Howard University Choir thrills!

Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor

The night of Saturday, March 12 was special for a small group of guests of United States Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater at her Paddington Terrace residence. They would be first to hear the visiting Howard University Choir in a private performance beneath a white tent on the sprawling lawns of the venue. The house is the same one in which former Cuban leader Fidel Castro is reputed to have slept one night several decades ago and it stood majestically in the background as cocktails were sipped.

The always affable Ambassador Bridgewater, her special guest Dr J. Weldon Norris, conductor of the choir and her mother-in-law visiting from the United States greeted and welcomed each guest upon arrival. She thanked them for accepting her invitation, noting the presence among them of many Jamaicans who were Howard University graduates. She introduced Dr Norris who expressed his pleasure at being in Jamaica and introduced his choir and the selections they would perform.

They did not disappoint, their voices blended harmoniously, their diction was crisp and clear with notes so fine at times one could not discern musical from human instrument. Of particular pleasure was the soloist's rendition of As by the Streams of Babylon, it's the stuff of which gooseflesh is born.

Dr Norris introduced each suite of songs in a programme that comprised Early American Hymnody, Works of Samuel Barber, Works of Nathaniel Dett and American Spirituals and Work Songs. They performed magnificently.

Free performances

During their stay, the choir also gave free performances at the Stella Maris Church, the University of the West Indies and the Northern Caribbean University. Their visit formed part of the embassy's activities to mark the International Year for People of African Descent.

Guests out included Lorna Golding, wife of Prime Minister Bruce Golding, and their daughter Sherine Campbell; Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller, former Prime Minister Edward Seaga and his wife, Carla; Opposition Spokesman on Finance Dr Omar Davies and his wife, Rose; Dr Peter Phillips and his wife, Sandra Minott Phillips; Carolyn Awkard; Ambassador Bridgewater's mother-in-law, and Howard Alum; Member of Parliament Robert Pickersgill; Vivian Crawford, Oliver Clarke and his wife, Monica Ladd; Jean Lowrie-Chin and husband Hubie Chin, Dr Curtis Watson Dr Heather Little-White and her husband, Peter Watson, and Ben Brodie.

We also spotted Chilean Ambassador Alfredo Garcia; Cedric Harper, high commissioner of St Kitts and Nevis; Mathu Joyini of South Africa; Spanish Ambassador, Celsa Nuño; Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Japanese ambassador, and his wife, Yoko; Carla Ellis, mission director, Peace Corps; Karen Hilliard, mission director, United States Agency for International Development; John and Urla Junor; Robert MacMillan and several more.