Former tent manager Roy Byer is gone, but certainly not forgotten.
The Mosaic Steel Orchestra, which has a home at The Village Gate, Waterford, St Michael, which was owned and operated by Byer, dedicated their performance at Monday’s Digicel NIFCA Performing Arts Final to his memory.
And it was a performance that would have brought a smile to Byer’s face. Dressed in black and white with black bands on their left forearms, the youngsters thrilled the audience at the Frank Collymore Hall with Barber Of Seville with a slight twist.
The Gioachino Rossini composition is not a mode which is readily associated with Mosaic, but the accompanying dynamics made it clear that the music was actually coming from director David ZigE Walcott and his charges.
Mosaic’s performance was undoubtedly one of the better ones of the night, which saw eight of the 56 original pieces entered in the category of music being showcased.
Of those eight, St Lucy, done by young composer Patrice Gill and her friends, was one which really stood out.
Reigning Junior Monarch in the eight to 12 category Raanan Raanan Hackett showed a different side of himself when he sang Reach in the first half. He returned in the second half to sing his title-winning No Daddy. Both songs were well-received by members of the audience.
Another youngster, Cherece Richards of the Frederick Smith Secondary School, left a lasting impression on the audience. Richards has a powerful voice in her slender frame and used it to skilfully deliver her pièce de résistance Yesterday in the first half, and the local track United In The Caribbean in the second.
Songbird Shernelle Clarke also performed two songs – InThe Valley and Raining – doing a commendable job in the process.
Harrison College’s Mequissa Baptiste, More To Say and Sistaz also gave the audience a double dose of their talent.
Credit must be given to the four Sistaz who remained composed and focused on the task at hand when an apparent technical hitch in the second half forced a restart of A Medley of Caribbean Songs.
It would be remiss if kudos were not given to Kathleen Colthran of Codrington High who sang Price Tag. She did a good job of the Chrystal Cummins-Beckles arrangement to thrill her sizeable cheering section, and the audience as a whole to bring the first half to a close.
The Hall was not full, and the empty seats went up noticeably after the exodus of Colthran and her crew.
SKF Steel Sounds got the evening off to a good start with the popular Big People Party from Trinidad’s Farmer Nappy. Interest wandered occasionally between there and the close 21 acts later, but the production should be given a passing grade.
Patrons were also treated to the talents of Glenville Bennett, Nicholas Stevenson, Avi, Lashana Lewis, Haynesville Youth Club and Israel Lovell Foundation.
The NIFCA Performing Arts concluded last night while the Goddard Enterprises NIFCA Literary Arts Gala is tomorrow, 7 p.m at the Frank Collymore Hall.
