Classics in June on this evening
Laurice Barnaby, chair of the Classics in June Planning Committee, says the resumption of the concert will be memorable for guests today.
“We expect that patrons will be happy to be able to enjoy the performances once again in a concert setting. To ensure the safety and comfort of individuals attending the concert in person, masks will be required and other COVID-19 protocols will be observed. At the same time, provision is also being made for persons who wish to view the concert online…Whether in person or virtually, we expect this to be an enjoyable and successful event,” she told the Jamaica Observer.
The event will be held at the Church of the Ascension in Mona, St Andrew starting at 5:00 pm.
The 17th annual charity fund-raising concert is being staged by the Soroptimist International of Jamaica, Kingston Club, under the patronage of Ambassador of France to Jamaica Olivier Guyonvarch and his wife
The featured performer at the concert will be Dr Andrew Marshall, currently the choir director at the Winsor School in Boston, Massachusetts, and founder and director of the Jamaica Choral Scholars Festival, which underscores the creation and performance of Jamaican choral works. A Jamaican, Marshall has written and arranged music extensively for vocal and instrumental forces, while his portfolio includes four symphonies, large-scale choral pieces, and a variety of shorter works.
In addition to Marshall, the line-up includes renowned violinist and recipient of a 2021 Gold Musgrave Medal, Steven Woodham; Dwight A McBean, organ; Santorini degli Archangeli, tenor; Laurice Barnaby, flute; Christopher Cox, trumpet; Mickel Gordon, piano and voice; Yanique Leiba-Ebanks, piano; mezzo-soprano Christine MacDonald-Nevers; guitarist Shawn Richards; and Gabriel Walters, violinist and founder of Accel String Quartet.
Barnaby added that the concert is in aid of several charities.
“This year’s beneficiaries are the Shortwood United Church Early Childhood Development Centre and Reddie’s Children’s Home, as well as other Soroptimist charities to empower women and girls. The most ambitious of these is the club’s Women’s Embroidery Enterprise and Empowerment Project which aims to alleviate poverty among rural women who are unskilled or unemployed through training and ‘upskilling’ in machine embroidery so that they can take advantage of entrepreneurial opportunities or find jobs in the craft-making sector. The club is trying to raise funds to begin this project which is being undertaken in collaboration with the Red Hills Methodist Church,” she said.