full of people and use their voices to sooth and sway the crowd whichever way they wish.

Now put them in tuxedos, give them an immensely impressive discipline and you have the Morehouse College Glee Club (and they say we cannot work together!).

Monday night was a rare treat for those of us who appreciate really good music.

That was when the forty-five golden boys described above put on a stellar performance for a few hundred of us aficionados at the very impressive Ruth Seaton James Auditorium.

The group was introduced to our delicately poised ears by the esteemed Mr.

Marc Telemaque, Chairman of the Ruth Seaton James Sub-Committee, at sometime around 7.30 p.m.

And by the time 9.00 p.m. rolled around, we were all thoroughly blown away! This magnificent group entered the auditorium from the back and quite quickly and efficiently occupied the grandstand; it was done so well that the entrance alone drew enthusiastic applause from the near-capacity crowd.

They opened with Jacob Handel's `O Magnum Mysterium,' and won over a lot of the expectant crowd with just that, I was still a bit skeptical however (ain't I supposed to be?).

The first couple of pieces were quite nice, but not impressive to the degree that would make me gush over them, but then there was 'Dum Medium Silentium'.

This was a piece that employed the group's harmonies to full effect, thus giving the impression that the music was alive and breathing -- it was quite awe-inspiring. This is when I realised how good this group really was.

They used their voices like instruments, and intertwined their sounds so well that no one really even noticed that they did ninety-five percent of the show a capella.

The first half of the show was quite an eye-opening experience for me, and it was good to hear that these brothers are working with our youngsters while they are here as a part of the government's Arts In Education Initiative.

`The Flea' was another favourite of mine from the first half -- just beautiful.

The second half opened with the Quartet, featuring the stunning voices of William Trice (Tenor I), Roscoe Boyd (Tenor II), G. Edwin Rush (Baritone) and Gerret Edwards (Bass).

They sang a selection of classic Quartet pieces including the Southern standard `Good News (The Chariot Is Coming)' and a hilarious rendition of `Goodbye My Coney Island Lady'.

These four brothers were very easy to like, their voices were like spun silk, and they added considerable amounts of humour and style to the evening.

Perhaps the only complaint I can manufacture is that these guys were not on stage enough.

But my complaints subsided in a heartbeat, because that's how long it took for the rest of the guys to join the Quartet on stage and break into the very touching `Po 'Ol' Lazarus (Work Song)'.

This piece was accompanied by Solos by Anthony McGlaun (Tenor) and Imam Jordan (Baritone), who each handled their respective part with dignity and style.

In fact, all of the Soloist carried themselves admirably on the night, and delivered the goods on time and intact. The Soloists were: Neeki Bey (Tenor) for `Roberta Lee (Sorrow Song)', Roscoe Boyd for `Rock My Soul', Jamil Manning (Bass) for `Lazarus' and Anthony McGlaun for `Great Is The Lord'.

Each piece was as stunning as the last, and the group exhibited the kind of talent that gave impetus to Mr. Telemaque's assertion that this group is `One of the premier vocal groups in the world'.

There is one exception to that last sentence however, and that is `Betelehemu'.

The Morehouse College Glee Club's rendition of this African Hymn (sung in Yoruba) was absolutely amazing! This piece was accompanied by three Djembe drums, two sets of Bongo drums, three Tambourines, Maracas and a few other African percussion instruments whose names escape me at the moment, and it was straight up rocking ! The guy with the Maracas almost fainted from exhaustion after the piece was finished (he didn't really, but he was doing enough work to justify a low blood flow to the brain I'll tell you that much!).

This was easily the highlight of the evening (followed very closely by the Quartet's performance), and drew a well-deserved standing ovation from the thoroughly convinced crowd.

The show came to a close soon after the magnificence of `Betelehemu', with the singing of the Morehouse College Hymn, which all the Morehouse men in the audience were invited to join in. Five upstanding local fellows joined the group, and the last act was just as classy as the first.

This group performed under the outstanding direction of Dr. David Morrow, and they will only be performing in Bermuda one more time before they get back to their studies.

Vejay Steede Harmony: Morehouse College Glee Club performing: earlier in the week.

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