White woos audience

WORLD-FAMOUS Jamaican bass baritone Sir Willard White captivated his audience with Paul Robeson's music at Tryall Great House in Hanover last Sunday.

No tribute to Robeson could be complete without the signature Ol' Man River from Show Boat and Ma Curly-Headed Baby. White closed the recital with Marley's Redemption Song.

The benefit event was a fund-raiser staged jointly by the St Luke's Cure and Music Unites Jamaica Foundation.

Robeson was an African-American singer/actor and civil rights activist. He unapologetically expressed his views about racial discrimination through music.

Chairperson for the St Luke's Cure committee, Henry Reid says while it is too early to say how much funds were raised, the concert was a success.

"Our patrons enjoyed themselves and the music was incredible; the performances were great," he said.

White is a multi-award-winning singer who started his musical training at the Jamaica School of Music. He was a founding member of the Jamaican Folk Singers.

He also sang with the Jamaica Amateur Operatic Society before going on to the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied under the tutelage of distinguished bass, Giorgio Tozzi.

(from Jamaica Observer)