A time to celebrate with Signal Hill

KEEPING a choir together for 40 years is no small accomplishment. The Signal Hill Alumni Choir, (SHAC) having reached this milestone, felt it fitting to celebrate 40 years of championing all styles of music.

And celebrate it did, at the first of its four concert initiatives at the Naparima Bowl, San Fernando, on September 21.

Co-founder and artistic director John Arnold attributed the success and togetherness to being more than a choir, but a family.

The concert was not sold-out, but everyone who attended left the venue contented by the fantastic blend of voices and eclectic three hours of music.

SHAC, which has toured extensively and has left royalty, heads of state, presidents and prime ministers in awe of its harmonious voices, coupled with the colourful ensemble and amazing choreography, chose not to do it alone.

Although quite capable of performing all genres of music, instead of focusing attention on itself, Signal Hill invited the equally adept Southernaires Choir, established since 1975, the St Hillaire Brothers, versatile singer Neval Chatelal and D Panman Joshua Regrello to share in this memorable experience.

From the beginning of its first appearance, giving thanks for the past four decades with a gospel segment, to the finale when it broke away with calypso music, accompanied by the outstanding Joshua Regrello on his tenor pan, and wound its way into the audience, greeting and shaking hands, patrons showed appreciation and expressed their pleasure.

Signal Hill, which has stood out for the past four decades on the musical landscape, dug deep into its repertoire to open its debut celebration concert with the 1984 Musical Festival award-winning piece, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

Not missing a beat in either vocals or skilful movements, the first segment, dedicated to spiritual and gospel also included A Lovely Day.

Continuing the spiritual theme, the St Hillaire Brothers of Point Fortin, took the audience to church, with a repertoire which included, Bridge over Troubled Waters and I Will lift up my eyes to the Hill.

National award winners of the 1973 Hummingbird Gold Medal in the field of service, and the pride of south, the Southernaires Choir earned sustained applause as coloratura soprano Turon Nicholas opened with a pore-raising delivery of Ride on King Jesus. Along with Michelle Dowrich, the duo brought the house down with some theatre, imbibed with comic relief in a duet of Scandalised My Name. The laughter resonated in the auditorium.

John Looney, one of Southernaires members and an accomplished singer himself, also stepped out to deliver a wonderful solo performance of This is the Moment.

Under the direction of musical director Peter Lockhart, the choir, dressed in a predominantly striking red ensemble, also did Psalm 23, along with the Elizabethan Serenade, closing the first half of the show with Ride the Chariot.

Signal Hill opened the second half with the upbeat combination of African, world music, folk and reggae, aptly living up to its tagline, Music that Moves.

While the choirs represented age and experience, cultural ambassador Neval Chatelal, representing youth and the future of music, brought his unique ability to the stage with a combination of genres, demonstrating his versatility.

Singer, songwriter, producer and arranger Chatelal began his repertoire with the male cover version of the well-loved Never Enough from the Greatest Showman. He engaged the audience into helping him sing his soulful rendition of Stand by Me.

He also paid homage to his ancestral East Indian roots with his interpretation of Ras Shorty I’s Om Shanti, Om, telling the audience, “That message in the music tells us who we are as a people and that when we unite together in prayer, we can achieve anything.”

The two-time Chutney Soca Monarch (2018 and 2019) as well as the 2010 Digicel Rising Star, also collaborated with Signal Hill in a choralography of one of his East Indian compositions, further demonstrating his ability to poignantly blend and unify rhythms.

Another youth ambassador who is spreading TT's culture through pan, Regrello also had the audience singing along to his instrumental version of popular calypso tempos on pan.

From Rudder to Stalin, Shadow, Mical Teja’s melodies, Regrello who landed in TT around 2 am from China on the day of the concert, showed his great showmanship, delving into the audience to encourage crowd participation, although that proved not to be necessary from the stimulated audience.

Because of his tight schedule he did not get to rehearse with the choir, but showed his versatility as he joined SHAC in a fantastic collaboration of Mical Teja’s Runaway.

It is the song that resonated and had patrons chipping out of the Bowl singing as they made their way home.

According to MC Brenda Butler, there is no guarantee what Signal Hill, with its vast repertoire, brought to the southern audience, will be bringing at its other two concerts at Central Bank on September 28 and 29. She encouraged the audience to attend or tell a friend.

While the concert series is the primary anniversary initiative, Signal Hill has been celebrating since November 2023 with a series of events that will culminate in a gala awards ceremony to honour those whose shoulders it have been standing on for the past 40 years.

The choir’s anniversary theme 2064: A Musical Odyssey, is all part of its strategic planning for the next 40, while assessing and working towards overcoming challenges the future holds.