Signal Hill Alumni Choir 40th anniversary concert series begin at Naparima Bowl

For 40 years Signal Hill Alumni Choir (SHAC) has been mesmerising audiences, both locally and abroad, with its magical music, amazing choreography and costuming.

To celebrate this significant milestone, SHAC has set aside an entire year, from November 2023 to November 2024, to host a series of events under the theme – 2064: A Musical Odyssey.

Included in these happenings is a series of four concerts, themed Music that Moves, featuring a star-studded cast of choirs that are also 40 and over. They include the Lydian Singers, Marionettes Chorale, Love Movement, Southernaires Choir and Music Amateurs of Tobago. These choirs will be performing along with versatile individuals and groups, in Trinidad and in Tobago over the next three weekends.

Naparima Bowl, San Fernando, is venue for the first concert on September 21, from 6.30 pm.

The other three concerts will be held at Central Bank Auditorium on September 28 and 29 and at Shaw Park Complex, Tobago, on October 6.

This final concert is being held under the patronage of President Christine Kangaloo and will feature Benjai, Stephanie Joseph, Lynette Louis, Jaime Ramsey and Music Amateurs Choir.

For its first concert, SHAC has teamed up with a lovely mix of the voices from the Southernaires Choir, one of the south’s leading choirs which is well known for its vast repertoire.

Alongside Southernaires will be versatile pannist Joshua Regrello and singer Neval Chatelal. The St Hilaire Brothers will also bring the gospel genre to the stage, in a style reminiscent of the four-men vocal groups, like the Temptations, from the late 1960s and 1970s.

Media and marketing consultant Caroline Ravello, an "honorary Signalite," agreed the brothers “bring that nostalgia, beautiful voices and harmonies.”

She said the inclusion of pan as part of its concert repertoire was a deliberate action by artistic director John Arnold to show support for the now formally declared national instrument of TT.

While there was a desire to have both Regrello and Chatelal perform at the four concerts, their international schedules have prevented this from happening.

“These two young men are keeping the culture alive. Both Neval and Joshua perform internationally. In fact, Joshua who was in the United States for a concert with Vaughnette Bigford recently, is in China promoting TT culture and will be back on Friday. He will be missing rehearsals but will be here for the concert.”

Renowned for its choralography and movement in making the music visual, SHAC is promising to live up to the Music that Moves theme, with an expansive range of genres from jazz to gospel, calypso and soca, reggae, world music, as well as folk.

Singer Brenda Butler will be on stage, lending her vocal cords this time around as the hostess.

Explaining the concept behind the anniversary theme, 2064: A Musical Odyssey, Ravello said, “It is based on the promise for another 40 years, using the first 40 to project another 40.

“We are looking at the future of the choir. It speaks to succession planning for the future of the choir and the music. By 2064 we will not be here, but we are looking at how AI would have impacted music, music production. Where would chorale work be in the next 40 years and who would sustain it.”

Presently there are only three surviving members of the original SHAC which was formed in 1984. They are Arnold, who is mentoring Gilda Williams to succeed him, Georgenia Peterkin, the choreographer responsible for the amazing footwork of the group, and singer Maria Jack Rodriguez.

While still based in Tobago and membership consists primarily of Tobagonians, over the years the choir has opened to accepting gifted members from Trinidad.

The year-long celebration kicked off on November 26, 2023, with Christmas Again: Songs we Sing concert at Daaga Auditorium, UWI St Augustine Campus.

This followed an interfaith thanksgiving service on March 3 at Shaw Park Complex, a sports and family day event at Buccoo Integrated facilities on May 31, as well as the ongoing 40th Anniversary Retrospective multi-media exhibition at Heritage Library, Nalis, Port of Spain. This exhibition opened on September 17 and will run until October 4.

SHAC will host a live session outside Nalis at 3 pm on September 27.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the choir will host a secondary school cultural exchange for approximately 300 visual and performing arts (VAPA) CSEC and CAPE students.

Ravello said this exchange to be held at Upper El Dorado Community Centre, Tunapuna, will serve as a practicum, exposing students to the art of music making, choreography, costuming, what goes on behind the scenes, preparation for travelling for performances, as well as marketing of performance.

A similar cultural exchange for Tobago Secondary School students will be held on October 4 in Tobago, in collaboration with the Tobago House of Assembly.

The 40th anniversary celebration will end on November 16, with a gala award and appreciation dinner at the Magdelena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, Tobago.

Tickets are available from queenshalltt.com/events/, Seon’s Bar, Royal Road, San Fernando, Wack Radio 90.1fm.

For more info: call John Arnold – 355-1809, Dexter Trim – 688-1808 or Caroline Ravello – 377-3757.