Petronilla Deterville

Last updated
Petronilla Deterville
Petronilla Deterville.jpg
Born
Marie Petronilla Deterville

(1951-05-14)14 May 1951
Died3 October 2010(2010-10-03) (aged 59)
NationalitySt. Lucian
Occupationmusic educator
Years active1981–2010

Petronilla Deterville, MBE (14 May 1951-3 October 2010) was a St. Lucian musician and composer recognized for her work in founding youth music and theatrical groups. She was honored as a member of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to the development and preservation of St. Lucia's folk music, as well as her efforts to utilize the arts to expand educational opportunities.

Order of the British Empire British order of chivalry

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of the order.

Contents

Early life

Marie Petronilla Deterville was born on 14 May 1951 in Anse La Raye, St. Lucia. [1] [2] After completing her primary education, earned a teaching certificate from the St. Lucia Teacher's College and went on to pursue certification as a music teacher from the Jamaica School of Music. [3] [4]

Anse La Raye Place in Anse la Raye Quarter, Saint Lucia

Anse La Raye or Anse-La-Raye is the largest town in Anse la Raye Quarter, Saint Lucia. It is located on the island's western side, near Marigot Bay, and has several examples of French and English colonial architecture.

Career

In 1981, Deterville founded the "Cecilian Reys", a musical group from her home town, which aimed to expand opportunities for youth in the area. [5] The group, made up of children, learns and performs traditional St. Lucian folkmusic and musical theater. In 1992, she took the group to the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA), where they performed the folk musical, Tinday. [2] Determined to further her education, Deterville enrolled at the Catholic University of America, completing a bachelor's in music education in 1995 and her master's degree the following year. [6] In 1996, she developed the Anse La Raye Youth Orchestra, which had twenty-five musicians composed of strings, winds and drums. [7]

The music of Saint Lucia is home to many vibrant oral and folk traditions and is based on elements derived from the music of Africa, especially rhythmically, and Western Europe, dances like the quadrille, polka and waltz. The banjo and cuatro are iconic Lucian folk instruments, especially a four-stringed banjo called the bwa poye. Celebratory songs called jwé show lyricism, and rhythmic complexity. The most important of the Afro-Lucian Creole folk dances is the kwadril. Music is an integral part of Lucian folk holidays and celebrations, as well as the good-natured rivalry between the La Rose and La Marguerite societies. There is little Western classical music on Saint Lucia, and the country's popular music industry is only nascent. There are few recording opportunities, though live music and radio remain a vital part of Lucian culture. Popular music from abroad, especially Trinidadian styles like calypso and soca, is widespread.

Catholic University of America Private Catholic university in Washington, D.C.

The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops. Established in 1887 as a graduate and research center following approval by Pope Leo XIII on Easter Sunday, the university began offering undergraduate education in 1904. The university's campus lies within the Brookland neighborhood, known as "Little Rome", which contains 60 Catholic institutions, including Trinity Washington University and the Dominican House of Studies, as well as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Deterville had strong dedication to the arts and saw participation as a means of keeping children interested in school, as well as their communities. She worked with the Ministry of Education from 1989 to 2008 as a curriculum development specialist and participated in cross-cultural programs studying the benefits of incorporating ethnic music and folklore into educational programs. [3] [4] [8] Deterville began an initiative in 2007 to involve at-risk youth in theater programs. Known as the Youth Studying Performing Arts and Culture (Youth SPAC) the initiative sponsored youth camps over the summer to introduce and involve students in the performing arts. Deterville and Kentilla Louis worked together to expand the program to produce productions year-round. [9] The following year, she produced Tribute to Charles Cadet with the "Cecilian Reys" to honor the work of the St. Lucian tenor. [2] In 2008, she became an education officer in the Ministry of Education, serving until her death. [4] That same year, she was honored as a member of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to music in St. Lucia. [10]

Death and legacy

Deterville died on 3 October 2010. [1] Upon Deterville's death, Gregory Piper took over her work with the Anse La Raye Youth Orchestra, completing her production of Sing de Chorus. [7] She was honored in 2016 with a special celebration held in honor of Nobel Laureate Week dedicated to her life. The "Cecilian Reys" performed Life in the Village a two-hour musical that Deterville had conceptualized. [5]

Related Research Articles

Saint Lucia Country in the Caribbean

Saint Lucia is a sovereign island country in the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. The island was previously called Iyonola, the name given to the island by the native Amerindians and later, Hewanorra, the name given by the native Caribs. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 and reported a population of 165,595 in the 2010 census. Its capital is Castries.

Politics of Saint Lucia

Politics of Saint Lucia takes place in the framework of an independent parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, represented by a Governor General, who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party of the house, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. The Governor General exercises basically ceremonial functions, but residual powers, under the constitution, can be used at the governor general's discretion. The actual power in St. Lucia lies with the prime minister and the cabinet, usually representing the majority party in parliament.

