Haringey Young Musicians not only thrilled the crowds at Holetown Festival where they performed, but also the small, appreciative audience at the Queen Of The Festival pageant at Frederick Smith Secondary School last Sunday.
The 66-member steel and jazz orchestra, comprising children ages 11 to 18 years old from various schools in North London, delightful the audience with selections from all genres.
Led by Peter Desmond, the young musicians are no strangers to Barbados and Holetown Festival, having performed here numerous times.
The pan section, with the group rocking to the sweet sounds, led off the night with Hips Don’t Lie (Shakira and Wyclef Jean) and then went into Vibes. The horns section took over and did excellent renditions of Cold Duck Time and Cry Me A River.
Could it get any better? Yes. The sections then combined to render their own version of Red Plastic Bag’s (RPB) Something’s Happenin’ which had the audience whistling and applauding for their son of the soil.
The group played for 20 minutes and took a well deserved bows afterward. Desmond said the group had been in existence for 15 years and featured new faces each year because of the age limit.
“We had met RPB two years ago and liked his song. It was just a matter of practising it. The group also met him at one of our performances during the festival last week,” he said.
The entertainment for the Miss Holetown pageant didn’t stop at the visiting musicians.
Songbird Rhesa Garnes did two songs and blew the audience away with her strong voice. National Independence Festival Of Creative Arts (NIFCA) gold award winner Janine White did her piece This Body Is Not Mine, which had the crowd in stitches. Nickyl Blades and Jonathan Jeffery brought their own vibe to their solos and the Haynesville Youth Group’s two dance pieces – the highlight of the pageant – brought the entertainment segment to an end.
