A 23-strong delegation of musicians from one of the partner organizations of the
Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra (ABYSO), the Commonwealth
Resounds (TCR), has arrived in the country for its second visit to Antigua and
Barbuda.
The TCR will facilitate a series of workshops and performances from the 8 th to the
19 th of July 2023. With a special focus on music education and composition,
the TCR is an officially accredited Commonwealth musical organization with a
mission to connect musical cultures and promote initiatives and partnerships in
Commonwealth countries.
The TCR first visited Antigua and Barbuda in 2019. Future trips were delayed until
this year because of the pandemic. On their first visit, the TCR made a special
visit to Barbuda and donated recorders to support music education in Barbuda. The
group has confirmed that the TCR delegation and 45 musicians from the ABYSO
will again visit Barbuda on Sunday 16 th July for the first-ever ABYSO concert on
the sister island. The visit will also mark the official launch of the ABYSO’s
expansion of its music programme to Barbuda.
The workshops will include a special focus on composition. These daily
composition sessions will equip students and music educators with new skills on
how to write music. The ABYSO is delighted to share this unique opportunity, not
only with all its members but also with music teachers and 5 th form music students
from across Antigua and Barbuda in collaboration with the Ministry of Education,
Sports and the Creative Industries. Composition is a key part of the CSEC syllabus
for music students. The workshops will cover composing for solo instruments,
ensemble composition, film music and jazz composition.
Friends of the ABYSO can look forward to four amazing performances as part of
this visit. The first concert will showcase the talent of the ABYSO Juniors and
students from the ABYSO Potters Primary School programme on Tuesday 11 th July
at the Dean William Lake Cultural Centre at 6:30 pm. The next two performances,
called Summertime, will be on Saturday 15 th July on the lawns of the Weatherills
Estate at 6:30 pm and then on Sunday 16 th July for a historic first performance in
Barbuda at the Fisheries Complex at 1:00 pm. The final performance will be Go
Compose Antigua! an evening featuring the compositions of local musicians at the
Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium on Monday 17 th July from 7:00 pm.
Alison Cox OBE, Founder and Musical Director of the TCR stated, “Our
musicians warmly welcome opportunities to collaborate with musical partners in
the 56 member countries of The Commonwealth. We are especially excited to be
returning after 3 years to Antigua and Barbuda, where we shall continue our
ongoing mentoring partnership with ABYSO and run an innovative composition
teaching programme for young people. Musical initiatives and developments in
Antigua and Barbuda are unique in the Caribbean, and we are proud to be
associated with them.”
The ABYSO-TCR partnership will continue to engage in music practice and theory
knowledge transfer to local tutors and musicians and support the development of
young composers in Antigua and Barbuda. The TCR delegation will also have the
opportunity to visit historical sites, will be guests of the Hellsgate Steel Orchestra
and will also participate in a steelpan workshop during their visit.
