Security takes top spot in Trinity’s Carolling Contest

The Trinity Security Choir crooned its way to the top in the inaugural Trinity Staff Carolling Contest, held during the institution’s 2015 end of year staff dinner, which took place at the Paradise Beach Hotel on Thursday, December 10.{{more}}

The competition, which evoked great interest among the staff and faculty at Trinity, saw four departments entering for the coveted trophy and prizes, which included cash. These divisions also included: Housekeeping, Staff of the Deanery, and Drivers. Each group was required to sing two songs. The test piece was the traditional ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’, and the second was to be a song of their choice, arranged as desired.

A panel of four judges was charged with the responsibility of choosing the winners. They were Sergeant Rodwell Swift of the Calliaqua Police Station; and professors at Trinity: Dr Jovanovich, professor of pathology; Dr Tewodros, professor of microbiology; and Dr Conrad Nedd, professor of clinical medicine. During their deliberations, they judged each choir on vocal quality, stage presentation, audience response, judges’ impression, and creativity.

Being third in line, the choir of some 12 security men, all decked out in their signature black attire and accompanied by an avid guitarist, gave a soulful rendition of the traditional piece. They made waves among the audience, but it just could not compare with what they had to unleash in their second performance. Singing ‘O Holy Night’ the choir pulled out all the stops as, resplendent with song sheet, they boasted two proficient dub artistes among themselves, who belted out relevant, creative lyrics, interchanging as their main soloist worked his way into the verses. At several points, the entire choir “fell on their knees”. It was fascinating! Upon completion, the audience showed their conviction that they had already listened to the winner, but chose to give full attention to the Drivers Choir, which performed in fourth position. Security scored a total of 708 out of 800.

In second position was the choir from the Staff of the Deanery. They did a very well-arranged, melodious rendition for the first performance. It was obvious that they had the best soloists, and so their pitch was remarkable. For their second piece, they concocted a very innovative version of ‘Santa Baby’. It showed the choir of ladies making proposals to Santa and his helper, included in these, of course, were wishes for bonuses and raises. They gained 696 out of 800.

Placing third was Housekeeping Choir, which chose to remain truly traditional with their first piece. However, in their second presentation, they gave the most dramatic performance of the evening. They enacted an entire scene about going carolling prior to their performance. This, especially the enthusiastic ‘granny’, left the audience in stitches. Their second piece was entitled, ‘Angels we Have Heard on High’. Their total was 600 out of 800.

Fourthly, the Drivers Choir gave a touch of creativity when they included a large plastic bucket as a drum, which was tunefully played. Their second song was ‘O Holy Night’, which was sung in traditional fashion, as was their first piece. They gained 487 out of 800.

All in all, the judges expressed their delight with what they had heard and seen. Dr Conrad Nedd, in making remarks before the announcement of the winners, told all that he had just become aware that many of the employees of Trinity seem to have performing jobs outside of their regular work. Their talent, he said, was a truly good sign. Trinity plans to make the carolling contest an annual venture.