Mention Jamaican music to most Americans and the pop sounds of reggae usually come to mind. But there鈥檚 much more鈥攖he wonderfully rich harmonies of choral music, hundreds of rarely heard sacred songs and folk songs that deserve more exposure.
O鈥橬eil Jones鈥攁 third-year DMA student in choral conducting and literature at the College of Music鈥攊s bringing those sounds to 麻豆影院.听
Jones has created the first statewide Jamaican Choral Music Symposium, Feb. 22-25, to elevate the history, language and musical elements of Jamaican choral music through direct interaction with natives of the country. by the University Singers who are based at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. The group, now led by Franklin Halliburton, will appear here thanks to a $25,000 Roser Visiting Artists Program grant awarded to Jones. Halliburton is a key figure in furthering Jamaican choral music as a genre, having worked with choral conductor-composer over some 20 years prior to his passing.
鈥淭his music is a major part of who we are,鈥� stresses Jones. 鈥淛amaicans know this music, but they don鈥檛 know who wrote it.鈥� A native of Montego Bay, he grew up singing those songs in church, noting that Jamaica has 1,600 churches, the largest per-capita number of any country in the world. 鈥淭he music was not being preserved, beyond simply being performed,鈥� he explains. Indeed, while there were sacred songs being sung all over the island, most were never written down or were notated in different versions.听
Today, Jones鈥攚ho鈥檚 also the 2023-24 recipient of the Susan L. Porter Memorial Fellowship鈥攊s advancing one of the goals of our American Music Research Center by bringing the choral music and culture of his island home to a wider audience this month, including the participation of area high schools and the CU 麻豆影院 University Singers, Chamber Singers听and Treble Chorus. He also hopes to publish the music of Jamaican choral composers.听
Primary among those is a major force in Jamaican choral music鈥攁nd a pivotal figure in the lives of both Jones and Halliburton: Noel Dexter (1938-2019). 鈥淗e鈥檚 the reason I鈥檓 here,鈥� says Jones. 鈥淗e was my mentor, he gave me my first voice lesson and he taught me how to conduct.鈥� Their bond began in 2009 and continued until Dexter鈥檚 death.
More than a teacher, Dexter influenced his prot茅g茅 with his humble approach to life. 鈥淗e was so modest,鈥� recalls Jones. 鈥淲hen he was near the end, he told those gathered around him, 鈥楯ust let people know that I tried.鈥� All Jamaicans know of him.鈥澨�
Dexter sent Jones on a journey of discovery that led him to 麻豆影院. Since Jamaica had no serious conducting program, he encouraged his young student to enroll at Mississippi鈥檚 Alcorn State University where another of Dexter鈥檚 former students had been teaching. Jones obliged, then continued his studies at the University of Southern Mississippi. Eventually, he met Assistant Professor of Voice Andrew Garland at a national singing competition at CU 麻豆影院. 鈥淐U allowed me to accept Professor Garland鈥檚 invitation to continue studying voice while actively pursuing a career in conducting,鈥� Jones says.听
In 2021, he settled in 麻豆影院, although Jamaica remained close to his heart. 鈥淚n preparing my conducting recitals, I included one song by Mr. Dexter to honor his memory鈥攆rom there, the zeal to bring more of his music to the world was ignited,鈥� he adds.
The CU 麻豆影院 College of Music presents at Macky Auditorium on Feb. 25, 2024.
Photos: O鈥橬eil Jones (top); Noel Dexter (right).听
