College Band The Next Big Thing

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The Stingray Singers

(PLTM) - Residents and visitors in the Virgin Islands are quickly gravitating towards the Stingray Singers, a band made up of talented musicians and singers enrolled in the Concert Bands course at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.

The band, which provides regular weekend entertainment at some of the BVI’s hottest spots, including the Pier Park, Harbour View and Bamboushay Lounge, is now earmarked as the next big thing.

Unlike the many other bands in the Virgin Islands, the Stingray Singers perform for a passing grade.

In an interview with Mr. Eric Christian, Music Instructor at the college, the course, which is now in its second year, offers students both a practical and theoretical approach to the life of a performer, which includes all that is seen and the unseen.

The course is taught over a period of 1 year. Students enrolled in this course are scheduled to attend a class every day of the school week, where the lessons are designed around providing guidance and insight into the life of a performer, planning concerts and performances do’s and don’ts, among other areas.

On the weekends, which is highlighted as the most anticipated class sessions, the band, which is fifteen members strong, performs at various venues, displaying all that they’ve learnt, all while being graded by the instructor and the audience.

“One of the main objectives is not to play music that they know, but to expose them to many other genres and styles of music. Every week we tackle a different style. We also teach them more than just performing; we teach audio engineering, how to set up equipment, how to run equipment and all that.”

Mr. Christian noted, “We [BVI] have talent on the islands and this is our way of fine tuning it. Getting them to be more structured and for them to understand how to perform and what performances are all about.”

From countless performances on campus and in the community, the group has quickly built a reputation of always providing stellar performances, tune after tune.

This has been vouched by Governor Duncan, who invited the band to be his main entertainment at his Veteran’s Reception held at the Government House back in November 2015.

In an official statement provided by Governor Duncan to the band, he said, “The music was subtle and still energetic. The vocalists showed a great range and sensitivity to the material. The Stingray's performance didn’t overpower the event and had exactly the right tempo. It is rare that you find young musicians that are into Jazz and are able to give such a professional performance. I encourage the students to keep up the fantastic work and continue to give 100%. It seemed they enjoyed performing as much as we enjoyed listening.”

The Stingray Singers can be found every Saturday evening at Harbour View Marina in East End from 7:00 pm.

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