For over 50 years the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) National Festival of the Performing Arts has been instrumental in assisting talented Jamaicans hone their performance skills. This further rings true for the Music subject area, which boasts the development of talent across a wide range of creatives within the musical field, inclusive of vocalists and musicians. 

The parish of St. Catherine saw the first level of the Music competition, parish auditions at the Trinity Church Hall in Linstead on Thursday, January 24 and according to seasoned JCDC adjudicator Heston Boothe, the pieces presented were quite promising.

 “Some of the pieces today were quite impressive and show good potential. We saw quite a few items with the potential to make it to parish and national finals,” said Boothe, who has been adjudicating for the JCDC for 17 years.

He continued, “For some of the pieces, the students and teachers will have to work on them to bring them up to scratch. What we as adjudicators write on the mark sheets is there to help them improve for the next round, parish finals. Here at the audition level we aim to assist the process, so if we see something that is not right with an item, we instruct them on how to improve the piece.”

Boothe’s sentiments were seconded by fellow adjudicators Ann Grant and Seanne Steers, both of whom have been adjudicating music auditions for the JCDC for over a decade.

For decades, the National Festival of the Performing Arts parish auditions have helped the JCDC sift out hidden talents in the five performing arts subject areas of Dance, Drama, Music, Speech and Traditional Folk Forms.

The National Festival of the Performing Arts is open to community groups, schools, youth clubs, social clubs, performing arts clubs, companies, and churches. Outstanding individual performers are encouraged to enter as well. Persons interested in entering this competition may do so on spot at the parish auditions.

Entry forms, as well as additional information regarding the National Festival of the Performing Arts, can be accessed online at the JCDC website, www.jcdc.gov.jm and at the JCDC Head Office located at 3-5 Phoenix Avenue, Kingston 10 and all JCDC parish offices island-wide.