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Classics in June enters the virtual space on Father’s Day

Published:Tuesday | June 15, 2021 | 12:09 AM
Mezzo-soprano Dahlia Dawn Fuller-Phillips performing at the 2019 staging of Classics In June at the UWI Chapel at the Mona Campus.
Mezzo-soprano Dahlia Dawn Fuller-Phillips performing at the 2019 staging of Classics In June at the UWI Chapel at the Mona Campus.

Classical music goes virtual on Father’s Day, June 20, with the online staging of the annual charity fundraising concert, Classics in June, put on by the Soroptimist International of Jamaica, Kingston.

Lovers of classical music will have the opportunity this year to enjoy, from the comfort and safety of their home, the usual high-quality musical entertainment that this concert has offered over the last decade and a half. The concert was not held in 2020 owing to COVID-19 restrictions on physical gatherings. While these restrictions are still in place, the organisers were determined to find a way to hold the concert, so as not to deprive those in need of the Club’s support and to continue to make classical music available for music lovers.

Celebrated international opera star, Raehann Bryce-Davis, is the special guest artiste for this concert. She is delighted to be able to perform for Classics in June 2021, especially given the causes being supported by the club.

Steven Woodham, renowned violinist and recipient of a 2021 Gold Musgrave Medal; Yuko Aoki, Japanese classical pianist; Lori Burnett, soprano, and Livingston Burnett, pianist; Juliana Matteo,15-year-old harpist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, accompanied by Eric Barchiesi, pianist; Shawn Richards, classical guitarist and former CHASE scholar; Rafael Salazar, Cuban-Jamaican clarinetist and musical director of the Jamaica Defence Force and Yanique Leiba-Ebanks, accomplished pianist and singer are among this year’s talented local and overseas performers.

There will also be pieces from previous concerts.

A number of institutions working with children have been the recipients of funds raised by past Classics in June concerts. This year, the beneficiaries are the Jamaica National Children’s Home and the Shortwood United Early Childhood Development Centre.

The concert will be available for viewing from 2:00 p.m. on June 20.