08.04.07
friends of ours suggested we take in a bit of caribbean culture. its true: we don't get out much. with 2 kids, our lifestyle has us in by 7pm most nights. but a night out where we could bring our children & enjoy a music event... well, we couldn't pass this night up. besides, this was going to be a first for the whole family: an evening out enjoying music.
friends of lois' & mine know we are both lovers of music. i have seen perhaps a couple hundred live performances from classical strings to thrash, hardcore punk rock (oh, was that my band?). but neither of us have ever seen a choir of 400 voices.
as you would expect, they aren't in it for the money. this choir & musicians was a collection of seventh day adventists, from across the caribbean & north america. the choir was so large, they tightly packed one end of a large auditorium AND the balconies above.
it should be noted one lady in particular stood out as a supreme talent. while her name escapes me, she is pictured on the left in the gold & brown. what i can recall is she is a SDA (seventh day adventist) with a church from florida. her talents knew no bounds. she performed a classical piece that blew our minds. while she played piano, she directed a less experienced back-up band (while the choir performed) & even sang back-up — all at once. she startled me into realizing not all musicians perform for fame or fortune. true devotion. before we discovered she was not from antigua, i actually leaned over to lois & said "if she plays at a church on the weekends, i'm there!" yep. she was that good.
thank you to bernard & dawn for the invitation. it was truly a night to remember.
•••
conductors took turns directing the powerful performance. in between 'sets' we were entertained by local & international brass, woodwinds, pianists & more. experience levels varied, but the enthusiasm never waned.
the really cool bonus was the visual experience. as commented by the master of ceremonies, not 2 people wore the same outfit. my narrow idea of formal dress was blown out of the water with the presentation of traditional afrio-caribbean attire. not a suit & tie in the lot. and understandably so: what kind of fool would wear a suit in the tropics?
it would be irresponsible not to mention how impressive it was to see 400 peeps sway in sync.
ché & willow absorbed the entire event with nary a fuss. they finally fell asleep in our arms as the gospel choir continued to sing hymns. they were... dare i say it... absolute angels... the entire night (even when i was getting a bit shifty in my seat. but then again, that could have had something to do with the A/C being broke.)