New Roadshow

The What’s Next section of this site is titled On the Road, because that’s where I spend a lot of my time, when I’m not spending long (happy) hours of preparation in my studio! 

In 2019 however, three years into my tenure as Director of the Academy for the Performing Arts in Trinidad and Tobago, On the Road had a different significance for me, because I had recently started talking to colleagues about creating a so-called Music Truck (Carnival terminology) to take the high quality student performances we were hearing within the Academy into towns and villages outside the capital. As I see it, any arts organisation that enjoys the luxury of public funding must create opportunities to engage with its community, but when it’s clear, as it was for us in Trinidad, that there would strong public demand for the product on offer, it’s an absolute no-brainer! So we started development…and then COVID happened.

All plans for musical activity in groups came to a screeching halt for the better part of two years and our mobile music idea was put on ice and stayed there until the end of my tenure in Summer 2022, just as the world was returning to normal. 

Imagine my pride and joy, therefore, to see the organisation I only just joined as Music Director, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra – launch a music truck on steroids – The CSO Roadshow! (coverage below) It’s just one of many ways, including the recent announcement of our new endowment and the celebratory concerts that followed, that I’ve felt completely in sync with my new band, the team behind it and our exciting projects.

Much more coming down the pike, so watch this space!