Classical Best of Youth Concert
The Classical Best of Youth Concert Series
The Classical Best of Youth annual concert represents a decade long collaboration between the Rotary Club of Barbados South and the Barbados National Youth Symphony Orchestra (BNYSO). The concert series has afforded a generation of talented young musicians and vocalists an opportunity to showcase their musical gifts in a concert hall setting and has enhanced the public's appreciation of classical music. In the process we have raised significant sums of money in support of charitable causes, and made an annual contribution to the summer workshops of the BNYSO that are vital to the development of musicians from ages as young as 4 years old.
(The Classical Best of Youth: 8 years of artwork by Blueprint Creative Inc.)
History
In an attempt to broaden the appeal of classical music in Barbados, annual themes and unique titles were conceptualized along with creative artwork from a perennial sponsor, Blueprint Creative Inc..
However the first concert in December 2011 was simply titled The Classical Best of Youth and was inspired by a desire to have two examples of excellence in youth, the BNYSO and the St. Leonards’ Boys’ Choir perform on a concert hall stage together for the first time. It was fitting that the cause for their coming together was itself a youth-related charity, the Inclusive Play project.
Thereafter, though the Boys’ Choir made subsequent guest appearances, the concert was anchored by the BNYSO, led by their stellar director, Joy Knight, GCM.
In year two, The Classical Best of Youth (“CBOY”) II was titled The Gift of Alanna and featured a then five year old prodigy, Alanna Crouch, daughter of a former BNYSO member. CBOY IV saw the return of Alanna, now seven, to share the stage with gifted soprano, Amanda Fields for the Magnificent Seven concert, with the feature orchestral performance being the theme song from the famous western film of the same name. CBOY V celebrated the five year milestone of the series with headlining performances of the renowned World Doctors’ Orchestra and acclaimed Trinidadian soprano, Jeanine De Bique. The event was co-sponsored by the National Cultural Foundation.
After a one year hiatus the concert returned for its sixth installment titled Pan & A Minor, showcasing the integration of classical music with calypso and the steelpan, with the signature performance being a Roger Gittens’ arranged rendition of Lord Kitchener’s Pan in A Minor. The concert marked its and the Orchestra’s maturity with CBOY VIII titled, Caribbean Seasoning, as it introduced an even more generous dose of Caribbean music arranged specially for symphony orchestra by the acclaimed Roger Gittens, among others.
We Persevere
The COVID 19 pandemic has caused temporary cessation of the concert series with the 2020 and 2021 events having to be deferred. However the impact of the concert survives as the BNYSO continues to hold its workshops and rehearsals for young musicians, albeit online, and the charitable causes funded by the event reap the benefits. We keenly anticipate revival of the Rotary Club of Barbados South supported Classical Best of Youth concerts in 2022. (IB)
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