GoodHeart | Young talents shine at Tessanne Chin’s Voice Box summer showcase
Tessanne Chin Foundation gives $500,000 scholarship to Voice Box member
Published:Saturday | August 31, 2024 | 12:05 AM
After Tessanne Chin made history as the first Jamaican artiste to win NBC’s reality TV singing competition, The Voice, she began offering voice lessons to a friend’s child for an audition. She never imagined she would one day have a class of 50 students. That day arrived on August 7, during the second Tessanne Chin Foundation Voice Box Summer Singing Intensive, which featured young talents under 18 years old.
These persons were shortlisted from a pool of around 100 applicants who are interested in singing and the performing arts.
“Apart from helping my friend’s child with preparation for an audition, I’ve always liked working with kids and I was also, at the time, taking an interest in not just voice but how it works, the mechanism of the voice, learning more about the actual use of your voice and all of that,” Chin told GoodHeart.
“It turned from one kid to six kids and then we had a recital in 2021 at Christmas, and then it kept growing and growing and growing. I always knew that I wanted to do something for summer, but I’m very aware that voice lessons– in terms of people being able to afford it– is somewhat of a luxury; and I wanted talent to be the base for which we would be able to find more kids and allow them to have this opportunity without worrying of what that [cost] would be,” she said.
In 2023, her first free session of classes attracted around 30 students. By 2024, the demand grew so much that she found it difficult to turn people away, ultimately capping the number at 50.
“We worked with some incredible talent [this summer]. These children are amazing. They’re unlike anything we’ve ever seen. They’re just on a different level,” Chin said.
On Saturday, August 24, the Voice Box Summer Singing Intensive Programme climaxed with a showcase inside the auditorium of Campion College under the theme ‘Our Song’.
The event saw a world of talent and emotion as some of Jamaica’s most promising young vocalists showcased their exceptional abilities.
Chin and her team managed to put together not only a showing of the young talented pool of vocalists, but also an unforgettable evening of music.
GRATEFUL FOR SUPPORT
“We are very grateful to those who have turned up to our shows and we are always grateful for the support from our Jamaican people. We are a very young establishment which was literally formed this year and we are doing some hard work to ensure that we can raise funds to award more students with scholarships and to help young people in the arts to progress,” Chin said.
The evening reached a climax of emotions when Chin walked out onstage and surprised Sasha Gay Sutherland with a $500,000 scholarship for her Bachelor of Music in Performance, which she will be pursing at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts this year. The scholarship is funded by the Tessanne Chin Foundation.
Sutherland’s performance stood out as one of the most memorable moments of the night, where she flawlessly delivered a cover of I’m Here from the movie The Colour Purple.
Chin ended her address by speaking about Sasha Gay’s journey. “We first discovered Sasha Gay last year at our first summer intensive. She was the first student to audition and she blew us all away. She has been a part of Voice Box and we see how she is growing and progressing and we believe in her a lot. Sasha is a monster talent with lots of potential and we want to support her as best as we possibly can.”
Sutherland, overwhelmed by the moment, shared her gratitude after the event.
“It’s still unbelievable, but I am so happy and grateful and I am going to work really really hard. Thanks to aunty Tessy and the Voice Box crew for this one.”