Irwin Duet creating musical waves

Although school is now out for the summer, little Jujuan Smith and Deja Thompson, of Irwin Primary School in St James have been busy captivating audiences with their rich musical talents on the local concert circuit.

The dynamic duo, who recently performed at the St James' Evening of Excellence and the Best of Festival at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in Kingston, is much in demand for events across the island.

The Western STAR recently caught up with the two 10-year-olds following a performance at the Montego Bay Community College, where they captivated the audience with their awesome vocal power and charisma.

"We love to sing, and it has been wonderful performing for the people," said a smiling Thompson. "We are really enjoying the attention we are getting."

The girls were in the company of Alicia Green, the school's acting vice-principal; and Raquel Scott-Thompson, a teacher and a music coach at the school. Scott-Thompson, who is also Thompson's mother, has a guided the pair to success in the 2017 JCDC national competition in which they won the award in the category of Jamaica Popular and Modern Music Class 2.

FINDING BALANCE

"It has not been easy because I have to try to balance their classroom activities and practiCe time, but what I did was to have them during the lunch break and after school," Scott-Thompson said.

"The girls took home the national trophy, and this was the first time the school has even got anything in music because we always enter dance, speech, traditional folklore, and so on."

"I felt very good when we won because we worked very hard for it," said Smith.

Smith and Thompson, who will be entering Grade 6 and Grade 5, respectively, when the new school year starts in September, have similar ambitions when it comes to their future aspirations as both are eying careers in the teaching profession.

Both girls vow to continue singing, and they believe the performances they are now doing will help them to further hone their craft on stage as they once again set their sights on more glory in the 2018 JCDC competitions.