By Rosemary C. Hanna
The re-establishment of The Anglican Chorale came about as a result of a series of events. For a number of years the Chorale was led by Fr. Crosley Walkine who eventually relinquished that role because of his duties as a parish Priest. Over the years, Archbishop Drexel Gomez asked me to coordinate Church choirs for the Annual Diocesan Lenten Missions and other services. Following one of the choir rehearsals for the 1999 Diocesan 140th anniversary celebrations, Dwight Dorsett suggested the idea of having a Diocesan Choral Workshop. A mutual friend, Dr. Anne Mortimer-Whitehead, had mentioned to me some time earlier that the late Dr. Horace Clarence Boyer, Professor Emeritus of Music Theory and African American Music at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, was the editor of Lift Every Voice II – An African American Hymnal, which is known and used by many here.
Dr. Boyer was contacted and he readily agreed to come to The Bahamas in July 2000 to conduct a workshop which culminated in a highly successful “Summer Music Fest Grand Concert” held at Christ Church Cathedral on 28th July 2000. During the presentation Dr. Boyer gave a brief history of African American sacred folk music beginning with the early Sacred Songs and Negro Spirituals and the evolution into gospel music.
In 2006 Idris Reid asked me to bring the Anglican Choirs together again to present the first Festival of Hymns & Anthems which was held at Christ Church Cathedral on 11th November and conducted by Richard Webster, whom Mr. Reid had invited to come to The Bahamas. Preston R. Ferguson, Sr. from St. Agnes Church, was instrumental in preparing the choir, and assisted at the organ during the Hymn festival, which was very well received.
Following the success of this event, it was decided to formally re-establish The Anglican Chorale and, since that time, we have been presenting the increasingly popular Festival of Hymns & Anthems in November each year.
In July 2008 the Chorale hosted a successful summer concert at St. Agnes Anglican Church at which we included some of our talented young people such as Osano Neely and Zane & Joash Boyd. Another milestone of the Chorale was its highly acclaimed “Hope for The Nation” concert that was held at Christ Church Cathedral in June 2010. This was a truly ecumenical gathering of performers including persons from other denominations: Roman Catholic, Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventists, and others, all performing to the glory of one God.
The 2011 Hymn Festival was held at St. Agnes Church. The Chorale also hosted another highly successful Anglican Chorale & Friends concert, “A Celebrating of Praise and Thanksgiving”, at St. Agnes on 29th June 2012. The featured performers included The Bahamas Christian Chorale, The Highgrove Singers, The Anglican Youth Chorale, The Sons of Thunder, and a number of our very talented young musicians, namely: trumpeters B’Angelo Cartwright and James Hutcheson, Jr., soloists John Darville, Osano Neely and Angelique Sabrina White, who were accompanied by our Assistant Director Allison Dean and Vocal Clinician Dexter Fernander; and pianist Michael Zonicle. In celebration of The Bahamas’ 40th year of Independence The Anglican Chorale and Friends presented a well received variety concert, “A Celebration of Bahamian Composers and Musicians” at Christ Church Cathedral on 5th July 2013. This event was televised.
Since its inception in 2006, the Hymn Festival has received widespread support from Anglicans and the wider community, and has become one of the signature events of The Diocese. A number of CDs have been produced, featuring favourite hymns and anthems of the Church. The objective of the Chorale is to bring together persons who are interested in keeping alive the singing of the traditional hymns of the Church, while at the same time singing more contemporary music, all to the glory of God. Over the years the Chorale has made donations to the Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks & Caicos Islands for the restoration of Family Island churches.
In December 2014 I relinquished the role as Director of the Chorale and passed the baton to Adrian Archer, who is also Director of Music at Christ Church Cathedral, George Street, Nassau, Bahamas.
Organists over the years
2006 – Richard Webster, Preston R. Ferguson, Sr., Director of Music, St. Agnes Parish, Grant’s Town. N.P.
2007 – Matthew Steynor, Director of Music, Trinity Cathedral, Miami, Florida, USA
2008 – Audley Davidson – St. Andrew’s Parish, Kingston Jamaica
2009 – Edward Cox – Parish Church of St. Gregory The Great, Carmichael Road, New Providence
Allison Dean, Asst. Director Anglican Chorale, Associate Organist at St. Agnes. Grant’s Town
2010 – Ladislaw Pfeifer, Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
Allison Dean
2011 – Jeffrey Sturrup – Christ The King, New Providence
2012 – Edward Cox
2013 – Jeffrey Sturrup
2014 – Edward Cox, Preston R. Ferguson, Sr. and Jeffrey Sturrup
© Copyright Rosemary C. Hanna 2014