Michael Reckord, Contributor
Charmaine Lemonius in performance at 'A Panorama of Music', held at the Church Hall, Ellesmere Road, Half-Way Tree on Saturday. The event was put on by Friends of the St. Andrew Parish Church Sunday School. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
DESPITE CONTRARY predictions by the weatherman, there was little more than a drizzle on Saturday afternoon in the vicinity of the St. Andrew Parish Church Hall, Half-Way Tree. But while 'blessings from heaven' outside the hall was minimal, inside, there was a generous outpouring of love and music.
Judging by their singing, laughter, and dancing in the seats, the large audience appreciated the offering from the many performers, among them Peter Ashbourne and Ashes, Charmaine Limonius, Wayne Armond, Harold Davis, Pat Gooden, Michael Harris, Cmdr. John McFarlane and Ossie D and Stevie G.
Emceeing duties were rendered by the ebullient Ed Gallimore. He integrated the various sections of the concert into a cohesive, joy-filled whole, and he continually handed out spot prizes to randomly selected members of the audience.
The occasion was the annual concert organised for the Sunday Schools of the St. Andrew Parish Church by the Friends of the Sunday Schools. There are three of them, one at the church, one in Kencot (the St. Clement's Mission Sunday School), and one in Majesty Pen (the St. Thomas Mission Sunday School). About 150 students attend the three Sunday schools.
The function began with a prayer by the new pastor of the church, Rev. Major Cyrano Kitson. The closing prayer was offered up exactly two hours later, at
8:45 p.m., after the concert proper had ended to enthusiastic applause from the contented audience.
Peter Ashbourne and Ashes, the evening's backing band for all the singers, kicked off the show with a light, jazzy, unnamed number. Singer-guitarist Wayne Armond, minus his guitar, followed, singing first The Way You Look Tonight, and then a medley of songs in tribute to the late Desmond Dekker. Armond, like many of the other performers who came later, had the audience singing along.
Next up was Charmaine Lemonius, introduced by the emcee as a lady who had taken leave from her job at the United Nations to sing. Her contributions to the concert, Eres Tu and Where There is Love, I'll Be There, were full of emotion.
Michael Harris then sang his co-written composition, Oh, Lord of My Soul, a beautiful gospel item with a complex melody, followed by a jazzed-up version of the Gershwin classic Summer Time.
Playing keyboards and singing, Harold Davis took the concert to the intermission with a dynamic, audience-accompanied medley of 'oldies', mostly from the rock steady and ska eras. They included Let's Go and Have Some Fun, Puppet on a String, By De Rivers of Babylon, Wings of a Dove, Sixth an Seventh Books, and Amen.
Cmdr. John McFarlane, with Beauty and the Beast from the movie of the same name, and You Were Always on My Mind, introduced a placid, soothing element to the show, while classical singer Pat Gooden brought opera. She first sang, in French, an aria from Bizet's Carmen, then Memory from Cats and finally Climb Every Mountain.
The closing act was the duo Ossie D and Stevie G, the former a singer-dancer, the latter a guitarist. The two had the audience singing, clapping, and bouncing along with their exciting renditions of Put a Little Love in Your Hearts, Rollin on The River and, after shouts for an encore, the Toots Hibbert hit 5446.
