Inside the Event | Nexus puts harmony into 'The Day The Music Died'

For three consecutive evenings, today until Sunday, The Nexus Performing Arts Company of Jamaica will deliver its 2017 season with a title which is partly incongruous for an ensemble which presents music from several genres in myriad forms. For while it is understandable that they would have a show at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, with the title 'Jamaica, The Musical', the addition of 'The Day The Music Died' seems instantly ironic.

It is all related to the range of involvement of the company's founder and leader, Hugh Douse. He explained that 'Jamaica, The Musical' sprang from an electronic broadcast source.

"It is a radio programme that I hosted on Newstalk 93 FM, with a feature called 'Jamaica, The Musical, I designed the feature for people to speak about their issues by selecting the music that spoke to that use. It was for people who called in and it was very popular." Douse said.

The second part of the title - The Day The Music Died - comes from the near unthinkable. "The Day the Music Died came from a question I asked myself, what would the world be like without music?" Douse said.

Nexus has been doing a lot to ensure that day will never come. Founded in 2001, the Nexus Performing Arts Company is now 16 years old. This is their 15th season, the first having been held at the Little Theatre in 2002.

Douse spoke about Nexus as an organisation where "people come, some stay, others move further into their music and performing arts career." Currently there are 22 members, Nexus doing anything from large shows to gallery tours and private functions.

The season will combine the group's original, as well as popular songs.