Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Left: Laurice Barnaby (flute), and Andrew Cavell (clarinet), were among the instrumentalists who performed at the Classics In June concert, held in the Ballroom at King's House, on Sunday. Right: José Carlos Oxamendi (cello) in performance at the event. - PHOTOS BY WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
AS THE hot June day finally relented and gave way to a cooler evening, the 2006 rendition of Classics in June got under way at the King's House Ballroom on Sunday. The evening, presented by the Soroptimist International of Jamaica (Kingston), brought the happy coupling of skill and style with a combination of local and foreign, experienced and up and coming performers.
Classics in June, presented under the patronage of Her Excellency the Most Honourable Rheima Holding Hall, unfurled to a beautiful start with a trio of performers Lori Johnson (soprano), Christine MacDonald (contralto) and Stephen Shaw-Naar on piano delivering Leo Delibes' Flower Duet from Lakmé.
Dervan Malcolm played host of the evening which moved under a French accent as it largely comprised pieces from French composers. However, as it was his birthday, two pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were included.
FOUR PIANISTS
The concert featured four pianists. Shaw-Naar, who was the 2001 recipient of the Prime Minister's National Youth Award for Excellence in the Arts, seemed to be the pianist of the evening, though there was no official statement. However, he performed in nine of the evening's pieces, including two solos.
Along with Shaw-Naar were Allison Wallace, Richard Beckford and fifteen-year-old Justin Yapp. Yapp performed two pieces Mozart's Fantasy in D Minor and Jan Ignacy Paderewski's Minuet in G Major which highlighted that he is a young man of impressive talent.
Laurice Barnaby (flute), Andrew Cavell (clarinet), and José Carlos Oxamendi (cello) were the other instrumentalists. Angela Blalock's fantastic soprano rounded out the vocalists of the evening.
BEAUTIFUL RENDITIONS OF SYRINX
The works of Debussy featured heavily during the second half which featured beautiful renditions of Syrinx (which included movement and choreography by Loraine Barnaby along with Laurice Barnaby on flute), Le cathédrale engloutie (Shaw-Naar), L'année en vain chasse l'année (Johnson and Shaw-Naar), and Première Rhapsodie (Cavell and Wallace).
The evening of music flowed toward its conclusion with duets by Blalock and Beckford. The two artfully delivered Gabriel Fauré's Minuet in A Minor and Charles Gounod's Je veux vivre which was to bring the evening to an end with a flourish. However, in keeping with the enthusiastic applause which the performance garnered, Blalock and Beckford added a little brawta to their performance with the Spiritual 'He Got the Whole World (In His Hands)'.
It was a thrilling end to an evening of beautiful music, when French compositions rose up to greet the Jamaican sky.
