No place like home for Signal Hill Alumni Choir’s finale

Last Sunday, the Signal Hill Alumni Choir’s (SHAC) final performance in the 40th anniversary concert series 2064: A Musical Odyssey was staged at Tobago’s Shaw Park Complex to a large gathering of enthusiastic patrons.

Under President Christine Kangaloo’s patronage and in the presence of first gentleman Kerwyn Garcia, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly, Farley Augustine, other assemblymen, councillors, dignitaries, and many Tobagonians who braved the downpours, the choir played to its home crowd. Similar to all shows, the Tobago performance featured SHAC doing favourites in the genres of gospel, folk, African and World Music, and soca/calypso.

Joined by a total of six guest artistes, the show was a compact production with sustained highs from start to end. SHAC began with a rendition of Swing Down Sweet Chariot. And as expected, the choralography for which they are best known was captivating from the first note. It was a fitting tribute too, as artistic director John Arnold introduced this segment, mentioning that Swing Down Sweet Chariot was the first winning song ever performed by the group.

And in a special throwback, the choir was joined by some of the original past members. The soulful Stephanie Joseph appeared as the first guest performer, followed by the Music Amateurs Choir and then Signal Hill Secondary School, delivering an outstanding performance of Come Leh We Go in the first half.

After the intermission, the audience was treated to the smooth vocals of Lynette Louis, the energy of Black Rock’s pride, pannist Jaime Ramsey, and the collaboration of the evening, SHAC and Rodney “Benjai” Le Blanc. Representing the “Red, White and Black”, Benjai, backed by the choir, gave us his 2011 mega-hit I’m a Trini with its infectious rhythms and apt descriptors of things that truly represent our uniqueness.

Always a celebration of our identity as Trinbagonians, one could feel the spiritedness of the patrons in that joy spell Benjai casts on us. But it is the rendition of his 2015 hit “Phenomenal” with the SHAC’s harmonies and choralography that possibly elicited the most “feels” that evening. In a slowed version, Benjai and SHAC blended beautifully to give us the belly-stirring “Once the music hit meh veins, So much powers ah cyah explain” ending powerfully in a capella mode.

This concert series, which began three weekends before at Naparima Bowl (September 21), featured all T&T’s choirs that are over 40 years old as guest performers.

Arnold explained that SHAC’s accomplishment of reaching its fortieth year mirrors the work of many others before, and in a spirit of homage and community, the series featured the Southernaires Choir, The Lydians, The Love Movement Choir, and The Marionettes in the three Trinidad shows. Music Amateurs, the oldest of all choral groups (over 60 years), brought up the rear with an undeniably powerful rendition of their four choices: As Long as I Have Music (Don Besig and Nancy Price), Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World, Scott and Russell’s He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, and a delightful arrangement of Ras Shorty I’s Watch Out My Children.

In his vote of thanks, Arnold pointed to the honour of having the President as patron of the show. He recognised choir members, choreographer Georgina “Gidge” Peterkin and Neave McKenzie, who together are responsible for SHAC’s costuming through the years.

He reserved special thanks and commendation for Fabian Smart for all the shows’ technical details and Caroline Ravello for media and marketing output for the year-long celebration.

The show, hosted by Avian Parks, ended like all others with the choir singing and dancing into the auditorium, greeting and thanking patrons for the strains of Mical Teja’s DNA. SHAC ends its year-long celebration in November with an award ceremony and gala event in Tobago.

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