Guyana’s longest surviving secular choir, The Woodside Choir, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.
The origin of the choir as set out in various written and oral accounts, goes back to a February 1962 Bishops’ High School Old Girls Guild Tea Party during which the now deceased Chairperson of the National History and Arts Council announced the initiation of the British Guiana Music Festival. Simultaneously, she urged the Guild to give consideration to the creation of a Ladies’ Choir to participate in the Festival; hence the creation of the Bishops’ High School Old Girls Guild Choir.
In a recent interview with The Guyana Review, Magda Pollard, one of the longest-serving members of the choir reflects on its heyday, its success at the British Guiana Music Festival and its contribution to the popularization of music in Guyana.
Elise Agnes Arno, another long serving member of the choir, recalls that the Choir set itself high standards. Aspirants to membership, she recalls, were subjected to auditioning to ensure that they were worthy of membership. More than that, Ms Arno recalls, persons were recruited on the basis of their enthusiasm for singing.
Ms Arno recalls too that the test piece for the Choir’s first festival was Schubert’s “The Lord is my shepherd.” The Choir was conducted by Reginald McDavid and accompanied on piano by his daughter Joan.
The Choir retained its gender exclusivity until 1956 when it became open to male membership. In 1960 the name was changed to the Woodside, the original name of the Bishops’ High School.
The addition of male voices to the Choir saw its participation in musical competitions and its success rate grow significantly.
The Woodside Choir benefitted from a long and distinguished line of conductors including Ruby McGreggor, William “Billy” Pilgrim, Deryck Bernard, Aubrey Joseph, the Brothers (WJ and J) Simmonds) and Reginald McDavid. Ms Pollard further said each Conductor brought their own style to The Woodside Choir.
Over time the Choir became a household institution in Guyanese music, its performances extending beyond Georgetown and into Linden, Berbice and Essequibo. Additionally, the Choir became sought after at important public functions.
Local performances aside, the Woodside Choir rose to become musical ambassadors for Guyana, travelling to events in the Caribbean and North America. The Choir, which by then included a Folk Song Grop represented Guyana at the Grenada Expo in 1969, the Suriname Trade Show in 1971, the first CARIFESTA in Guyana in 1972 and CARIFESTA in Cuba in 1979. Under the leadership of the late Deryck Bernard another group named ‘Korokwa’ was formed and continues to perform both locally and internationally.
“We have sung for many national occasions”, Ms Pollard indicated such as in 1970 for the republic celebration they were featured in the joint choir and sang the Legend of Kaieteur, during the visit to Guyana by Queen Elizabeth 11.
The Folk Song Group had been established in 1966 and subsequently expanded to embrace the entire Mixed Voice Choir.
Over time the Woodside Choir blossomed into a highly talented and versatile group embracing in their repertoire classical music as well as calypso, national songs and folk songs. In effect the choir sought to appeal to a wide cross section of Guyanese.
Veterans of the Woodside Choir still reflect with much pride on what they consider to have been the heyday of the institution, recalling performances before large and enthusiastic audiences both at home and abroad. Elsie Croal, a current member of the Choir says that its face has changed; her perspective on the transformation of the Choir takes us through the regime of Billy Pilgrim who served as Conductor for thirty five years in 2006, Deryck Bernard who passed away in 2008 and Lynette Cunha, the current Conductor. Again, Ms Croal says that each Conductor brought their own character to the Choir.
Much has changed for the Choir in recent years. Overseas travel is limited though They have not travelled as much within the last ten years, however, the Choir continues to entertain and delight local audiences.
Ms. Croal alludes to another important transformation in the Woodside Choir pointing out the outfit has become more egalitarian in its membership, embracing persons of talent and will from across the social spectrum.
In 1992, the Woodside Choir was awarded the Medal Service Award for its contribution to Choral Music. David Dewar, perhaps the best-known male voice in the choir, recalls the pride felt by the group upon bestowal of the award. In 2005, it received the Folk festival Award.
Dewar too reflects on the change which the Choir has undergone. “We are no longer just a group of people singing for the joy of singing; we are now involved in the running of the Music Festival. We have restarted it to keep it going; and we also provide training for trainers’ workshops.”
Dewar and his wife also run a music school where students pursue examinations under the auspicies of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in the United Kingdom.
Dewar says that The Woodside Choir has now assumed much of the responsibility for keeping music alive in Guyana. ‘We do not have an orchestra but we do have a folk arm,” he says. Dewar says that the Choir is looking forward to ensuring the successful staging of the Music Festival next year though the decline in participation has seen the number of competitors reduced from around 1,000 during the 1950’s to around 200 “these days.”
Times have changed in more ways than one. Ms Croal says that in earlier times there was a surfeit of teachers around to prepare entrants for the Music Festival. That is no longer the case.
The Woodside Choir has now tasked itself with travelling across the country to train teachers in an effort to raise standards at the Music Festival. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Ms Croal says, has now come on board to provide financial support for the staging of the Music Festival. That apart The Woodside Choir continues to hold Lenten Cantatas, Christmas concerts, mid-year Concerts and other public events. Additionally, they continue to respond positively to other invitations to perform publicly at venues that include The National Cultural Centre.
To mark its sixtieth anniversary the Woodside Choir is starting a series of activities. On April 4th and 6th the Choir performed renditions of Stainer’s Crucifixion twice on 4th and 6th April, at the Bedford Methodist Church and Christ Church; performances and a Thanksgiving Service were also held at Christ Church.
Rita Bowen, who has been a member of The Woodside Choir for 53 years says that the programme of activities for anniversary includes a Music Enrichment Workshop staged at the Bishops’ High School from July 30-August 3. Some of the courses offered at the Workshop include Piano Pedagogy for Individuals, Music and the Brain-Music Education for Music teachers , Steel Pan Pedagogy, Woodwind Pedagogy, choral Music for Adults. Children were exposed to playing hand chimes, choral music learning to play the recorder and learning to play boomwhackers.
The celebrations are expected to culminate with a Grand Concert at the National Cultural Centre on Auguist 9.
A 43-year veteran of the Woodside Choir, David Dewar remains optimistic that the institution will endure long after its current members are past and gone. In some cases children have joined their parents in the Woodside Choir and Dewar sees the continuous training of teachers as a sign of things to come.
He alludes to the recent presence in Guyana of James Ruiz Sydney – son of the veteran Guyanese broadcaster James Sydney – to conduct a praise and worship workshop. Developments like those, he says, fills him with optimism.
