A Caribbean choir, with Trinidad & Tobago roots
After competing intermittently in the biennial Trinidad & Tobago Music Festivals between 1964 and 1980, the choir retired unbeaten from local competition. After 1980, the leadership turned their attention to testing the choir’s mettle on the international scene.
The Marionettes at the Llangolen International Choral Eisteddfod in 1981
Competing against internationally seasoned groups from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Cuba, England, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, the United States, and Wales, the Marionettes won four major prizes from the three International Choral Festivals in which they participated. Along the way, such distinguished musical figures as John Rutter, Philip Ledger, Andrew Carter and Gwyn Arch were high in their praises of the Chorale’s performances.
In addition to Britain, the Chorale has toured extensively since the 1960s, with several tours within the Caribbean, to North America and to Central America. It has received standing ovations from capacity audiences at such prestigious venues as St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Commonwealth Institute in London (UK), the Assembly Rooms (York, UK), Princeton University (NJ, USA), the United Nations (New York, USA), and the Hall of the Americas in Washington, DC (USA).
Renowned composer and conductor Andrew Carter promotes the Marionettes’ performance at St. Martin in-the-Fields, London, 1992
International Tours
- 1965 Grenada, Barbados and St Vincent
- 1967 Curaçao, Jamaica, New York (United Nations), Toronto, Montreal (Carifta Expo)
- 1969 Grenada (Carifta Expo)
- 1981 London (Commonwealth Institute); Llangollen, Wales (International Eisteddfod)
- 1984 London, Cork (Cork International Choral Festival, Ireland)
- 1992 London (sold-out concert at St Martin-in-the-Fields), Middlesbrough (International Choral Festival), York, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow
- 1997 Miami, Mansfield College (Pennsylvania), Philadelphia, Washington DC (Hall of the Americas), Princeton University, New York (Medgar Evers College)
- 2004 San José and Limón, Costa Rica
- 2019 New York, NY, USA (Carnegie Hall)
The Marionettes perform outdoors in London in 1992
