To celebrate the Easter season, the internationally acclaimed Jamaica Youth Chorale (JYC), will be showcasing an eclectic selection of work from local and international composers in Montego Bay and the DMV area of the United States.

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

Chorale founder and chief conductor, Gregory Simms, explained that the Easter showcase will form a part of the JYC’s 15th-anniversary celebrations, which commenced in December 2023.

The concert is a collaborative effort with many composers across the diaspora and other US-based musical talents, including renowned music educator, Reverend 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.

JYC’s Easter showcase will include performances stretching across Holy Week, starting with one at the Calvary Baptist Church in Montego Bay on March 24.

The group will then travel to the US where it will perform its 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 the American capital.

Additionally, Simms shared that not only will the choir be performing, but members will also participate in a cultural and educational exchange with students at Takoma Academy, a co-educational secondary day school operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Maryland.