Old and new Christmas carols, alongside local parang and soca parang, rang through the air in Tunapuna on Tuesday night, as the St Charles RC Church, in collaboration with the T&T Regiment Band, presented A Gift to the Parish Community.
The event was the brainchild of Parish Priest Monsignor Esau Joseph and was themed Come Let us Ring in the Christmas season.
And the acts on the night did just that.
The first three acts prepared the audience for a special performance from veteran musical director/singer Richard Pierre, who sang He Came to Save Us All in Bethlehem, accompanying himself on the keyboard.
Pierre really warmed the crowd for the next act—the Tunapuna Girls’ RC Parang Group, who many parents in the audience came to see.
Fresh from a fifth-place performance in this year’s National Junior Parang Competition, the girls, led by lead singer Leigha Thomas and Kiara Smart, sang their competition song Le Anuncio and a medley of soca parang.
The Regiment Band then took over, delivering from their full repertoire of Christmas favourites and a few from other genres.
After the band, led by guitarist Sgt Timely Taylor, delivered an instrumental introduction, Private Natalie Nicholas moved the crowd with her scintillating performance of local singer Marilyn Williams’ Christmas favourite Ribbons.
Her colleague, Private Oceania Forrester also got the crowd moving with her rendition of Jamaican reggae star Chronixx’s I Can.
In between them, Private Alonzo Greene also soulfully handled US R&B singer Donny Hathaway’s This Christmas
But it was arguably the duet of saxophonists, Private Jerrel Samuel and Cpl Ajay St Louis, who brought the house down with their rendition of Bill Withers’ Lovely Day, with Samuel almost making his instrument sing.
By the time Lance Cpl McEnroe Simon sang local soca parang king Scrunter’s Eat Something before You Go, therefore, the crowd needed little invitation to give the band a standing ovation.
