BASSETERRE St. Kitts, July 13th 2011 - It was an evening of pure musical delight as The Lawrence School of Music presented its 30th Annual Pianoforte Concert on Tuesday, July 12th 2011 at the St George’s Anglican Church. The event was a double celebration as it also marked the affirmation of the appointment to CANON of the Reverend Isaiah Phillip, parish priest for the St Peter’s Anglican Church and Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Boyd’s.
To celebrate with the school’s founder Lady Hulda Lawrence and her students and past students, the occasion was graced by the presence of the Governor General His Excellency Sir Cuthbert Sebastian, Deputy Prime Minister the Honourable Sam Condor, Ambassador Walford Gumbs, Sir Edmund Lawrence, the Honourable Richard Skerritt, the Honourable Nigel Carty, Archdeacon the Reverend Valentine Hodge and other distinguished members of the diplomatic corps and clergy. Additionally, a wide cross section of the community along with parents, friends and well-wishers turned out in their numbers to pack the church which was beautifully decorated with exquisite floral arrangements and balloons in The School’s colours of pink and white.
The evening got off to an early start as The School’s students and past students marched in to their processional piece accompanied on organ and piano by student and past student Christian Nathaniel and Dr Louisa Lawrence respectively. They then performed their theme song “Music” accompanied by student Tama Martin, and gave a surprise rendition of a song entitled “We’re 30 Years Today” which was composed especially for the occasion.
The newly-canonized Reverend Isaiah Phillip led the opening prayer after remarking that the Lawrence School of Music proved that things can be done to make a change in these times of upheaval as evidenced by Lady Hulda’s work with young children for some 30 years. He encouraged the congregation to refuse to allow the difficulties of the moment to engulf them, noting that The Concert was established during some of the most difficult times experienced by the Lawrence family.
The concert was ably chaired by Canon Phillip’s daughter Ciara, and the very appreciative audience was treated to a wonderful mix of piano solos, instrumental selections and group songs which covered many genres of music. The first group song was a Hebrew-styled selection entitled “God is Good” which was performed by the younger students and to the delight of the audience was conducted by another student, Takoya Slack. The older students along with the past students did a spirited rendition of “Walk in Jerusalem”, a traditional Negro spiritual arranged by Lady Hulda which featured heavenly harmonies and riveting solos by Shatrice Whyte, Christian Nathaniel, Clyde Richardson and Jolin Davis.
Lady Hulda’s daughters are all past students of The School and have always performed at the concerts. This occasion was no different as Dr Caroline Lawrence and Dr Taresa Lawrence did a brilliant violin and piano duet of “The Holy City” which was received with thunderous applause and shouts. The other sisters Dr Louisa Lawrence and Dr Victoria Lawrence did their mother proud as they performed piano solos “How Great Thou Art with Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor” and Debussy’s “Claire de Lune” respectively.
Worthy of note was an excellent, soul-stirring rendition of “He Shall Feed His Flock” from Handel’s “Messiah”, performed by past student Jewel Wattley whose beautiful soprano voice rose to the rafters and captivated the audience. And while The School has traditionally concentrated on piano instruction, some students are exposed to other musical instruments. As such, the audience was treated to a toe-tapping instrumental medley performed by Danni Maynard, Roma Richardson, Christian Nathaniel, Kyle Bradshaw, Revoy Caines and Jafric Rhyner featuring fifes, guitars and percussion. This was followed by the congregational song “Great is Thy Faithfulness” in which the students sang a descant composed by Lady Hulda.
A highlight of the evening was the group song “How Many Times Can an Ant Bite Me?” which was composed by Lady Hulda in 2001. In this rendition, the younger students told a comic tale of a lady about to take a nap who was bitten again and again by an ant until she dispatched the critter by some means too ungracious to mention in polite company. The children kept the audience in stitches with their antics – pretending to be bitten by the ant, and squirming, writhing and scratching while they performed this humorous piece.
The grand finale was a group song “Bless the Lord, O My Soul” composed by Lady Hulda and originally performed in 1991 at The School’s 10th Annual Concert. This was followed by the distribution of certificates and awards to the students of The School who sat pianoforte practical and theory exams administered by the Royal Schools of Music in London. Mrs Yvette Whyte, a parent of one of the students, graciously distributed the awards to the students for their accomplishments.
In a surprise tribute to Lady Hulda, the students and past students of The School each presented her with an anthurium lily to show their appreciation for her commitment over the past 30 years. The pink, red and white anthuriums for the tribute were donated by the Taiwanese Embassy. The Master of Ceremonies Ms Phillip thanked all those who made the concert possible and the audience for supporting the event.
The delightful evening came to a close with the singing of the doxology and the benediction by Archdeacon Valentine Hodge who congratulated Lady Hulda and The School and expressed the hope that as anthuriums last long, so The School would continue for many more years. As the students marched out to their recessional piece, the obviously pleased patrons socialized, discussing the wonderful music they had just experienced, and congratulating The School on its remarkable achievement of the 30th Annual Pianoforte Concert.
Lady Hulda Lawrence and The Lawrence School of Music take this opportunity to thank the public at large for their continued support of these concerts, the proceeds of which are always donated to charity.
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