A Small Tribute to a Great Man, Maestro Gylchris Sprauve
From beautifully inspiring songs such as “Ah Could Learn If Yuh Teach Me” to the trio celebration of the U.S. Virgin Islands, called “Valiant Virgin Isles” the unmistakable smooth, rich, smoldering dramatic tenor voice of local intellect, talent, and music educator, Gylchris Sprauve springs to life in and of itself and has a similar effect on his listeners. For many years, Mr. Sprauve has lent his voice and coterie of other gifts and talents to the continuation and uplifting of U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rican (Puerto Rico-Vieques-Culebra) cultures and their overlaps (because of the proximity and constant intermingling of populations). One of how he does this is the series of concerts he hosts throughout each calendar year, featuring musicians and vocalists from all three Territories to celebrate our differences and similarities and the aspects of our cultures that we have borrowed from each other.
Who is this Gylchris Sprauve, you ask? Well “in a nutshell,” he is a native of the Virgin Islands and a distinguished music director known for his warm, dramatic tenor voice. With over two decades of experience, he has performed globally in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and the UK. Sprauve holds degrees from the University of Iowa, the University of Maryland, and the Hochschule Mozarteum Sommerakademie in Salzburg, Austria. He is also an accomplished pianist, musicologist, composer, music educator, and linguist, fluent in multiple languages. His research focuses on music by composers of African descent, and he has collaborated with diverse musicians. Notably, he is the first Virgin Islander to have an original composition performed by The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. He has been honored as “Maestro” by the 34th Legislature of the Virgin Islands. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the VI-Puerto Rico Friendship Chamber Orchestra – a vessel through which he proudly celebrates our heritage’s nuances, shades, colors, rhythms, and rhymes.
In an age where Virgin Islands (U.S., British & the P.R.) culture is being whittled down to a little more than scandalous outfits consisting of glitter and feathers, rounds of alcohol, and drunken revelry, individuals like Maestro Sprauve contain to bear the standard of the traditions that set the Puerto Rican-Virgin Islands region apart from the rest of the Caribbean. Just recently, on December 8, 2024, at the St. Thomas Reformed Church in the heart of the historic district of downtown Charlotte, Amalie featured:
- Chanelle Schaffer, Vocalist and Minister of Music and Arts at the St. Thomas Reformed Church.
- Renee P. Hodge, a St. Thomas native with an extensive educational and professional background as an educator both here and in the mainland U.S.A. and director of various choirs and vocal ensembles that have performed in diverse venues, including churches, nursing homes, and community events in several states, the Bahamas and the USVI.
- The V.I. The Children’s Choir is composed of students from the St Thomas-St. John Seventh Day Adventist School and children from organizations like the St. Thomas Reformed Church. They made their debut at last year’s concert and continued to impress this year’s audience with their ability to sing in English, Spanish, and Dutch Creole.
Under the direction and guidance of Ms. Schaffer and Ms. Hodge, the V.I. Children’s Choir regaled the live audience with their angelic, pristine, innocent voices, showcasing their knack for learning to sing in foreign and not-so-foreign languages on their renditions of Gloria en las Alturas (“Glory in the Highest”) – a traditional Puerto Rican carol, and Mi Ben Heel Bli na Joe – A Dutch Creole Carol. Then, for the finale, those of us who were present went down memory lane with Calypso Noel by the Calypso legend Beckett; it was quite the treat to end the night with the full orchestra supporting their tender voices. I do believe the little ones enjoyed this number, and I caught glimpses of them doing their little jigs here and there with the hypnotic rhythm of this timeless Caribbean holiday classic.
- Elizabeth Rodriguez Berrios is a soprano from Puerto Rico whose impressive career has allowed her to perform in venues and with companies such as the Opera of Brazil, Accademia Chigiana International Festival in Siena (Italy), the Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico, the Southern Arizona Orchestra, and several others.
- Dr. Robert C. Chalwell, Jr is a tenor, native of St. Thomas, with ancestral ties to the British Virgin Islands. Dr. Chalwell was Senior Lecturer and Department Head of Performing Arts for the H Lavity Stoutt Community College in Tortola, BVI. As a concert artist and recitalist, Dr. Chalwell has performed in the U.K. and U.S.A. Canada and various islands in the Caribbean. The caliber of these two gifted vocalists was presented to us individually and in duets like on Maestro Sprauve’s arrangement of Schubert’s Avia Maria, melding it together with the refrain from the beloved hymn, I Surrender All. This is an ingenious juxtaposition of the Virgin Mary humbly accepting her station in life, with her being venerated in song. My favorite song that featured Dr. Chalwell’s refreshing tenor voice was Maestro Sprauve’s arrangement of the Christmas favorite, Little Drummer Boy
- Micah McCants is a passionate cellist currently pursuing a degree in music education at the University of the Virgin Islands under the tutelage of Diego Marrero. He is a salutatorian graduate of the Center for Educational Growth, an online high school based in St. Croix; through his developed musical skills and talents, he now serves as the only Virgin Islander in the string section of the VI-PR Friendship Chamber Orchestra, having joined in March of 2023.
- Eljaie Brathwaite, Steel Pannist, St. Thomas native, and Charlotte Amalie High School graduate, class of 2017. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Studies for Steel Pan from George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, Virginia. He also plays the piano, percussion, and trumpet and has experience as a producer, teacher, bandleader, and music writer. He has been honored to perform in prominent venues such as the Kennedy Center, Dizzy’s Club Coca, the Smithsonian Museum, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. He serves as a music educator at his Alma Mater, instructing AP music theory, jazz, and the Mellow Hawks steel band.
- Desarie Maynard, vocalist and flutist, is a salutatorian graduate of my Alma Mater, the Elmore Stoutt High School (formerly the B.V.I. High School and, before that, the Road Town Secondary School). She is furthering her studies at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) in Tortola, BVI. Ms. Maynard was a member of her high school’s musical ensemble, The 8th Notes. She also sang solos with the school’s choir. She is currently a flutist with the HLSCC Jazz Band. She is passionate about music ministry and shares her love for GOD through song.
These three wonderfully gifted, young Virgin Islanders presented their gifts to all of us who were present that evening at the St. Thomas Reformed Church with Mr. McCants making his entrance, so to speak, on Carol of the Bells. At the same time, Mr. Braithwaite mesmerized us with the exotic fusion of jazz on the sound of the pan – a sound dear to the hearts of millions of Caribbean people worldwide. The sound of the Indian tabla played by Jorge L. Morales added an ‘Oriental’ seasoning to the traditional 18th-century English Carol, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Last but not least, of all the beautiful musical pieces performed in the cozy air of the STRC sanctuary, most memorable for me was the lachrymose voice of Ms. Maynard singing, Bread of Heaven. Her handling of the lyrics of this song summed up the love, hope, and joy that this time of year brings to so many. It was indeed an evening well spent, and we as a Territory are genuinely blessed to have all of this talent in our younger generation, with mentors and inspirers like Maestro Sprauve, to nurture, guard, guide, and groom it to ensure that our culture remains sacred, respected and cherished for many more years to come.
To Maestro Gylchris Sprauve, I say bravo, Sir, for your labor of love, which leaves a lasting impact on so many in various ways. Kudos to you! Take a bow for another uplifting and enlightening concert experience.
To you, dear readers, I had an enchanted evening at this concert. Nevertheless, you don’t have to take my word for it; you can enjoy the wonderful, melodic, and heavenly journey right here.
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