Classic meets Folk at Methodist Church

by Dexter Rose

The Methodist Church has firmly established its precincts as a de facto home for chamber music in Kingstown. And once again it was Canada-based Vincentian classical pianist Sean Sutherland, whose notes filled the air- as he has done on several memorable occasions- this time accompanying Violinist Tanya Charles, a Canadian with Vincentian roots, much to the delight of an appreciative audience on Tuesday evening, July 14, 2026.

What was particularly great about the repertoire presented by this Vincentian duo is that they broke down their set into bite sized pieces which made it much easier for an audience, not very accustomed to Classical music to savour.

The soothing pieces contrasted and had to compete at times with mundane sounds from the street: a minivan booming Soca- after all Carnival ended a mere week ago- an ambulance rushing by with sirens blaring to take some soul for emergency care…. Then there was a colourful flurry of F notes which drifted into and across the church from the street. Certainly, if nothing else, a telling reminder of the need for the long promised National Theater. This could not have escaped the notice of either our Governor General Stanly Stalkey John, Prime Minister Dr Godwin Friday or Culture Minister Kashaka Cupid.

Sean’s homecoming concerts provide a welcome injection of quality entertainment and a reminder to the nation that much more is possible; that Vincentian excellence is still something within our reach. If only we had a lot more students of music present at this concert. Where were the many music students? Where were the many Vincentian musicians?

Certainly they would have been enlightened by the work of violinist Tanya Charles who possesses a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto and is concertmaster at Montreal’s Ensemble Obriora, among many other accolades, and has under her belt an impressive history of performances throughout Canada.

This concert could have been aptly dubbed ‘From Classics to Folk’ and the audience lapped up every piece with rapt attention. Their set meandered from Billy Strayhorn’s “Valse” to Jesse Montgomery’s “Rhapsody 1 & 2” and showed a distinct preference for themes or composers from a Caribbean background. A great way it was to introduce a Caribbean audience to chamber music which we are basically starved of in SVG. A moment of particular delight was Sean’s spirited interpretation of “Five Finger Boogie” from famed Trinbagonian Winnifred Atwell. His treatment of Bob Marley’s “One Love” was sheer brilliance in execution.

It was when they brought the audience back home with a medley of Vincentian folk songs that performers and audience became one in an impromptu sing-along. We need more and much more of this quality entertainment. And I repeat as I will, ad nauseum, it’s time for a proper concert hall. It does not have to rival the Sydney Opera House or Port of Spain’s National Academy of Performing Arts, just something. This new government would be forever remembered if they could pull this off. Let this be your legacy Culture Minister Cupid.