Last Tuesday afternoon, at the end of the performances by the School Choirs (under 15 years of age), adjudicator, Dr Victoria Meredith, brought the six choirs together and conducted a joint performance of Emile Waldteufel's "The Skater's Waltz." It was so moving that one could actually see graceful skaters moving to the music on the rink at Madison Square Gardens.
Giving her reasons for doing this, Dr Meredith, an adjudicator at Festivals all across Canada and the United States, explained " when there is a test piece I like to put the choirs together at the end because they get a different experience being part of a big group that they would not normally have. More than that, I feel strongly that music is something that you do with other people and for other people but not really against other people, so different groups together gives them the opportunity to make music with other people that they do not even know, an important part of the magic of music making."
This is her first time in the Caribbean as an adjudicator, along with her co-adjudicator husband, Dr Henry Meredith, although last December the couple did visit Antigua and Barbados while celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary on a Caribbean cruise. The two music Professors have no children: "We think that we help to raise lots of children through music because we have both been teaching for over 30 years" she explained.
Professor Meredith (V) holds a doctorate in choral conducting and voice performance from the University of Arizona, and is chairman of the Department of Music Education at the University of Western Ontario where her husband whose specialty is instrumental, also teaches in the Faculty of Music.
Judging in Trinidad has been different and "a lot of fun" for the couple who when judging at the same Festival, would only judge their specialties - she the singers and he the instrumentalists. Instead of what is currently happening - both judging everything at different venues - and " that is what has made this more enjoyable, there has been variety which makes it more interesting and we have enjoyed that very much." The Merediths come together to adjudicate at this week's Championships and there will be no arguments says the lady professor " as we are amazingly in agreement about what we hear so often and tend to think the group that wins is the group that should win."
Dr Meredith (V) thinks " the standard is very high here. I have been especially impressed with the singing and the choirs. It is good to see people of all ages taking part in the Festival and of course the steelpan ensembles add that special colour that you do not find in any other Festival. The level of performance ability is equal to what I have heard across North America, and what I have been most thinking sometimes is that I wish that more people initially could hear some of the groups here because there is a lot of talent and a lot of outstanding musicianship."
"Judging the steelband was really absolutely enjoyable. I have been impressed by the agility and the level of musicianship and the variety of types of sound that I have heard in the steelband. I also heard a large number of folk songs in choirs and the solo category, and found that becoming exposed to music that is new to me has been very, very enjoyable.
Dr Meredith was also really impressed with the teachers because "many large groups of young people performed and their performances were very polished and I know being a teacher how many extra hours of work have gone into preparing the types of performances that we have heard. Teachers don't really get credit for the work that goes into preparing for a Festival of this kind. And I just think they do not get a lot of extra appreciation for taking time to do this."
She complimented the fine choices of music made by the Festival Committee and remarked "it is always a big challenge to choose just the right music and there has been some very fine music which offers the performers the opportunity to grow. While they learn in a variety of ways through the process of preparing and also from hearing other performers. Lastly, hopefully, they learn something from what I would have to say or write to them about their performances. But they learn most from their actual doing."
And although there were times when heavy rain on the roof of the Woodbrook Youth Centre brought short halts, and accoustically the Hall was not quite sound, she saw some advantages in enough space to bring in all the choirs for joint performances, enough space to have groups stay in the hall and listen to those who followed after them so that they can learn from other groups. And while she thought that everyone had done a good job to manage the space, on the other hand it was most difficult for the young solo singers whose voices got lost in the space.
The husband and wife team came to adjudicate the Trinidad and Tobago Music Festival's Golden Jubilee 25th Music Festival on the recommendation of a previous adjudicator, and will leave on Thursday with memories of "high quality music making, delightfully friendly people and the discovery of a love for West Indian food."