Another year, another Alpha School of Music Christmas Festival! This year’s staging of the annual event was held on December 12, 2024 in the school’s iconic outdoor courtyard. The show was well attended by persons of all ages who came out to enjoy performances by the Alpha School of Music Band and the Alpha Community Band.
As always, the musicians paid homage to our cultural heritage by playing a variety of traditional and vintage Jamaican songs. The school’s newest batch of students (which excitingly, includes two females!), played Jamaican folk songs (e.g. Mi Coffee, and Nice Time), a Ska medley (including the hits “Jamaican Ska” and “Simmer Down”), as well as the sixties global hit “My Boy Lollipop.”
The songs became progressively modern as the audience were taken on a musical journey through the decades and eventually were treated with popular Reggae and Dancehall tunes such as “I’m Still in Love”, “Strength of a Woman”, and “Underdog”. This marked the very first time that the school has formed a Dancehall Ensemble to perform. Coincidentally, Dancehall artiste, Agent Sasco, was in attendance and was impressed not only by the sheer talent of the students but also by the school’s state-of-the-art facilities. He, accompanied by Charmaine Daniels (CEO, Digicel Foundation), toured the school’s Lennie Hibbert Hall and the Colm Delves Centre to view the main spaces for classes, rehearsals and the music technology programme. While there, Agent Sasco was able to meet with brass instructor Leon Ince and the school Administrator Mrs. Little-Wilson. He also got to speak with several of our students who he encouraged to “Just immerse yourself in your craft. You have the tools at hand to develop your [skills]. And not only the tools, but the tutelage. Don’t ramp with it.”
Now, it would not be an ASOM Christmas Festival without Christmas music! The Alpha Community Band roused the audience with some of the season’s favourites like the Ukrainian Bell Carol (with a twist), Jingle Bells and This Christmas, while the Pre-Qualifying Year 1 class performed a Jamaican version of the song “For Unto Us” and the Year 2 band did a lovely rendition of “White Christmas”. In keeping with the festive theme, a beloved ASOM member of staff donned Santa Clause garb and entertained the audience while receiving donations for the school. Not only did “Santa Andrew” give onlookers a good laugh, he also persuaded several people to dance with him to the music!
Notably, there was a strong showing of Jazz numbers which included the song “Tenderly” performed by the Alpha Jazz Choir. The final year students also showcased their affinity for Jazz with stellar performances; two of which were of songs composed by the students themselves! During one of these sets, Zhuri Gordon (who was ASOM’s first female student), shared that while she never planned on pursuing music professionally, she was attracted to the school by the incredible facilities available to students. Thus far, she has had a wonderful experience and loves being at Alpha.
The evening closed out with a vibrant Caribbean Music Ensemble featuring a Fungii Calypso song from the British Virgin Islands and Christmas music from Trinidad (i.e. the Soca Parang genre). Throughout the night, it was heartening to see how much our students have grown not only in skill but also in their confidence and stage presence. We cannot wait to see what they wow us with at the next Alpha School of Music Christmas Festival!
