NCOJ’s male soloists to feature in ‘Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast’

Across centuries of musical tradition, composers and songwriters have used emotionally rich lyrics and expressive melodies to convey love, longing, rejection, and the full spectrum of human emotion. This enduring legacy is powerfully reflected in the music of acclaimed black British composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

The 32-member National Chorale of Jamaica (NCOJ), under the direction of Winston Ewart, will raise the curtain on its 2026 concert season with a tribute to Coleridge-Taylor’s most celebrated work, Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast. Appropriately staged during the month traditionally associated with romance, this pre-Valentine recital will be held on February 8 in the UWI Chapel, Mona Campus. The Chorale continues to thrive under Ewart’s leadership, which has made a lasting contribution to both its artistic excellence and institutional development. Acclaimed pianist and senior lecturer at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Stephen Shaw-Naar, will serve as accompanist.

Highlighting the evening’s love themes, lyric tenor Brenton McLean will perform the role of Chibiabos, singing to the couple Hiawatha and Minnehaha at their wedding feast. Baritone Edmund Carter will be featured, singing the Spanish classic, Cuando, Cuando.

Carter, a founding member of the NCOJ, began his musical journey at Excelsior High School under the late Geoffrey Fairweather and later studied with renowned soprano Pauline Watson. A versatile vocalist equally at home in classical and cabaret genres, Carter now resides overseas, but returns specially to perform in the Chorale’s 2026 opening season concert.

McLean joined the National Chorale of Jamaica in 1991 as a tenor and later became a student of Winston Ewart. He earned an Associate Diploma in Voice (Recital) from Trinity College London.

Through the courtesy of the Jamaica National Group, the Chorale will feature this first cantata from Coleridge-Taylor’s celebrated trilogy, Scenes from the Song of Hiawatha, composed between 1898 and 1900. The work achieved extraordinary acclaim and brought the composer international recognition.

In keeping with its educational mission, the National Chorale has invited Corporate Jamaica to sponsor the attendance of selected high school music students. This long-standing initiative aims to expose young Jamaicans to the nation’s rich classical music heritage, dating back to the 18th century, including composers such as Samuel Felsted, whose oratorio Jonah is recognised as the first oratorio composed in the New World.

Chairman of the National Chorale, Christopher Samuda, described the concert as especially timely and deepens, the Chorale’s commitment to preserving the classical genre and celebrating the healing and restorative power of timeless choral music.

The performance is held under the patronage of Sir Kenneth Hall, former governor-general of Jamaica, and Lady Rheima Hall.