Tobago’s good showing at Music Festival

RICHARDSON DHALAI

TOBAGO was well represented at yesterday’s Music Festival as Scarborough Secondary School won the coveted Lillian F. Knaggs trophy in the Secondary Schools Folk Song Choirs category. Tobagonian gospel soloist Kymoy Noray was adjudged winner of the Merle Albino de Coteau trophy in the Contemporary Religious Solo category.

The competition was held at Naparima Bowl, San Fernando and attracted a large number of supporters who had gathered to witness their favourite artistes compete. They were not disappointed as the musical talent on display caused a member of the adjudicating panel, Dr Richard Tang Yuk, to describe the performances as “extremely entertaining.”

His observation was underscored by Scarborough Secondary School choir’s performance of Every Time Ah Pass and Coconut Woman, which completely wowed the crowd, by not only their singing prowess but also by their energetic movement.

And it was their movement which was described by Tang Yuk as “having so much joy in their performance” which separated them from the other two choirs – Holy Name Convent folk choir and St Stephens College choir.

The choreographed-style performance also spread to the Naparima College Tassa Ensemble which won the TTMFA trophy in the Tassa Drumming Ensemble category. They combined the scintillating sounds of the tassa with interchangeable movements which witnessed performers playing each other’s instruments. “Their tassa drumming was extremely involved and so much joy in their performance that they would have won even without the choreography,” Tang Yuk said of their performance. Meanwhile, Noray who sang Precious Lord, was adjudged as having reproduced the “emotion of the song” by her style and sincerity. Noray received her trophy from Zalayhar Hassanali, wife of late former President Noor Hassanali.