DO IT FOR ST LEONARD’S, the secondary school’s fundraising concert held on Saturday night, was one for the books with top-tier performances from start to finish.
Past students of the Richmond Gap, St Michael school, as well as two from the defunct St Leonard’s Girls’ Secondary School who have made a name for themselves in entertainment, shared the stage with young, talented, emerging performers, the majority of whom attended or attend the school, for the cause.
The six-member concert committee, headed by former teacher Charles Lovell, should consider staging another one before year-end for those who missed this one and to secure more funds for the building of a state-of-theart culinary lab.
Among the highlights were performances from old scholars Cultural Ambassador The Most Honourable Anthony Mighty Gabby Carter, who sang his classics Well Done and Emmerton; Romancia Murray’s fantastic renditions of C’est Si Bon and C’est Magnifique; Margaret Miss B Bovell’s rendition of The Dearest Part Of Me and 2024 Richard Stoute Teen Talent winner Kenaz Bit Bit Walker.
The latter, who does not attend the school, paid tribute to old scholar Richard Stoute by singing Vehicle, one of the songs the late entertainer and promoter made popular.
Solid performance
The school’s steel orchestra delivered another solid performance with a Jackie Opel Medley, See You Again and Once Upon A Wine, which had people moving in their seats.
There were also uplifting renditions from the award-winning St Leonard’s Boys’ School Choir, which is always a pleasure to hear. The harmonious voices of the Andrew Lokai-directed choir filled the auditorium as they opened the show with Welcome Dear Redeemer, featuring classical singer Fernando Watts, Edelweiss and Love Changes Everything, setting the tone for the event. They returned in the second half as part of
SLB Combined, comprising the school’s pop band and steel orchestra in performances of How Great Thou Art and Mark Lord’s I Hear A Love Song, which featured Joshua Osbourne, who placed third in the 2024 edition of the Richard Stoute Teen Talent, as lead vocalist.
Osbourne, a member of the school choir and lead vocalist in the pop band, sang Kenny Lattimore’s For You in English and Spanish in the first half to robust applause as a solo. With the pop band, he and co-lead vocalist Jonathan Dowlat performed Be Strong, Dowlat’s original song Show Our People The Way,
and a nice mash-up of Diamonds and My Country To Me. Saxophonist with the pop band, Jaden Olivier, delighted with his performance of Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You.
Also among the performers were former member of the school’s staff, Dr Glovina Springer, with a medley of dinner time songs ( Can’t Help Falling In Love, The Way We Were and My Way) on the piano; Baje To The World Season 2 winner Tariq Griffith who sang So Amazing; and award-winning gospel reggae singer Jermyn Demitri, who brought lots of energy with his original songs Obstacles and Journeys.
The Executives band, featuring singer Thierry Taylor-Shepherd, performed Feeling Good, originally done by Nina Simone, and trombonist Joshua Rollins played Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. Award-winning soca artiste and songwriter
Saddis brought his popular 2024 soca Bye X2, and two-time calypso monarch Destroyer sang It Could Happen To Anybody and Jesus Is Alive.
The show ended around 10:45 p.m. with emerging artiste John Boss performing his 2024 bashment soca Heart Beat before he was joined on stage by MC Sluggy Dan for a tribute to Tune Of The Crop king Mighty Grynner. They sang Leggo I Hand
and We Want More, respectively.
The audience included principal Peter Cox, chairman of the board of management, Reverend Canon Dr Sonia Hinds, parliamentary representative for St Michael West Chris Gibbs, retired principal Colin Jackson, former Member of Parliament Steve Blackett and his wife Eleanor, and Minister of the Environment, National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy Adrian Forde, an old scholar. (GBM)
