by YVETTE BEST

THE CURTAIN came down on the LIME/NIFCA Performing Arts showcases at the Frank Collymore Hall on Monday night.

It was arguably a case of saving the best for last as the St Leonard's Boys' Choir brought the house down with two pieces.

Eager relatives and friends drew closer to the front when it was nearing time for the last performance, and excited shouts were heard from the time the boys started to file in.

The big moment was when the full 100 boys took to the stage to close the evening with God And God Alone. The reverence with which the majority of the boys filed in from the audience to join their colleagues was a spectacle to behold on its own, but it was just awesome when they blended their voices in song.

If their finals performance was anywhere near the one they gave on Monday night, they would have left no doubt as to why they were awarded a gold for their efforts.

Coleridge & Parry is normally a school to look out for on the NIFCA stage and it delivered again this year. It did not have the dynamic Marlon Legall in front of it, but both the vocal group, which performed Lean On Me and the jazz band with Can We Talk did the St Peter school proud.

Another choir doing well was the ten-member mature group calling itself Conexion. The group serenaded the young and old alike with Prayer and Ballad Of An Old Woman.

Chad Bowen has kept up the excellent form he was in for Crop-Over. The former junior calypso monarch teamed up with the signing group at the Learning Centre for an impressive rendition of Go The Distance.

On a night when males had a large presence on stage, Chrystal Cummins-Beckles and Rhesa Garnes made some very powerful presentations.

Seasoned performer Cummins-Beckles was solid in Help Me and Alabaster Box. The lesser known Garnes got a big response from the audience for I Am Changing.

Other outstanding acts making it through to the two music showcases were Combermere School Steel Orchestra, George Lamming Primary School Choir, Alex Evelyn, Livingston Alleyne, Anand Lopez, GCG, Roland Edwards Primary School Choir, Coda Flute Quartet, Anita Charles and Alicia Yarde-Collins.