The Anguilla Tourist Board and the ALHCS Partner for 2007 Summer Music Camp
Jun 12th 4:41 am
The Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB) will be partnering with the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School (ALHCS) Music Department as part of the educational component of the annual Tranquility Jazz Festival to host the School’s Summer Music Camp. This year the annual ALHCS Summer Music Camp through the ATB will engage five music educators from the USA to conduct music lessons. The two week camp will will present a great opportunity to provide positive alternatives for Anguilla’s youth, as well as provide a deterrent to youth deviance while fostering an appreciation for and exposure to more diverse forms of music.
Since 2000, the ALHCS Summer Music Camp has been a driving force in helping to increase after school music offerings at the school and offering an alternative activity for students during the summer vacation. On occasion the camp has received assistance from resource personnel from St. Thomas and New York where university professors and practicing musicians would come and share with the participants from the fields of specialization. Over the years there has been a steady increase in interest and student participation for this exercise.
This year’s camp will assemble from July 9th-20th with tuition in the following: voice, strings, percussion, woodwinds and brasswinds. In the past the camp covered primarily woodwinds and brass and was heavily dependent on local facilitators. The Music Camp director is Mrs. Kimba Southwell who will be assisted by Mr. Lennox Vanterpool. Several sponsors have already committed to partnering in this event, including The Anguilla Social Security Board, The Anguilla Development Board, BET J, Apex/Avis Car Rental and Ocean Terrace Condos. We invite you to come on board and assist in the development of Anguilla’s youth.
Profiles of the event Coordinators and facilitators are as follows:
Coordinators’ Profiles:
Kimba Southwell began her path to music at the tender age of 5 under the tutelage of Mrs. Agnes Maynard. Kimba holds a B.A, in Music Education from the University of the Virgin Islands. She is a teacher of music with the ALHCS Music Department. In addition she is the Choir Director of the Bethel Methodist Church and the Director of Music for the entire Methodist Church on Anguilla. Kimba also offers private tuition, and is committed to helping her students to be the best they can be through music.
Lennox Vanterpool holds a B.A. in Music Education from the University of the Virgin Islands. He is presently employed at the ALHCS Music Department as general music teacher and concert band director. In addition to being an accomplished pianist, saxophonist and choir director, Lennox is the director of his own Morlens School of Music, one of the leading private music institutions on the island.
Facilitators’ Profiles:
William E. Smith holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Maryland, a M.M. in jazz composition and a B.M. in jazz studies from Howard University. With education as his focal point, Smith is an assistant professor of music at American University where he teaches courses in jazz history, rock history, music appreciation and conducts the American University Jazz Ensemble. He is a frequent lecturer and clinician in jazz. As a performer, he has performed and recorded with many ensembles in a variety of genres, and has led his own traditional jazz group, the W.E.S. Group, for eleven years. The group has recorded four albums including "A Jazz Mass," an original composition of the Episcopal and Catholic liturgy in a lush jazz arrangement
McClenty "Mac" Hunter Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan and at a very young age demonstrated an interest in music. His parents noticed, is strong interest in the drums and they cultivated that interest. With no formal training, he began playing drums for his church's choir. As a 2005 graduate of Howard University, McClenty entered the Masters Program at The Juilliard School in New York City. He was further indoctrinated into the jazz culture under the mentorship of renowned drummer, Carl Allen. He is a recent graduate of the highly acclaimed Julliard School of Music Masters Program.
Joel Holmes Joel heard the musical sound that would change his life, "I first heard ragtime at music class. It was like a window opening." With a growing passion, Joel soaked up a steady influence of jazz greats like Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. After graduating the Baltimore School for the Arts High School, Joel attended the acclaimed Peabody Conservatory of Music at John Hopkins University. He gained popularity with his fellow students playing impressive performances at various festivals and venues. Joel has studied with Bobby McFerrin, Roy Hargrove, Gary Thomas, and a host of other respected musicians. He is currently Jazz Piano professor at The University of Maryland Baltimore County. He is the director of Jazz at the Baltimore School for the Arts High School. He has also taught music and theory at the Rock Junior Academy, and has over 15 private students. Joel is a recent Bachelor of Arts graduate from the Peabody Conservatory in Jazz Performance.
Eric Wheeler is a Washington, DC native and has been studying string bass for 15 years. He began studying classical music at the age of nine at the DC Youth Orchestra Program in Washington, DC. At age thirteen he was accepted into the Duke Ellington School for the Arts, where he began to study jazz music. At Ellington, he had the opportunity to travel to places such as Canada, France, England, and Germany. This greatly influenced Eric to pursue a career in music. While attending Howard University as a music major, he worked professionally in the DC metro area as a jazz and classical musician. Eric received both his Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Howard University as of May 2006. Presently, Eric works as a full time musician and educator in the DC metro area.
Brian Chadwick Vickers is a graduate of Howard University with a B.M. in Vocal Performance with Jazz Studies. Talented, involved, focused and committed are words that best describe Brian Chadwick Vickers. He sings, writes poetry, volunteers in the community, participates in sports, is very involved in the church and serves as a mentor to other young people. Since the age of five, Brian has been sharing the gift of song. He made his first singing debut at his home church in Birmingham, Alabama, Friendship Baptist Church. In his debut he sung all three verses of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" from memory and amazed the audience with such a performance while he was only in kindergarten. Since then, he participated in many talent shows, church functions, and other events all over the city. Brian’s career goal is to write, produce and perform all styles of music. He also looks forward to teaching music to younger students and bringing more musical opportunities to his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.
Anguilla Jazz Festival
Jun 7th 4:29 am
Once a year the normally serene and languid island of Anguilla in the British West Indies bursts onto the scene as a paragon of culture and music as the Tranquility Jazz Festival takes hold of the entire island to embrace the local population and visitors alike.
The Tranquility Jazz Festival now in its fifth year provides an avenue to first time and repeat visitors to the small 35 square mile island a unique opportunity to see Anguilla in all its glory while at the same time providing an opportunity for local jazz aficionados to take up the mantle as ambassadors for the exquisite island state.
This year’s Festival is the continuation of a tradition of excellence that has been honed to perfection by the energetic and imaginative team of Festival Coordinators who toil tirelessly behind the scenes. The team has again been able to produce an impressive slate of performers from across the globe including our very own backyard of Jamaica and the United States Virgin Islands, meant to do no more than cause the true jazz enthusiast to shiver with expectation and anticipation. This is not an event that one would therefore wish to miss and in that light we therefore invite you to come, enjoy and be enriched by the experience that can only be provided by the Tranquility Jazz Festival in all its splendour.
