The power of music

FRIDAY, NOV. 16: I had fun on Tuesday night’s Generations radio show. Music was the topic.

My piano lessons and orchestral violin playing ended early in life but the appreciation I have garnered from studies in the history and theory of music will remain with me for a lifetime. 

Bim Bademosi of The Feel of Music was my guest.  Unlike me, he did not have a familial music background.  Rather, he shared with listeners his experiences with music from a very young age when his primary school music teacher, Val Protheroe,  gave him an opportunity to play a recorder and a snare drum.  Bim grew more interested in learning as much as he could about music and his overseas experience in the UK, and in-depth wealth of knowledge in all aspects of music is invaluable.

Bim is one of Bermuda’s finest musicians and he has the know-how to set Bermuda’s aspiring musicians on a path of success.

Throughout the show, I was able to pay tribute to the late Webster B. Tucker, a well known radio personality who had mastered his craft over several decades.  Being able to play old school songs that Webster B. loved and songs that make people move instantly was such a pleasure. 

 Let me interject here to thank DJ Younguls and his party crew who held an awesome old school event at Cambridge Beaches last week. In what appeared to be a kind of friendly battle among some of the island’s best  deejays – Kavon, Malcolm “Lethal Weapon”, Rusty G. – they enticed me to stay on the dance floor for four and a half hours. Oh what a night!

We should encourage our young people to become exposed to music and to play an instrument from a young age. Bim recommends something as simple as a recorder by the time the child enters primary 3. On the next Generations on Tuesday, November 20th, Patrina ‘Powergirl’ Paynter, winner of the Best of Bermuda Gold Award, will be my rescheduled guest. She also has a great appreciation for music in her capacity as a radio host but we will talk about various community issues.

I’ll also be giving away some Thanksgiving treats to our young people so I encourage all young people to send me a short passage on “Things I’m thankful for” to be eligible to win. It can be emailed or dropped off in a sealed envelope to the DeFontes Broadcasting Company on Reid Street no later than Monday, November 19. In the meantime, keep singing, keep dancing.

• Shawnette Somner is a Sun columnist and host of the radio show, Generations, which airs on Monday evenings on Mix106 FM from 7:30pm to 9pm

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