The festival, however, begins with a concert this afternoon at 5:30 at the University of the West Indies Chapel featuring Andrew Cavell on clarinet and Neil Walker on piano.

Cavell, former wind teacher at the School of Music at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts up to 2004, will perform the opening recital and is also an adjudicator for the festival. Walker, a Barbadian, has resided in the United States for a number of years. He has a master's degree in piano performance and also teaches. Walker will not only be accompanying Cavell, but will also be performing solo selections including his own arrangement of Caribbean folk tunes along with more traditional classics.

Approximately 100 candidates are expected to participate in the music festival between tomorrow and Friday. The JMTA said the Biennial Music Festival was developed as a further avenue for music students to perform not only to a live audience, but to receive legitimate critique from a qualified adjudicator.