Quinn Prescott loves working with upcoming junior calypsonians and soca artistse. As the youth director of House of Soca Juniors, she has a hand in shaping, guiding and helping them improve.
In an interview with Weekend Buzz, the 2013 Scotiabank Junior Monarch who won with the calypso Living With HIV said her decision to lead the developmental programme which is in its second year, stemmed from wanting to do more personally.
She last time competed in the 2024 Pic O De Crop competition and opted not to sing “until I can write my own song”.
Still wanting to be part of the tent and Crop Over, Quinn said she offered to sing backing vocals but manager Sharon Carew-White, said “no” and redirected her.
“She said, ‘I saw how you worked with Sabiah (Gaskin, junior monarch contestant) and I like the progress that she made. How about you take on your own group? How about you form a group of children, and guide them the way that you would have been guided through [junior monarch?] I told her it was a good idea.
“We were missing that element in junior monarch we had before, where we had our workshops. Within our camps every Saturday or Sunday leading up until competition, we met with our writers, we had boot camps, etc. They were more hands on. I find now that the writers are just writing the songs and giving them to the children. Nobody’s working with them. …I love working with children, and I love calypso, and if I don’t have to sing, but I can help children develop and experience what I did before, I am all for it’,” she recounted.
She is heartened by her charges progress. She loves their enthusiasm and watching their confidence in their ability to perform and sing, grow.
“Everybody started at different levels. Right now, I can say confidently, from last year into this year, the development, and their enthusiasm has increased. They’re very happy, very excited every time to come and learn. I think them wanting to learn helps me. It fuels me to teach. It fuels me to help guide them and shape them,” she noted.
Follow her instincts
She stated that Carew-White “plays a major role” in keeping her level and up to the task, offering her advice, helping and giving input only when necessary. She said she is urged to follow her instincts and to trust herself to make the right decisions which she is given her the room to do.
“She’s helping me find myself, and in that way, I’m helping the juniors find themselves,” she added.
Fourteen of the 17 participating junior artists have registered for Junior Monarch. A few of them who entered the competition before, are taking a break.
Quinn explained that during the eight-week programme, Mondays were “learning days” and Thursdays were for practising. The intention was to provide the necessary training in varied aspects of the craft inclusive of voice training and breathing techniques, building an image and “finding themselves on and off stage”, and media interviews.
Take them through the journey
“We structured the sessions in a way that we covered every area of performance, every single possible thing that they would need to take them through the journey. We tried to cover everything, and I think we did all,” she stated.
The sessions were facilitated by cultural icon Jennifer Sealy, noted poet/writer university lecturer Dr. Yvonne Weekes, musician, calypsonian, songwriter/arranger Billboard Murrell, veteran broadcaster, producer, radio and TV host Teisha Hinds, former junior monarch, entrepreneur, singer/ song writer Teri-Williams-Niles.
Soca artiste and parent of junior monarch contestant Lelani, Rhea SugarRhe Ellis, spoke to parents about preparing for their young artistes, budgeting and “everything that the parents needed to know”. Vocal coach and singer/songwriter Kellie Cadogan, who covered voice training, also conducted a parents’ workshop, teaching them how to breathe so that they can help their children breathe.
Trinidadian singer/songwriter and ex-tempo champion Brian London covered songwriting.
“I’m trying to get most of them to write their own songs. Songs are very expensive, even for juniors so if they can develop that talent of writing for themselves and we just have to depend on arrangers, hopefully next year, we could help them with learning how to put together their music too. That would be very important,” she stated.
So, what is Quinn looking forward to? “I am looking forward to it all. Last year I was excited for every single event with them, and at every single event I cried. I don’t think I have any tears this year, because it was such a surreal feeling last year, seeing where everybody came from. Now they’re progressing, and I see that it’s working.
“I am mostly excited for preliminaries, the semifinals, and the tents too, but mainly the competition aspect of it, because I know when they get in front of the judges, it’s completely different. I hope that I take a good set of them throughout the competition this year.”
While she is pleased with the evolution of the junior monarch competition, she would like to see “two separate competitions” and the previous age categories.
“Things change and we must adapt but I would much prefer to have two categories, because in all fairness, … I feel like everybody should have a fair chance at competing. Even the little ones in this tent, when they see the older ones say, ‘Auntie, I don’t think I could get in. Then we have to tell them, ‘Anything is possible. You just have to apply yourself. Yes, it is possible’”, she told Buzz. (GBM)
