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■ Michael Mondezie

THE esteemed composition class of the Trinidad and Tobago Music Festival will now exclusively feature music for the pan.

Festival chairman Jessel Murray made the announcement to rousing applause at the opening of the 33rd edition of the biennial event, on Sunday evening, at Queen's Hall, St Ann's.

The 2020 edition of the Festival runs from March 1 to 28.

Murray said the move will encourage arrangements for the national instrument outside of a Panorama and Carnival context. He said the change is in keeping with the Festival's new motto, 'Make music, transform communities'.

'Our steelpan being the youngest of the acoustic instruments in existence needs its own repertoire outside of the standard Panorama arrangements. It is our goal to have members of the National Steel Symphony Orchestra perform some of the winning entries at our gala closing, so stay tuned,' Murray said.

The artistic director/conductor of the Trinidad and Tobago National Steel Symphony Orchestra (NSSO) said the Festival will also present a bursary for the most outstanding pannist from the patronage of the Patron of the Arts Foundation.

'It is the goal of this Board to have even more bursaries available to our winners in Festival 2022 and we would like to 'Pan Trinbago'... this is a new verb which means to take a Trinidad final to Tobago and stage it there. It is time that we offer at least one of our national championships in Tobago,' he said to more applause.

Pan Trinbago staged a National Panorma finals in Tobago for the first time this year when it put on the medium bands Panorama final, on February 16, at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet.

Festival losing glory days

Established in 1946 by Helen May Johnson, the T&T Music Festival has traditionally been a display of classical music excellence. It has for seven decades been the standard for budding musicians and performers willing to test their talent and skill in front of internationally- renowned music academics.

A number of Festival participants have gone on to play and perform with bands, orchestras and choirs both locally and abroad.

However, Murray said the restructuring of the Festival is necessary to address 'an overall fall in enthusiasm from the glory days' of the showcase.

The former University of the West Indies (UWI) Creative and Festival Arts head announced a number of other changes to the 2020 edition of the Festival, including a new online registration process, competition format and adjudication set-up. Among the main changes is a consolidation of solo classes at the Open level; instrumental solo classes at both levels; the rebranding of the small instrumental classes to 'Instrumental Ensembles'; and the consolidation of Choral classes at both levels, he said.

New adjudication format

The 2020 edition of the Festival will also see the introduction of six adjudicators spread across themed formats at the preliminary and final stages of the Junior Class for Choral/ Vocal, pan, piano and woodwinds brass, Murray said.

In the past only two judges carried the intensive work load.

Open classes will be held on evenings under a sole adjudicator, Dr Richard Tang Yuk. Two foreign-based adjudicators will be flown in for the final week of the Festival, March 21-28, to preside over the grand championships.

'All these eminent professionals were recruited from academia and other, with impressive credentials and experience, will start their work this week and continue for three weeks. This adjudication model, besides ensuring a consistency across the classes, will also give our audiences themed mornings, afternoons, and evenings to enjoy the Festival,' he added.

Murray hopes that restructuring the format of the competition aspect of the Festival would also make it 'more viable for future financial support from the private and public sector'.

'There is no secret that the arts needs support, from both sectors, but there is also the possibility of arriving at a point of self-sufficiency with the right planning,' he concluded.

Tang Yuk oversaw a competitive Class OP-A3 female Oratario and Class OP-A4 male Oratario on opening night.

Misty Ann Knights' near-flawless rendition of 'Laudamus te', from Mozart's 'Great Mass in C minor', won the female Oratario category with 88 points.

Alliyah Boland, singing 'Arie' from Bach's 'Magnificat in D', was second with 87 points.

Tang Yuk, only obligated to send through the top scorer, advanced both singers to the championship round.

Kory Mendez topped the Oratario male category with a commanding performance of 'If with all your hearts', from Mendelssohn's 'Elijah', that earned him 88 points.

Marc Morancie finished a point behind in second place with 'But who may abide the day of his coming', from Handel's 'Messiah'.

Tang Yuk again opted to advance the top two performers to the championship round.

WON FEMALE ORATARIO CATEGORY: Misty Ann Knights during her near-flawless rendition of 'Laudamus te', from Mozart's 'Great Mass in C minor' at the opening of the 33rd Biennial Music Festival on Sunday evening at Queen's Hall, St Ann's. -Photo: ISHMAEL SALANDY