As I sit at the back of All Saints Anglican Church during Music, Voice and Soul, a concert headlined by the Eastern Youth Chorale, I cannot help but notice their conductor, John Michael Thomas. He gesticulates passionately, evoking crescendos, diminuendos and even silence from his charges. Without a doubt, this conductor/musical director gets into his performances. It is evident that the only thing that supersedes Thomas's musical talents is his passion for developing and nurturing the art form in T&T.
The self-proclaimed "Arimian" has been relentless in his quest to expose the creative gifts of the nation's youth through his brain child, The Eastern Performing Arts Chorale (EYC). Although Thomas has been a performer for many years, it seems that his musical prowess was steadily incubated in the womb, since his mother was also a singer and music teacher. As an infant, he was constantly surrounded by music when he accompanied his mother to Arima Girls' RC where she worked.
"When she carried me to school, I would sit in the play pen and listen to the music she taught," he said. At age seven he was selected by the principal at Arima Boys' RC to join his school's classical choir. This heralded the beginning of his performing career. Thomas soon began to compete, trained by his mother and later by his childhood vocal coach, Miss Pierre, who helped refine him as a performer. "Miss Pierre taught me to play and read music. She also taught me breathing techniques," he disclosed. Interestingly, he recalled an early childhood memory of his first defeat at the Bi-annual Music Festival in Port-of-Spain, which instilled in him the work ethic he has adopted as a professional today. "The first time I competed in Port-of-Spain I was terrified and I placed second. That was a turning point because I told myself I had to hold myself to a higher standard, since being the best singer in Arima was not good enough."
From then onwards, the bold lyric tenor has been victorious at the popular festival, copping most titles, namely in voice and steelpan. His passion for music later manifested in the opening of Hallelujah Music School with his mother, where Thomas would help teach music to interested students free of charge.
He recounted acquiring old pans from the panyards after Carnival to use as instruments, and old benches from his mother's school to furnish their music school. After completing his CXC exams, he was invited to join The Lydians Choir by Pat Bishop, who was impressed by his performances at music festivals. "At the Lydians, they believe music is a gift. One that should be given freely also," he stated. His experience with the distinguished choir gave him the impetus to create his own choir, Eastern Youth Chorale.
"I would pride myself saying that they are one of the best youth chorales in the Caribbean." The group, which initially started with 12 alumni singers from the Arima Boys' RC and Arima Girls' RC, eventually burgeoned to 40 members over the years. The Eastern Youth Chorale has now become a staple at corporate functions, weddings and dinners throughout the country. "We have from the fortunate to the less fortunate. People join because of their love for music. When they come to Eastern Youth Chorale, they forget where they are from and bond as family," Thomas beamed. He also boasts of a versatile choir that performs various genres of music. "My base is classical music but we venture into parang, calypso, Broadway etc. Our scope is quite large."
Thomas is currently a Music major at New York University, and is practising for his much anticipated concert, Distinguished Gentlemen, where he will be performing alongside Tevin Gall, Eddie Cumberbatch and other leading male vocalists at St Crispin's Church, Woodbrook, on July 30. "For me, music is life. Ultimately, I want to get qualified so that I can come back home to start an opera company and continue building Trinidad and Tobago's music fraternity."