Barbadian gospel group comes to N.Y.

The gospel group Silvertones of Barbados will be one of the feature performing groups at two shows on Saturday, Nov. 28 and Sunday, Nov. 29 in Brooklyn. The first show will be held at the New Hope Worship Center, 817 Lavonia Ave., between Barbey & Schenck and the other show at the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1417 Union Street & Brooklyn Ave. (Crown Heights).

The show entitled “A Celebration of Caribbean Praise and Worship Fundraising Concert” will also feature Lively Stones International Dancers, Allison Norville-Forde (Barbados’ 2008 top female gospel artist) and other New York artists.

Founder leader and Chief Executive Officer, Harold Britton manages Silvertones of Barbados while Mrs. Allison Norville-Forde is the musical director.

The group consists of 27 persons comprising 15 females and 12 males including a five-member accompanying band with two keyboardists, a drummer, a rhythm and a bass guitarist.

Britton said the Silvertones of Barbados (formerly the Nazarene Silvertones of Barbados), is an inter-denominational Christian  ministering group with members affiliated to the New Testament Church of God, Church of God (Anderson), Church of the Nazarene, Wesleyan Holiness Church, Baptist, Power in the Blood Assembly, United Holiness Church of America, Salvation Army, among others. The group operates under the Silvertones Ministries and is affiliated to the Barbados Youth for Christ. It is also a member of the Gospel Music Association, USA.

“Since our inception at the Cave Hill Church of the Nazarene in November 1981, the group has shifted personnel as singers grew up and moved on, but has remained a leading force in a new era of Caribbean gospel, blending sacred message with the infectious rhythms of the region. This has helped to refresh and energized gospel music in a way, that there is now nothing like it that warms the spirit and rhythms of the Caribbean,” said Britton.

Members are in their late teens, 20s and 30s and have developed and matured both spiritually and musically, that they now represent a new generation of excellent messengers of the gospel for the modern style of music that is used in a fresh way to bring people of all ages to Christ.

As a trend-setter and a leader in gospel music in the Caribbean, the group has been blessing audiences with its powerful, dynamic and spirit-filled singing where ever it ministers. With a house-hold name in Barbados and the Caribbean, the group is very versatile and performs a wide variety of musical styles including, reggae, ska, soca, spouge, calypso, urban, country, inspirational, praise and worship, traditional, and contemporary .

The group has performed at many community and national events, and at churches, concerts, revivals and conventions locally, regionally and internationally.

“We also performed to more than 45,000 people on three occasions at the International Church of the Nazarene Conventions  and General Assembly at the RCA Hosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana (July 1993) and (June 2001), and the Alamadome Stadium in San Antonio, Texas in 1997,” said Britton.

The group has also performed with leading local and Caribbean gospel artists such as the Grace Thrillers, Joseph Niles, Shine the Light, Jerry Lloyd, Nicole Ballosingh-Holder and Promise; and internationally, with Ron Kenoly, Jeffrey White, Rise’ Joiner, Bishop Clarence E. McClendon, Kay Morris and Rachel Washington.

In April 1998, the group performed at the historic inaugural National Heroes Day Celebrations in Barbados, where an estimated 25,000 people were in attendance while many others watched it live on national television.

The CEO also said that the group participated in local television programs such as Youth in Concert, Time to Sing, and a Barbados Tourism Authority video-taping for international promotion called “SPLASH BARBADOS,” which was shown on international television networks in Canada, USA and Europe.

The group has won numerous awards, including the Flame 2008 gospel choir/chorale of the year; made tours to the Caribbean, USA and Bermuda; and has produced six CDs to date, as well as many annual concerts.

Courtesy Of Caribbean Life /Kevin Williams