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Guyana Music Festival opens today

Apr 14, 2009 News

The Guyana Music Festival, which has been credited with discovering the talent of great musicians such as renowned pianist Ray Luck, is all set for a revival this evening.
The actual competition begins during the day, while an opening ceremony is set for the National Cultural Centre. The Festival runs from today to April 18.
A local group of musicians is behind this effort to revive the Festival, which in its heyday was hailed as an important avenue for the development of local musical talent. The Guyana Music Festival Association, along with the Guyana Music Teachers Association, the Woodside Choir and the Evangelical Lutheran Church are putting on the Festival.
The Festival’s office is the residence of David and Marilyn Dewar, both members of the Woodside Choir, which had its humble beginnings of the Guyana Music Festival decades ago.
Among the categories in competition are vocal solos and duets; verse speaking; choral speaking, primary/secondary school choirs; church choirs; action and folk song groups; piano, recorder and steel pan players; ladies, men and mixed voice choirs; gospel groups; violin, guitar and brass players.
The festival is being held under the patronage of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony and has the support of the Ministry of Education. Professor Vibert Cambridge is sponsoring a US$500 prize for a special category featuring “Bird Songs of Guyana.”
The Guyana Music Festival was held regularly from 1952-1973. The competition was later moved on to be part of Guyfesta. Efforts to revive the Festival were made 1994 and again in 1997, but were never followed through.
However, when Dr Erv Janseen, the Coordinator of the Music Education Programme of Partners in Mission with the Evangelical Lutheran Church learnt of the Guyana Music Teachers’ Association, the idea of a revival of the music festival was born. The Lutheran Church will be sponsoring the visit of Americans Donald Ryan and Marilynda Lynch, who will be the main adjudicators. Some of the local judges will be Cecil Bovell, David Dewar and Joyce Jonas.
Among those whose talent the Guyana Music Festival discovered was that of famed pianist Ray Luck.
David Dewar posits that if the Festival had continued, Guyana would have had much better musicians to be proud of. “And we would have had better calypsos,” he quipped.
In fact, Dewar noted that many of Guyana’s national songs were written for the Guyana Music Festival, and so he sees good reason in a revival of the event at this time.
Season tickets (covering the entire Festival) cost $2,500 for adults and $1,000 for children and are available at the National Cultural Centre or at the door.
Only the first day of the festival is being held at the National Cultural Centre. The remainder of the festival is slated for the Bishop’s High School.

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