JYC brings Easter joy with ‘Amazing Love’

The Jamaica Youth Chorale (JYC) will be showcasing an eclectic repertoire, featuring Jamaican and American composers, in Montego Bay and the DMV area in the United States to celebrate Easter.

The collection, themed ‘Amazing Love’, includes compositions from the JYC’s Musical Directors O. C. Dawkins and C. S. Walters; active Jamaican organist, composer, and conductor in the Washington, DC area, Dr Garnett Mowatt; and American composers Moses Hogan, Dan Forrest, Nathan Carter, Gilbert Martin, and others.

Greg Simms, founder and conductor of the JYC, said the Easter season forms part of the group’s 15th anniversary celebrations, which started in December 2023, and is being staged in collaboration with members of the Jamaican Diaspora and several other distinguished musical individuals in the US, including renowned music educator the Rev Dr Emory Andrews and versatile soprano Anika Sampson-Anderson.

“Easter is one of the most important events in the Christian calendar, and God’s amazing love has inspired us to live and walk in the light. That’s what we will be reflecting on this season, with the help of a few friends, and sharing with our audiences in Montego Bay and the US. All our performances in the US are free and open to the public, and we look forward to connecting with everyone at the different locations,” Simms said.

The group’s Easter season stretches across Holy Week, starting with a performance at the Calvary Baptist Church in Montego Bay on Sunday, March 24.

The choir will then travel to the US, where it will perform free concerts at the historic Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on March 30 and at the Episcopal Church of St Michael and All Angels Church in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 31 as part of the church’s 150th anniversary celebrations.

The choir will also share in Good Friday reflections at the Shiloh Baptist and Florida Avenue Baptist Churches in Washington, DC and in Sabbath worship at the Capitol Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, also in DC.

Additionally, Simms said the JYC will be engaging in an educational and cultural exchange with students at Takoma Academy, a co-educational secondary day school operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Maryland.

The group’s return to the US comes just over a year after it shared redemption songs with similar audiences in celebration of Black History and Reggae Month. During that visit, the JYC successfully executed several performances to critical acclaim, including at the historic Washington National Cathedral and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC.