Members of the Kingston College Chapel Choir in action at their Christmas concert, held at UWI Chapel, Mona Campus, on Sunday, December 20. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

"When I see the quality of the music these youngsters produce," Howard said, "I know there's hope for Jamaica - in spite of all the negative talk we keep hearing."

He was speaking to his friend Winty during a Christmas concert in the chapel of the University of the West Indies, Mona, on Sunday afternoon.

Winty nodded. "Definitely."

The two men, both members of the Kingston College Chapel choir (KCCC) in the 1960s, and still active performers, were listening to music from the KCCC and the accompanying Immaculate Conception High School Chamber Orchestra. Also delighted with the presentation was the large audience which turned out for the annual event.

Audience thrilled

Starting at 5:10 p.m. and ending exactly two hours later, the programme comprised 22 items, 21 of which were scheduled. The final item, humorous lyrics put to a medley of tunes by Mozart and others, was 'brawta'. It was occasioned by the audience's enthusiastic applause and cheers and the demand from emcee Ed Wallace for "more".

Mozart (1756-1769) was one of the art music composers featured in the "heavier" first half of the concert. The selected piece, his Te Deum Laudamus (We praise thee, O God), written in 1769, was one of the last of Mozart's 'boyhood' works.

Other Part 1 items were The Heavens are Telling (Franz Joseph Haydn), Omnes de Saba Venient (All those from Sheba shall come) by Josef Eybler, I Waited on the Lord (Felix Mendelssohn), Violin concerto in A Minor: 3rd Movement (Antonio Vivaldi), and For Unto us a Child is Born and the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah (both by George F. Handel).

A highlight of the half was the accomplished violin playing - of the Vivaldi piece - by soloist Naomi Reitzin. Asked by The Gleaner how long she had been studying the instrument, the 12-year-old Campion College student replied, "A very long time, about six years."

Later, however, her father gave the correct figure, nine years. "She started lessons," he said, "when she was three going on four."

In the lighter second half came well known Spirituals, Christmas carols and hymns by a number of composers, including a couple of Jamaican ones. One of the items was a bit of a surprise, not being mentioned in the printed programme - a beautifully delivered O Holy Night by someone who is not now, nor could have ever been, a member of the KC choir. Her name is Althea McKenzie.

The natural serenity of the evening, already enhanced by the excellence of the choir's voices and the accompanying orchestra - consisting of violins, cello, viola, flute, trumpet, trombone, organ and piano - was made even lovelier by McKenzie's singing.

The programme chosen by choir director Audley Davidson was ideal for both the choir's voices and the occasion. There was, if not a 'Christmasy' feel to all the items, certainly a festive, even celebratory, one. Variety came in many forms - in the range of voices (treble, alto, tenor, bass), in the tone and pace of the musical items, in the styles of the composers and compositions, and even in the physical arrangements of the bodies on the platform.

A number of people sought out Davidson to congratulate him on the hard work he had put in over the last few months and the success the concert was proving to be. And this was during the intermission; the majority of the pieces were not yet presented.

Preparation

The printed programme gives an idea of the choir's preparation for the concert, one of many functions at which the KCCC performed during the year. It informs the reader that "The boys have choir practice twice weekly and are expected to maintain their grades in school," and that a special week-long summer camp in Brown's Town, St Ann, was also held for additional practice.

But not all the boys performing on Sunday would have had a chance to attend that camp. As emcee Wallace pointed out, some only started at KC in September.

The fact that the audience could not distinguish between the new boys and the old - we saw and heard one integrated ensemble - is another thing for which the conductor and his choir should be congratulated.