickly recognized by her parents Alphonso and  Leone Romalho.  Her mother was also a pianist.  Her parents soon enrolled her with Mrs. Ruby Mc Gregor LRSM; LTCL LRAM, the outstanding Berbice musical legend.
In the words of Jim Bacchus, reading his wife’s biodata which he had prepared: “Mrs Mc Gregor imparted in her (Norma) knowledge of the keyboard to carry on the Berbice tradition of musical art. She achieved distinction in every grade up to, and including, the eighth grade, which qualified her to be the recipient of the Phillip Pilgrim Memorial Harp, having had the highest marks in the country.
“In 1955, she acquired her Licenciate of the Royal Schools of Music of London. (LRSM).”
“Apart from her musical education, she also achieved her academic education at the Ursaline Convent School, where she was the only student to write music as a subject at the Senior Cambridge overseas examinations.  She was later to become a music teacher at the Roman Catholic Carmelite Nuns’ Preparatory School, where, under her tutelage, the school won many firsts in their choir and action songs at the National Music Festival.

“Among her other distinguished achievements in the field of music were:

•    Her participation in the British Guiana Music Festival in 1952, for which she made headlines in the newspapers of the day.   She won the pianoforte solo and pianoforte duet with Cecily Hoyte, and was also awarded National Champion for Instruments, with the highest marks in the Festival.
•    Outstanding performance on the NAMS Choir under the baton of her first music teacher, Ms. Ruby Mc Gregor.
•    In the 1954 Music Festival, she obtained first place with Doreen Mc Gregor for piano duet, and second place with Joyce Laljee.
•    Following her piano performances in 1956, she was appointed Berbice representative for the festival, replacing Mrs. Mc Gregor, who was leaving for the United Kingdom.
•    In 1956, she emerged first with Moses Telford in the piano duet.
•    In 1962, she was recognized by the Guyana Graphic as one of ten women in the nation to have made a sterling contribution to the nation as a whole, and Berbice in particular.
•    In 1962, she was offered a scholarship by the British Council to further her music career in the United Kingdom, but she turned in down and opted for marriage.
•    She is reputed to have played a significant role in the cultural life of New Amsterdam and Berbice; and continued to accompany artistes and choirs, and trained two winners of the Ovaltine Musical Talent Programme, which was sponsored by Radio Demerara.
•    In 1966, she was accorded the distinctive honour to participate in the selection of the National Anthem for the new nation of Guyana.
•    For several years, Norma was organist for the Church of the Ascension in Berbice
•    On several occasions, she was nominated to entertain dignitaries visiting Guyana, including Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Phillip.
•    Following the closure of the Carmelite School where she taught music, Government appointed Mrs. Bacchus the Music Mistress at Berbice High School, where she taught music and dancing until the time she migrated to the USA.
•    After migrating, she taught music in the United States at Our Lady of Lorreto School, as well as the Hampstead High School adult education classes.
•    In 1986, the Guyanese Musicians and Entertainers Association of America presented Mrs. Bacchus with a plaque to honour her contribution to music and the arts.