Sevana, Kevin Downswell and Gramps Morgan join VoiceBox for festive show
Published:Wednesday | December 18, 2024 | 12:06 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Jamaica’s songbird Tessanne Chin’s VoiceBox Performing Arts did not fail in bringing more Christmas cheer to the capital city on Sunday with the second staging of the festive season event, Our Christmas Wish, held inside the Karl Hendrickson Auditorium at Jamaica College.
With the performing arts collective’s new, creative and dynamic collaboration of 30 students with guest artistes Kevin Downswell and Sevana and a surprise performance from Gramps Morgan, VoiceBox founder Chin said the feedback from the patrons was mainly positive, and for that, she is extremely grateful.
The live show, which was written and organised by Michael Holgate, the visionary arts manager and creative director, and directed with the support of Chin, began with young Jason Rowe playing the star character of an elf who has lost the spirit of Christmas and has become a bit of a Grinch.
“Lots of people enjoyed it. It was just taking people through his journey, the elf’s journey, in finding back the true meaning of Christmas; that it’s not about gift-giving and the regular things people make Christmas about. It’s about being that gift as well. So, we were about setting the scene for making sure that they (the audience) understood that he was this [good character in the beginning], but then there was a transformation,” Chin told The Gleaner.
The event’s three guest artistes also spread Christmas cheer with heartfelt performances.
“Gramps Morgan surprised us, and it was wonderful to see Sevana performing with our scholarship recipient, Sasha Gay Sutherland, from the Summer Intensive. It was amazing to see the two of them perform, and then Kevin Downswell with the children on the stage towards the end. He brought such a different vibe to the crowd. They were on their feet. It was lovely,” Chin said.
The highlight moment occurred when Sevana and Sutherland did a soulful rendition of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey’s When You Believe.
Our Christmas Wish came four months after students of the VoiceBox Performing Arts’ Summer Singing Intensive’s result show, Our Song, which was held inside Campion College’s auditorium. Students who are a part of VoiceBox Performing Arts are usually between the ages of six and 18 years, with all skill levels in the performing arts arena.
Chin said the programme will be working towards making the Summer Singing Intensive final event and the Christmas show bigger and better in 2025.
“We have a far way to go in terms of growth.. [and] there are definitely things we’ll try to do better next year, and things that we will try to improve on,” she said.