NIFCA Music Arrangers and Performers Challenges Showcase Barbados' Musical Landscape Locally and Abroad

The newly introduced National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) Arrangers and Music Performers Challenges have been lauded as a vehicle for the continuity of Barbados’ strength of the musical landscape locally and abroad.

The challenges, which seek to introduce new and competent arrangers to Barbadians as well as more fledging solo instrumentalists, are quickly attracting interest.

Marlon Legall and the Marlon Legall Voice Project copped the top prize in the NIFCA Music Arranger’s Challenge, from a total of nine entries, with a moving arrangement to the Mighty Gabby’s classic, Emmerton.

Gary Goodridge placed second for his arrangement of Da Cocoa Tea. Mylon Clarke, who also arranged Da Cocoa Tea, placed third. Other participants were Christopher Sayers, Daniel Boxill, Erin Hazlewood, James Clarke, Judah Goddard and Lizzy & Manny.

National Cultural Foundation (NCF) Cultural Officer of Music Organisation, Aisha Butcher, was pleased with the public’s response to the initiative which is her brainchild. She explained that the idea of the challenges came about in response to the need to widen the pool of potential arrangers and solo instrumentalists.

What she realised was that while the talent was there, a lot of the musicians did not have a specific opportunity to showcase it or have the confidence to let it be heard. Knowing this was a deficit, the challenge was devised to put them at the forefront. In keeping with the objective of celebrating Barbados, the music had to have a Barbadian element.

“It’s not just about the challenge, it is about filling a deficit in Barbados where we are not seeing a lot of arrangers and we hear some of the same names that we know. Because we are on the ground, we know the talent is out there.

“Coming out of this, the aim is to have more workshops, more opportunities to hear their work being displayed on national stages; just get their names out there so that we have more arrangers with varying styles to choose from. It also augurs well for the Barbados Community College music programme as well as the University of the West Indies because they have specific classes geared towards these areas. When it comes to arranging you don’t just arrange for class anymore, you could let it translate into real life,” Butcher said.

The NIFCA Music Performers Challenge comprises four challenges in which contestants are given five days to learn and replicate a specific part of the weekly challenge song by a well-known and celebrated musician.

The first challenge was won by Keelan Richards who played educator and songwriter in Andre Woodvine’s solo in the John King and Alison Hinds duet Hold You in a Song.

Challenge number two was won by Daniel Harvey for his interpretation of a segment of world-renowned saxophonist Arturo Tappin’s hit, Breaking Up; and Kaylee Allman’s delivery of Romaro Greaves’ solo in Farmer Nappy’s Big People Party took the top spot in challenge number three. For the fourth challenge which was announced on Sunday, participants will have to reproduce the published clip of Nicholas Brancker’s Nicalypso.

In addition to $500 cash prize, each winner gets an invaluable one-on-one mentorship session with the original soloist.

Butcher stressed that while the NIFCA Performing Arts competition is still popular, this year they wanted to look more at the technical aspects and zero in on solo instrumentalists.

“When it comes to the Performers Challenge, we are pleased with their technical level and ability to be able to execute in a short timeframe as well. And not only just getting the pitches correct, but the lengths, phrasing, and encapsulating the tone and the feel of the solo and being able to put that out,” she said.

These are songs that, for some of them, they don’t regularly listen to, so to be able to pick up all of these nuances is very telling of where we are in terms of technical ability. [A] person can enter one challenge, so it is not this repeated person winning, so we are seeing different faces popping up with the same technical ability. We are pleased to know that that is what’s happening on the outside and want to give them opportunities to go further with their training and development,” Butcher added.

(PR)