KINGSTON, Jamaica -The Jamaica Youth Chorale (JYC) is enjoying an exciting concert season with financial support of a J$3-million grant from the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund.

An elated Principal Director and Founder of the JYC, Gregory Simms, said the donated money is being used to cover the group’s winter tour that goes up to February 2023.

Just weeks ago, the Chorale pulled up the curtains on its concert season with Christmas Joy, its first musical performance in the Yuletide period since 2019.

The tour will continue with multiple performances, including at the Washington National Cathedral and other sites across Washington DC and New York in the United States of America.

“We were very happy that the Government made this facility available through the CHASE Fund. It takes cash to run these things (concerts) properly and our capital would not have been what it would normally be coming out of a pandemic. As you know, our income is really from performances,” Simms explained.

In its 14 years of existence, the JYC has worked with more than 300 young singers and musicians, empowering them in different genres and styles in music. Many of them have gone on to build careers in music because of the foundation set by the JYC with the support of CHASE.

“CHASE has been a rock-solid supporter of the work and mandate of the singing group. So, when we get support from CHASE, it is not just an investment to ‘go pan plane’. It really is fundamental to the development of choral music in Jamaica, which is what the JYC is about,” Simms said.

“Jamaican choral music is just as good as any other kind of choral music across the world, and we have had some success with that. The JYC is the only choir that has a digital album, and all the work in building a Jamaican choral repertory is because of the support of the CHASE Fund and our audiences,” he added.

CHASE Fund has assisted the JYC in other ways, including the provision of scholarships to some of the group’s members. It has also supported the JYC to represent the country at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales in 2015, World Choir Games in South Africa in 2018 and other concert performances during the pandemic.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CHASE Fund, W Billy Heaven, said it is important to support the Chorale’s concert season after two years of reduced activity, especially because of the JYC’s impressive track record in nurturing the talents of young performers and producing and managing quality shows.

He noted that the funding was provided through the CHASE Entertainment Industry Support Initiative (CEISI) 2022. This initiative was established to provide support for Jamaica’s entertainment industry.

The initiative aligns with the aims, objectives and focus areas under CHASE’s Arts and Culture portfolio.

“CEISI is the Fund’s response to a directive from the Prime Minister to provide well-needed support for Jamaica’s entertainment industry. It offers support for the staging or implementation of events and other entertainment-related projects to drive productivity towards pre-COVID-19 levels,” Heaven explained.

Since its inception, CHASE has been heavily involved in the development of talent and providing access to performances for audiences.