Love So Amazing to mark Love Movement's 50 yrs

This year the Love Movement celebrates its 50th anniversary of “healing hearts and changing lives, one note at a time."

With gratitude, it said it was well known and recognised in TT as the Love Movement Trinity of Choirs.

The Love Movement has been honoured on many occasions, both nationally and abroad for its tremendous contributions to social development, community service and the culture of TT.

A release said the Love Movement’s "ministry of love" began in 1972, when Bernadette Laughlin-Scott, founder and musical director, recognising a need, decided to use her God-given musical talents to raise funds for the less fortunate, while spreading the gospel of God’s unconditional love.

What started out 50 years ago with a group of 15 young women, members of her church choir, has over the years grown into this trinity of choirs. From a small choir over five decades ago, to the life force of hundreds of young people, the release described the Love Movement is a ray of hope and a light in the darkness of today’s world. It said it was is a source of fellowship for many teenagers seeking a sense of purpose and an opportunity for artistic expression.

Described in the release as an entity motivated by love, it has 170 members in the Senior Choir, the Love Movement Republic Bank Youth Outreach Group and the Lights of Love Children’s Choir.

The Youth Outreach Programme, born in 1991, offers holistic and social development to all members, through the medium of the performing arts and spiritual guidance. This is said to have helped to positively change the lives of thousands of “at-risk” youth.

This mentoring programme continues to help what the release described as "many disadvantaged young people" who desperately need guidance and direction in life. The success of the Love Movement’s mission to “heal hearts and change lives, one note at a time” is reportedly evident at their many concerts.

The creative potential of its members is moulded into performances described as visually stunning, with costumes, choreography and theatre, said to be compared by many to the best of Broadway.

To mark its golden anniversary, the Love Movement will host a series of concerts, Love so Amazing, at Queen’s Hall, St Ann's, from October 7-16, which will feature all three choirs.

Love So Amazing will be a concert for the entire family. The programme will begin with the entire cast singing the Love Movement's theme song, Movement of Love, followed by songs of praise and thanksgiving to God for His many blessings.

The second half of the show will feature the Love Movement Republic Bank Youth Outreach Group, with popular songs from the movies, entitled Cinemagic, with choreography by Stephanie Carrington and Jade Jones. These two youth choreographers have grown up in the Love Movement from the Children's Choir – Lights of Love to the Youth Outreach Group and now the Senior Choir.

The Senior Choir will then take its audiences down memory lane with some of the world's favourite and nostalgic songs from Broadway musicals: 50 Years of Broadway. The choreography for this section was the brainchild of two members of the choir, Anneisha Skerritt-Wells and Janelle Spencer-Lewis.

Skerritt-Wells was a founder member of the Lights of Love and has been part of all three of the Love Movement choirs over the years.

The Lights of Love Children's Choir will showcase selections from Disney’s most recent and popular children’s musical Encanto, which took the world by storm. The excitement and fun of the children at rehearsals is reportedly infectious and will surely be a treat for the younger members of the audience.

The Love Movement will pay tribute to the late Desmond Waithe by singing two of the many calypsoes he arranged for them over the years.

"Desmond was a remarkable arranger both for pan and for voice," says Laughlin-Scott. "An amazing musician!"

The choreography for these calypsoes was created by Heather Henderson-Gordon.

Love So Amazing will be under the musical and artistic direction of Laughlin-Scott. Dr Helmer Hilwig, the Love Movement's drama director for the past 36 years, will once again add his stamp of perfection to the production. Sound engineers Franklin Agarrat and Corey Burnham will provide sound. Celia Wells will add her touch to the lighting and Randall Halfhide of Another Idea will transform the stage to enhance the production.

The opening night and gala, October 7, will be under the patronage of Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon, and proceeds go to the Archbishop's Appeal Fund. Tickets cost $400 and all seats are reserved. Refreshments will be served from 6.45 pm with showtime at 8 pm.

The evening shows continue over two weekends, from October 8-16 at 7.30 pm. Tickets are $250 for reserved seating and $200 for open seating. On October 9 there will be a shorter matinee show at 4 pm especially for children, which will feature excerpts of the full show, with tickets at $150.