Last Saturday afternoon, The Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church in Kingstown was packed to capacity as patrons, members and invited guests, were treated to a Musical Siesta presented by a group of young Christians, headed by Dexter Bacchus.{{more}} The program is dubbed âHeritage Projectâand is the brain-child of Dexter Bacchus, Education Officer in the Ministry of Education.
A competent Musician and Music Teacher who holds a Bachelorâs Degree in Music, Bacchus is determined to use his pet project, through concerts, to promote and enhance original âVirtues and Valuesâ, a musical genre that was traditionally embraced by the Church, seemingly absent today.
The concert featured musical performances of a particularly high standard, with items from a very interesting cast of local and international Musicians and Artistes that included the Cuban brothers, Denny and Ronny Robinson who pride their Vincentian roots out of Barrouallie. Denny is no stranger to the Vincentian audience, a Latin/Jazz Pianist who has been receiving tremendous crowd responses in SVG. His brother Ronny, a trumpeter/vocalist, a tenor singer, impressed on Saturday as he delivered in his native Spanish some of our more popular hymns: âHow Great Thou Artâ and âGreat in Thy Faithfulnessâ.
Also gracing the stage was Toma Naga, a Japanese Volunteer and classical musician/vocalist; she led the singing in âGuide me, O Thou Great Jehovahâ. Pan seems fully entrenched at the SDA, as items on Pan were rendered by six year old Dorian Bacchus who did a solo, followed by a duet from the Jones-Morgan sisters, all students of Ashley Kirbyâs Pan Academy. Good performances from Jomel Samuel and Lozano Jardine, two budding trumpeters whom we will hear a great deal about in the future. Our up and coming Virtuoso Darron Andrews, now pursuing a Degree in Music Performance in Jamaica, has certainly mellowed as was evident in his performance. It was a packed two hour show that included encore performances from vocalist Ronny Robinson. Items were spiritually uplifting and entertaining, with the audience participating at times. The hosts, Kassy and Gayle, must be commended for maintaining the smooth running of the program ensuring âHeritage Project 2â a success.