Walker, Webb top of Music awardees

Chezaul Walker and Tillal Webb have received special recognition by the local music association for their performances in recent examinations administered by the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music (ABRSM) in London.{{more}}

The young men were among 104 students who received awards at the St Vincent and the Grenadines Music Association’s 2010 awards ceremony held on October 19.

The ceremony rewarded students for successfully completing the ABRSM theory exams in October 2009 (10 students) and June 2010 (34 students) and ABRSM practical examinations of 2010 (60 students).

Chezaul Walker took the top performer award in the grade 1 to 4 categories and Tillal Webb took the award for grade 5 to 8.

Awards were also given to the top individual performers in the instrument category.

Athalia Frederick took the ‘Best in Piano” award, and Tamar-Shalal Parris took the ‘Best in Violin’ award.

“The youth of our country are our most valuable resource in nation building, and we are happy that they get this chance to expose themselves publicly with their performance,” Beryl Richards, President of the SVG Music Association, said.

“The St Vincent Music Association continues to leave a mark on children at primary and secondary school and adults,” she continued.

Minister of Culture, René Baptiste, in her remarks on the evening spoke of the importance of the inclusion of music in the development of the students.

Baptiste also spoke of the dream for there to be a fully accomplished Philharmonic orchestra in St Vincent and the Grenadines and the need for a venue capable of hosting orchestra concerts.

As she expressed this vision, Baptiste disclosed plans for the proposed construction of a concert hall in Kingstown at an estimated cost of $24 million.

She said that the initial plan had been approved by Cabinet and that the other technical details, such as acoustics of the proposed hall were being finalized.

Rounding up the night’s ceremony were performances from the top performers in the practical examinations, which included performances on the piano and violin. (DD)