AT least one local performing arts group is offering a measure of hope to its followers and supporters that it could stage its annual season of performances later this year.

The 53-year-old Jamaican Folk Singers is optimistic that come later this year it could deliver the annual set of performances for its patrons despite the current lockdown due to the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus.

“At this point we still intend to stage our annual concert season later this year,” musical director of the group Christine McDonald Nevers told the Jamaica Observer.

“We have not had rehearsals since we celebrated our anniversary in March but in another week and a half we intend to start virtual rehearsals with our members – as you know we cannot meet as a group face to face due to the restriction of movement and mass gatherings. But the truth is, The Jamaican Folk Singers is always in a constant state of readiness. Under normal circumstances we are in rehearsals every week… Wednesday and Saturday. So even if we won’t be able to physically meet as a group until July or August we would still be in a position to meet the deadline for our concert season, which is traditionally held over the first weekend in September,” she added.

McDonald Nevers admits that pulling off a season given these challenging times will take some creativity on her part, but she noted that whatever is presented to the audience will be of the standard that the popular folk ensemble has become known for over the years.

“I will have to decide on what type of show we will be presenting this year. The level of choreography and staging, including the lighting and the sets, may be a little different. Furthermore, if we have to do a virtual season then it will clearly be different from the showcase that it produced for the stage of the Little Theatre each year. What, however, will not change is the standard of the musical presentations. I have all confidence, and given what I know of the membership of The Jamaican Folk Singers, it will absolutely be of that same high standard,” she said.

As with all non-profit organisations such as The Jamaican Folk Singers the issue of sponsorship always arises. For McDonald Nevers and her team an additional challenge this year will be to local an entity for support.

“What we will be doing is looking for two or three charities with which we can partner. It is a way of helping each other since corporate funding may be a little tight in coming this year.”

The Jamaican Folk Singers began as a group of friends who were invited by ethnomusicologist Dr Olive Lewin to share her enthusiasm for Jamaica’s folk music, which developed with her experience in collecting and researching the local genre. From the group’s first public performance there has been a focus on maintaining respect for Jamaican traditions and for the people who have kept them alive.