Talented teens to host evening of excellence

Agroup of teens drawn islandwide from the New Testament Church of God practised for months before they went off to Tennessee, USA, in early August. They competed with over 400 churches in the biennial International Teen Talent Competition.

And it paid off.

The team walked away globally with four first-place trophies and a second-place trophy, as well as honourable mentions in five categories, after gruelling competition against groups from the US, Canada, South Africa, England and the Caribbean.The team will showcase their skills at an Evening of Excellence, on Saturday, October 7, at 3p.m. at the Little Theatre.

Team leader and youth pastor of the group, Rohan Williams, said "this year marked our fourth time going to the competition. We started participating in the competition back in 2011 and have continued our progress with 2015 being the year, before now, that we had great success. In 2015, the team won two second-place trophies and three honourable mentions".

In addition to their medal haul, Renaldo McDonald, who performed a solo mime, also received a one-year scholarship to Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, the campus on which the competition is held.

McDonald said: "I honestly never expected it. I mean, we worked ridiculously hard, perfecting the moves, but in truth, we came expecting fun and a great time with teens all over - the fact that I won a scholarship to study abroad is really an added bonus."

The Evening of Excellence will feature a variety of the award-winning pieces, including Pantomime, Group Mime, Vocal Ensemble, Human Video, and a skit. The proceeds will go towards arts development programmes for teens in local churches islandwide.