Golden Hands shines at Champions in Concert

YOUNGSTERS from Golden Hands Junior Steel Orchestra truly delivered the goods on Saturday night at the Champions in Concert put on by the Music Festival South Central Association at SAPA, San Fernando. The pauses of silence and the gentle fades were as just as vital as the notes deftly played by the solos, trios and ensembles of the Golden Hands. Vanessa Headley-Brewster directed the magic.

Impossible Dream evoked waves gently tickling a Caribbean beach, then swelling into a warm embrace and finally waves of pure love.

Golden Hands surely evoked cherry blossoms lightly bobbing on the breeze, or snowflakes lightly drifting in the air, in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.

Innocence, loneliness, longing, nostalgia, then alienation and reconciliation, all seemed to flow from their pan sticks. It truly captured the many moods of the 1983 David Bowie movie of the same name whose villain, a Japanese guard harsh towards prisoners of war was ironically portrayed by song composer Ryuichi Sakamoto who died last year. Golden Hands had won the Pan Trinbago Trophy and Lisa Wickham Challenge Trophy for Impossible Dream.

Moreso, Golden Hands had won the Etienne Charles Trophy and TTMF Trophy for Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence.

Anaya Chinapoo thrilled with her flair for the late great Trinidad and Tobago pianist Winifred Atwell's Jubilee Rag, as Golden Hands first soloist, who had won the Liam Teague Trophy for best under-15 pan soloist. Golden Hands' Jeremy Greene kept alive the memory of pan icon Jit Samaroo, skilfully playing his Pan Parandero, which had won Greene the Fernandes Distillers Trophy.

Each member of the Golden Hands Trio (winners of the Exim Bank Trophy) was doing their own thing but it all blended beautifully to portray Central Park West by US jazz saxophonist John Coltrane (1926-1967). Teon and Toni Lewis played Armando's Rhumba which had won them the Phyllis Sinanan Trophy.

Teon did a solo of Fantasie by Gabriele Faure which had copped him the BP Trophy and Steve Achaiba Cup.

Vocalists on the night were greatly aided by hand-held and standing microphones which helped produce the most audible performances of the whole festival, despite SAPA bring bigger than the Naparima Bowl and Queen's Hall, the venues used for competition.

Naparima Girls School, directed by music teacher Reanna Edwards-Paul, did the poignantly pacifistic World is a Rainbow.

They had won the Joyce Spence Trophy and a TTMA Trophy.

The Prescon choir – comprised of St Joseph's Convent, San Fernando, supported by Presentation College, under teacher Samantha Joseph – gave the sweetest-ever performance of Harry Belafonte's Turn Around. They evoked parents' sweet sorrow at the quick passage of years as their baby grows up into a young woman.

The strong protective voices of the boys were cradling as they began, "Where are you going my little one, little one?"

The convent girls so softly sang, "Turn around and you're two, turn around and you're four."

The boys and girls voices sweetly blended, "Turn around and you're a young girl going out of the door." Heart-rending!

Prescon switched gears for the lively parang, Ave O Maria Ave, for which the audience joined in by clapping them as they danced off stage singing.

Prescon had won the Sybil Callender Trophy.

The convent trio of Tianna Caesar, Celeste Greenidge and Elizabeth Ramesar gave an actually enjoyable performance of The Gentle Maiden for which they had won the Carmen Carter Trophy, with trios previous in the competitive period having sounded really difficult to get just right.

Best buddies Arianna Reefer and MacKenzie Roberts, in elegant red dresses, gave a polished performance of the Lazy Man song which originated from a Chinese poem over 1,000 years old.

They wonderfully portrayed the humour, yet lost life opportunities, of a man's laziness. They had won the Soroptomist International San Fernando Trophy.

Melody Nicholas performed two of her winning sons. First was The Cupboard by Walter de la Mare and Dorothy Purke for which she won the RF Dieffenthaller Trophy for best seven-ten girl vocal soloist. Secondly she sang Ras Shorty-I's lament-laden song, Push The Creator Out, by which she had topped the south-central calypso solos for her age group.

Kiyoshi Lawrence-Marshall sang the nonsense song, Fishing, by Shena Fraser, for which he had won the Lindy-Ann Bodden-Ritch Trophy as best seven-ten boy vocalist.

Syre Hutton sang Sailing, as over-11 best boy vocalist, by which he had won the Diane Seukeran Trophy, its sponsor, the former government minister was in the audience.

Ziara Ali of the singing group The Trebles, gave a powerful performance of On The Good Ship Lollipop, once made famous by Hollywood child star Shirley Temple, to win the Joan Yuille-Williams Trophy. Kareena Singh sang The Mouse In The Wainscot which had won her the Gretta Taylor Trophy for best 13-15 girl vocal solo.

Reigning Mr San Fest Josiah Ferrier sang a spirited Gifts by James Thompson by which he had won the TTMA Solo Trophy.

Vishal Ramsubhag was gently masterful on piano playing the flowing waltz, Valse Etude, by William Gillock as south central's top under-19 piano soloist.

The pacey programme also included performances by adult singers. Several Prescon pupils rose to give a standing ovation to Victoria Griffith after she had really hit the high notes in singing You Can Tell The World and a song written by Mozart in 1786 in his opera The Marriage of Figaro.

She had won the Gatcliffe Cup and Ann Fridal Cup.

Kadeem Monsegue and Bertille Hunte as a duet sang Agony by Stephen Sondenheim, which had won them the Evans Memorial Trophy and Fitzgerald Harewood Trophy.

Monsegue also sang the traditional spiritual Steal Away To Heaven which had won him the TTMA Trophy, ffrench Trophy and Myers Shield.

Hunte sang You'll Be Back by Lin-Manuel Miranda, which had won him the Oris-Job Caesar Trophy. Kevin La Var sang He Reigns which had won him the Evening News Trophy.