CREATIVE producer/founder of the Jamaica’s Best School Band (JBSB) competition Rayven Amani is pleased with the execution of the seventh instalment of the competition that was held on April 24 at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. St Catherine High School’s Mighty Conquerors walked away with the top prize.

“You could see that they paid a lot more attention to detail, and practised a lot. It was evident that they took the advice of the judges from previous rounds,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

The Mighty Conquerors walked away with $250,000 courtesy of Vinyl Record Association.

The second-place winner was Denbigh High School’s Acquasonixx Band, while Belair High’s Major 7 was second-runner up. There were also sectional prizes which included: Best Original Song from Papine High School; Most Outstanding Female Performer – Anastasia Williams of Denbigh High; Most Outstanding Male Performers – Jeremy Brown and Daniel Dixon of St Catherine High; Most Improved Band – Alpha Institute; Best Band Leader – Malique McCalla of St Catherine High; and Band with Best Image – St Catherine High.

In the meantime, Amani said she was pleased with the support received at the live show, which saw a total of 10 bands.

“There were more parents out to support their children. There was also a lot of improvement in the skill level and musicianship of the performers,” she said.

The conceptualiser said the aim of the competition is to facilitate the musical talent among Jamaican youth.

“The idea is to provide a platform where talented students can be nurtured. You see where youngsters who that get that support from early turn out to be dominant. Look at Michael Jackson or Beyoncé, for example; you can see where they started at a young age to develop their talent. So, we want to structure and design in a way where students can get that nurturing,” she said.