Several generations will neither remember, nor have heard of June Nathaniel, who in her first public appearance at age five in the Music Festival, won the 12 and under Class.
Through her primary school life at Holy Name Convent Junior School and Secondary life at St Joseph's Convent in Port of Spain, she was to make several public appearances at Music Festivals, concerts and on radio; complete the Trinity College of Music exams in piano, singing and theory, Grades 1 - 8 with merit and honour passes, and finally obtain a Trinity College of Music local exhibition for singing in 1958, at age 17.
The following year, Togo and Naomi Nathaniel bid farewell to their 18-year old daughter as she left for England to attend Vietch's International School (a finishing school) for one year.
June went on to the Royal College of Music London from 1960-1963 and obtained the A.R.C.M. Piano Teaching and A.R.C.M. Singing Performing. Then won two scholarships to Vienna and Munich and chose to go to the Hochschule Fur Musik - an opera school in Munich- for four years, after which she spent two years at Professor Frederick Husler's Scuola di Canto in Lugano, Switzerland, was a member and soloist with Radio Lugano Choir (Switzerland), and sang in Schonberg's "Die Gluckliche Hand" at La Scala, Milan, Italy.
With a stipend from The Arts Council of Great Britain, she formed "The Felson Trio" composed of her soprano voice, clarinet and piano, and gave recitals throughout England and Ireland. And did much more with many other choirs in England.
June never gave up Trinidad and on some of her extended vacations back home was Musical Director for the first production of Walcott's Joker of Seville and of "Who She" by the New World Performers ('75), worked on the first recording of Joker, rehearsed Neal & Massy All Stars for two months for the 1989 Pan is Beautiful production, and judged parang and other local competitions.
In April 1996, she returned home for good "because I never intended to live my life abroad. I always intended to come back home. I had stopped performing because I became quite ill at one time, and so was just teaching a lot, and thought it is time to come home. And everything conspired so that I would come home."
"I taught for a year or so privately at home - singing and piano -and had quite a few pupils. Then Fred Chin Lee asked me to work at the Normandie as part of a production team." Thinking that she knew nothing about it "my thing is on stage, I never worked behind the stage, I joined their production team part time and continued teaching my group of 50 students in my school."
By September 1998, the school moved to a large empty room at the back of the Normandie's Under the Trees stage and opened its doors as the Music School at The Normandie. Today, as the school produces its second annual concert "Crazy For Music" on Friday June 29 and Saturday June 30 at 8p.m. in the Simon Bolivar Auditorium of the Venezuelan Centre on Victoria Avenue, there are 100 plus students. Tickets are available at the Normandie Box Office 624-1181 Ext. 4328 or the School at the same number Ext. 3313.
The school's first effort "For The Love of Music" at the same venue was well received. "This year we wanted people to get the feeling that we are not just about classical music, just different styles with nothing too heavy, well loved classics yes and jazz" explains the very talented singer who will do five items on the programme, which she promises is not overly long as "everybody i.e. the flute, violin, classical guitar, pan, piano, is supposed to perform for five to eight minutes. Jazz improvisations and a calypso finale will provide a bit more up tempo music than last year, although it is the same mix of music."
All the performers are tutors at the school. One of them, John Arnold, who holds a BSC in Industrial Management and teaches at Signal Hill in Tobago, will also teach a repeat Contemporary Keyboard Summer Course at the Normandie School from Monday August 13 to Friday August 24, for which Natalia Dopwell, secretary of the school, is already taking registrations.
June glows as she speaks of her music "It is something that I identify with, it is my whole world, I find great inspiration, peace and joy in it. It is a constant unfolding of one's self through the discipline of having to learn this particular art, it is not something you learn and call that George, it is constantly unfolding, never a done thing."
This experienced music teacher sees some very talented people in this country but says "it is pure inspiration in this place, some people are just able to channel this type of musical inspiration without their parents putting this into their background. I teach them vocal technique and then they can sing whatever they want. I teach how the voice is produced, how to breathe so the voice becomes more focused and in one line, so that when you sing a phrase there are no holes in the song, every single vowel is in one position so that the sound is going to reach to the end of the hall. Some people are born to be able to do that quite naturally, for some of us singers, however, life interferes and there are inhibitions, emotional upheavals, sickness. Remember you are the instrument, everything that you are is your voice, so these things will interefere with how you sing. If you are shy you cannot breathe openly, so you have to get rid of all baggage before you can sing."
During sessions, June notices all sorts of things which she mentions to her students. "You need to be able to look at yourself and understand your psychological workings. For instance, have an understanding relationship with parents, siblings, coming to terms with and forgiving people. All these are positive actions and feelings one should go through so you clear up any residual negatives of the past. It is all helpful for freeing the mind, tensions in the jaw, shoulders, throat, tongue, and all that will impinge on how you sing. Singing is very athletic and you have to be cardiovascularly fit. You must be strong if you are going to sing for a long time, your whole body is involved, not just your throat."