By Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff Reporter 
Reid
VOCALIST CAROLE REID has spent her life in concert and, after years of performing, has released her first CD. The collection of classical songs, released earlier this month, has been appropriately dubbed Carole in Concert.
When The Sunday Gleaner met with her early last week in New Kingston, she was garbed in a bright blue suit which seemed to hint at the lively personality encased within. Her welcoming smile soon appears to be a permanent fixture.
Carole explained that the album's title was not intended to be a reflection of her life on the stage. Instead, it reflects the nature of the recordings. Most of the 13 songs were recorded at the School of Music at the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts and thus have an 'in concert' feel.
Carole's voice has graced many churches and halls across the island. In 1999, the significance of Carole's contribution to Jamaica's music was recognised with a Bronze Musgrave medal from the Institute of Jamaica. She has granted numerous performance requests for concerts and is also a member of the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) Singers, which she joined in 1972.
The Jamaica Musical Theatre Chorale (JMTC) is another beneficiary of her talent and she has accompanied the Glenmuir High and Jamaica College choirs. Carole explains that her active life of singing has much to do with her mother, Vera Reid.
Carole has been a soloist with Christ Church, Vineyard Town, since age 12. Along with singing for her church, she explains that she spent much of her young life trotting behind her mother, who was herself a member of several choirs.
Her romance with classical music, though she has recently begun flirting with contemporary music, also started at a very young age.
"Schubert's Mass, I learnt that when I was yea high," Carole explains. She noted that her introduction to the classics came about because her church is steeped in the classical tradition.
Carole made a decision which might have seemed detrimental for someone as in love with music as she professes to be. She decided that, rather than go to performing Juilliard in the United States and pursue a career in music, she would stay in Jamaica and work at her nine to five, which was in banking at the time. Her reason is that a classical musician would have to emigrate in order to make a living and she was not prepared to do that.
"I don't know that I've regretted that," she says.
Carole explains that she gets to fulfill her passion for singing by performing with her choirs or singing in varying concerts. "I get a lot of satisfaction from singing and people saying they've been blessed by it," she says.
According to her, much to the regret of her friends, money has never been her focus. This attitude may well explain why a recording has been so long in coming despite her popularity, especially among lovers of classical music.
NEW ALBUM
She noted that due to the expense of producing the album, it was a labour of love, in large part because of the encouragement she received from family and friends. "My friends insisted I must do a CD," she said.
The songs selected for Carole in Concert in large part reflect Carole's musical tastes. She explained that she is particularly enarmoured with Holy City: "Everytime I sing it, it's a new experience. Sometimes I even think I see the city." she says with a laugh.
Schubert's Ave Maria, which Carole explains she finds very soothing, got there by the same vehicle. She further explained that most of the songs on the album were selected because they are among her favourite works.
Despite the innumerable performances which have lined her career, Carole reveals something interesting. "I'm sick each time I perform," she says with a laugh. Because of this, she notes that she is a stickler for rehearsals.
Also sticking to her mentor Rex Nettleford's statement that one is only as good as one's last performance, Carole says she takes each appearance seriously.
In preparing for a performance she avoids cold drinks and does not eat. She also makes sure to warm up her voice properly.
To ensure that her precious pipes work, Carole adds one additional special touch prayer. The prayer is to get past that frightful moment when the voice dies despite all preparation.
She notes that this has happened to her once before, during a performance at the Terra Nova Hotel. The rest of the performance went well, but that moment of silence left a lasting mark. "It took me about two months before I could open my mouth again," she said.
OTHER PASSIONS
Though music is a great passion, it is not her only one. A stately floral arrangement sitting on a file cabinet in her office tells the story of another great love. Carole is a member of a Jamaican Ikebana chapter, which is dedicated to the art of Japanese floral arrangement, and has represented the country in Japan. She laughingly states that with her music, management skills and flowers she can always find work.
Her work with flowers and her music have therefore allowed her to engage in another passion travelling. Whether through performances with the NDTC or for personal purposes she has roamed Hawaii, Australia, Russia, Germany, Singapore and China and her sights are now set on Alaska.
Interestingly, one of her fondest memories involved getting the chance to travel and sing. In 1997 she copped two silver medals at the International Eisteddfod competition in South Africa. She closes her eyes with the passionate memory of the event as she speaks. "First it was Africa and then it was an achievement," she explains. "All you saw was people like ants. When I finished singing, the compere, she lift me up in the air."
This memory brings with it a laugh. Carole explained that she had been encourage to enter the Eisteddfod by Dr. Olive Lewin. She noted that she was reluctant at first, because she did not know how she would finance the trip. Nonetheless, she decided to try for it.
"When I want something I put it up on the wall and focus on it. I didn't think it worked but it must." she says.
A woman who has achieved much, her philosophy is simple: "You can be as good as you can be."
