PLANTATION – Jamaican Tenor soloist and folk singer, Steve Higgins will launch his CD, Sacred with a Concert and Evening of Celebration with Steve Higgins & Friends on April 26, 2014 at the Plantation United Methodist Church at 1001 NW 70th Ave., Plantation, FL. at 6:30 pm.
The launch will kick off a 12-city tour of South and Central Florida where the group, featuring Dahlia Wynter, Haldane Worrell, Holly Bowen and others, will highlight music from Sacred, as they perform before diverse audiences in cities such as Plantation, Cutler Bay, West Palm Beach, Palm Bay, Miramar, Miami, Orlando and Kissimee.
Sacred is Higgins’ second solo project, following a Jamaican Folk CD, Dis Long Time, done last year in memory of Jamaican folk icon, Dr. Olive Lewin. Higgins said the Sacred CD was inspired by “a passion for the messages in the songs and a need to convey this passion musically to touch souls … and to move closer to God.”
With the release of this CD, Higgins is also responding to feedback and requests from people who have heard his presentations and have been clamoring for such a compilation of meditative and inspiring music.
Having been a choir director for Providence and Saxthorpe Methodist churches and the Methodist connection choirs in Jamaica for many years, and director of the South Florida Caribbean Chorale for 10 years, Higgins drew on his extensive musical background to create the kind of timeless recordings that will inspire a wide cross-section of people.
Sacred features 12 tracks, all of which are solos, except “The Prayer “, in which Higgins teamed up with Soprano, Dahlia Wynter. For this CD, Higgins chose the religious classic, “The Holy City”, sung to a captivating arrangement by Jon Williams, and “I Come to the Cross” (written by Jamaican Noel Dexter), which Godfrey Taylor and Eugene Grey imbued with Mento, Reggae and Latin rhythms for an island twist.
“Parakeet”, a Jamaican folk song, was creatively arranged by Jon Williams with haunting rhythms capturing Jesus’ experience in the garden of Gethsemane, while the Jamaican Christmas carol, “O’er our Blue Mountain” pays tribute to the songwriter and Higgins’ late and dear friend, Clyde Hoyte. “O, The Holy Night”, is an original written by Richard DeMone, who has accompanied Higgins on occasions in South Florida.
Other tracks on the CD are “The Lord’s Prayer” (Malotte), “Ave Maria” (Schubert), “Bless This House” (May Brahe), “Down from His Glory” , “Eternal father Bless our Land” and “How great Thou Art” (Boberg/Hine).
The 12-city tour is in association with DIGICEL, The Jamaica Tourist Board, Grace Kennedy and Western Union.
CDs will be available via the website www.stooshproductions.com, www.Amazon.com and local record stores. You can contact Steve Higgins by email [email protected] or through the website.
