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26th
January 2012
SING A SONG
Stan Bishop
(Photo)
Anse La Raye Primary School Choir
The Anse La
Raye Primary School and St. Joseph’s Convent
are the winners of this year’s Schools
Choir Competition.
The two schools each faced off stiff competition
from four other school choirs in their respective
categories.
The competition, held last Monday morning at
the National Cultural Centre, was the culmination
of hard work on part of the students who had
been preparing since last September. The audience
was treated to varying styles of performances
by the choirs, all of whom proved that talent
is alive and well among our youth.
Curriculum Specialist for Music in the Ministry
of Education, Jason Joseph, told The VOICE just
how much work preceded the students’ current
bragging rights.
“Today (Monday) was the finals of the
Schools Choir Competition, which forms part
of the activities for Nobel Laureate Week,”
Joseph said. “It’s a competition
that began in November last year where we had
the preliminaries. We had students from the
various districts participating and from the
preliminaries, we chose ten primary and ten
secondary schools for the semi-finals.”
That semifinals stage of the competition was
held during the second week of this month, where
five choirs were chosen from the primary and
secondary schools respectively.
In attendance at Monday’s finals were
Chair of the Nobel Laureate Week Committee,
Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy, Governor-General
of Saint Lucia and President of the Senate,
Sen. Claudius Francis. Also in attendance were
students from the various primary and secondary
schools that took part in the competition.
The test piece for the primary school choirs
was “This Song Is For The Children”,
while the secondary school choirs did “I
Am A Small Part Of The World”. Apart from
performing their test pieces, the choirs also
performed a song of their choosing.
The cheers were deafening but at the end of
the competition judged by Blaise Pascal, Deanna
Clarke and David Bode, the following schools
sang their way into the top three places in
each category. They are:
Primary Schools Category
Winner: Anse La Raye Primary School (401 points)
Second place: Laborie Boys Primary School (386
points)
Third place: Ave Maria Girls Primary School
(372 points)
Secondary Schools Category
Winner: St. Joseph’s Convent (394 points)
Second place: Bocage Secondary School (385 points)
Third place: Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary
School (380.5 points)
First, second and third place finishers in each
category were awarded trophies. The various
music directors who were instrumental in getting
their respective choirs prepared for the competition
were also praised for their efforts.
Schools that did not place were Dame Pearlette
Louisy Primary School, Richfond Combined Primary
School, St. Mary’s College, and the S.D.A.
Academy.
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(Photo)
St Joseph's Convent Choir
Joseph, a two-time
national calypso monarch, said that the competition
which became an annual feature some years
ago presents a stage for schoolchildren to
showcase their vocal talents. Initiated by
former music specialist in the Ministry of
Education, Joyce Auguste, the annual affair
has produced many positives. Joseph also commended
the teachers and students who have been doing
their rehearsals for the past four months.
“We encourage the teachers to begin
forming their choirs and rehearsing from as
early as September as soon as schools reopen.
As a matter of fact, this new school year
was the first time that I sent out information
to the teachers insisting that they begin
rehearsing since last September. You can actually
see the progress and excellence portrayed
in the performances of those who took the
advice,” Joseph said on Monday.
Joseph said the judges were looking for key
aspects with respect to the students’
performances. For the test pieces, the choirs
were to interpret the music, focusing on areas
such as dynamics, expression, tone and diction.
For the choice pieces, the choirs were expected
to showcase their creativity both in terms
of performance and arrangement.
Joseph added that though there are growing
numbers of children showing interest in music
as an integral part of the school curriculum,
there are several hurdles in their way. A
shortage of music teachers is just one of
them.
“We have come a long way in terms of
music education in the schools,” Joseph,
who won the national calypso monarch in 1999
and 2006, said. “But we still have a
very long way to go. For example, we have
just six secondary schools offering music
as a subject at the CXC level. One of the
reasons is the shortage of trained music teachers.
Also, in most of the primary schools, we have
teachers who teach music but there is a continuous
need to educate them and train them so that
they improve. Additionally, opportunities
for scholarships to further their studies
are not readily available.”
Nevertheless, Joseph said the song competition
must go on. In fact, another competition is
just two weeks away. The former Secondary
Schools Singing Championships will this year
incorporate the talents of their primary school
counterparts. In that competition, participating
schools will each field one candidate. That
competition will be held on February 9.
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Story
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