ONIS SAMPSON
The maiden edition of the much anticipated Voice and Saxophone Workshop was held on Friday, the 23rd of February, 2018 at Mikary Music Academy.
The event which was organized and hosted by the music academy at their GRA Port Harcourt office came with a limited slot for just forty persons.
The event started with a short lecture on the art of stage performance given by Justin Nweze, the chief vocal coach at Mikary Music Academy.
Nweze highlighted the importance of understanding the theatrics of stage performance and having a proper grasp of the psychological ramifications of stage performance, noting that the attitude of a singer or performer on stage is what determines the level of reception elicited by him or her.
It had in attendance over thirty persons who were welcome with a live performance at the beginning of the workshop by the likes of Eric Joseph, a vocalist extraordinaire who thrilled the audience with his eclectic, and adroitly woven riffs and runs doing the popular “Then Sings My Soul”.
Coming thereafter, was Harry Friday, a young Port Harcourt based saxophonist who thrilled the attendees with his jazzy signature rendition of “Nobody’s Greater” by Vashawn Mitchell.
Their scintillating performances drew the admiration and elicited applause from the audience, reminiscent of a western audience calling for an encore.
Thereafter, the two sessions slated for the workshop commenced. Attendees who registered for the saxophone aspect of the workshop moved over to one of the academy’s classrooms while the other attendees stayed in the large lobby.
The saxophone workshop was anchored by the duo of Peter Amoyedo (a.k.a PeterSax), a music lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt; and Harry Friday, a talented Port Harcourt based saxophonist, and final year student studying music at the University of Education (UOE) Port Harcourt.
The voice workshop was anchored by Justin Nweze and Gratia C. Opuye, a musicologist, and distinguished alumni of the KwaZulu-Natal University of South Africa.
The colorful event which started at about 4:00 PM came to end at 7:10 PM.
Certificates were given to the participants. A group picture was taken at the end of the event.
The Manager of the academy, James Sampson, a fast-rising saxophonist in a cross section interview with this correspondence revealed that the workshop will be a monthly event.
He said that next month’s edition will be bigger and better.
According to him, Plans are underway to invite well-renowned saxophonists in Nigeria for each of the monthly workshops.
He maintained that the event will be the next big thing to hit the city of Port Harcourt.