Soufrière Quarter Quarter in St. Lucia

Soufrière is a quarter on the Southwest coast of Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Soufrière was the former capital of Saint Lucia during times of French rule. It is now a small fishing port with an emerging tourism industry. It has several tourist sites, including a "drive-in" volcano, the Diamond Botanical Gardens with waterfall and historic mineral baths, plus the nearby beaches of Anse Chastanet to the north and Malgretout to the south.

House of Assembly of Saint Lucia

The Parliament of Saint Lucia has two chambers. The House of Assembly is the popular elected chamber of the Legislature. It has 17 or 18 members: 17 members elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, and a speaker elected by the 17 members, who may be one of their number or a person chosen from outside the House.

Cyprian Lansiquot is a Saint Lucian lawyer and politician. He was a Labour Party member of the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia from 1997 to 2006 and served as a parliamentary secretary.

Sesenne Saint Lucian singer

Dame Marie Selipha Descartes, DBE, BEM, best known as Sesenne, was a Saint Lucian singer and cultural icon. Singing in her native patois language, at a time when authorities barred its use, Sesenne developed a wide following in the rural area in which she grew up. Patronage by St. Lucia's first woman legislator led to the singer's "discovery" by a cultural preservationist, who in turn introduced Sesenne to an American anthropologist to make recordings of her songs.

Girl Guides Association of Saint Lucia organization

The Girl Guides Association of Saint Lucia is the national Guiding organisation of Saint Lucia. It serves 2,181 members. Founded in 1925, the girls-only organisation became a full member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1984. It is a member organisation of the Caribbean Link for Guiding.

Keith Raymond Rufus Mondesir is a Saint Lucian politician. He has been a United Workers Party member of the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia and a member of the Saint Lucian cabinet since 2006, serving in the administrations of John Compton and Stephenson King.

Saint Lucia Athletics Association

The St. Lucia Athletics Association (SLAA) is the national governing body for athletics in Saint Lucia, inclusive of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. The Athletics Association was formerly known as the St. Lucia Amateur Athletics Association. The organisation was founded in 1977 to promote Track and Field in Saint Lucia. In 1978 the SLAA became an affiliate member of the world governing body for athletics, then called the International Amateur Athletics Federation, and now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations.

Stephen Alexander Dantes is a Saint Lucian author and Spoken Word artiste who has been performing at different venues in USA, Canada and Saint Lucia. He is a youth activists and is best known for his poems, 'Fair Helen', 'Rude Boy Reality', 'The Land the People and the Bottle', 'Recreating History', 'Country Boys of Darban', 'Where I'm from there is No Freedom', 'What if Juliet Never Found Romeo' and 'Ode to Love'. Members of the Caribbean Sports fraternity also know Dantes as the creator of the first Caribbean Sports website, SportCaraibe.net.

Indo-Saint Lucians or Indian-Saint Lucians, are Saint Lucians whose ancestry lies within the country of India, primarily the modern-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh in Northern India. In 1859, the British began transporting indentured workers from British India to work on plantation estates in Saint Lucia, which had become a British colony in 1814. The first ship carrying 318 indentured workers from India, the Palmyra, arrived in Saint Lucia on 6 May 1859, and the last ship carrying Indian indentured workers, the Volga, arrived on 10 December 1893.

Sir Stanislaus James was a Saint Lucian educator, administrator and Governor-General.

Hunter J. Francois was a Saint Lucian lawyer and politician. He was Minister of Education, Health and Social Services from 1964 to 1974. He represented East Castries constituency for the United Workers Party, winning the seat in the 1964 general election.

Sonia M. Johnny is a St. Lucian attorney who served as her country's first woman ambassador. She has served as the Chief Negotiator for the Caribbean, President of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, Chief of the OAS Department of Trade, Tourism and Competitiveness and Deputy Director of the Summits Secretariat.

Marie Grace Augustin Saint Lucian businesswoman and politician

Marie Grace Augustin, OBE, commonly known as Grace Augustin, was a Saint Lucian businesswoman and politician. After attaining a nursing and midwifery degree, she studied law, but was refused permission to take a bar examination based on her gender. Instead, Augustin became the first woman in Saint Lucia to manage a large estate, becoming a planter. She was the first woman to be nominated as a parliamentarian in St. Lucia and become the first female member of the legislature.

Mexico–Saint Lucia relations

Mexico–Saint Lucia relations refers to the diplomatic relations between the United Mexican States and Saint Lucia. Both nations are members of the Association of Caribbean States, Organization of American States and the United Nations.

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • Bishop, Stan (19 January 2016). "Petronilla Deterville's Work Highlighted". Castries, St Lucia: The Voice of St. Lucia. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  • Catholic University of America (1997). Alumni Directory. Washington, D.C.: Publishing Concepts. p. 81.
  • Fundación de Etnomusicología y Folklore (1992). Anuario FUNDEF (in Spanish). 3. Caracas, Venezuela: Gobierno nacional de venezuela.
  • Lee, John Robert (4 October 2010). "Petronilla Deterville dies". St. Lucia Folk. Castries, Saint Lucia: Folk Research Centre. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  • Arts education in school and out of school. UNESCO. Seoul, Korea. 2010. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  • "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). UNESCO. Paris, France. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  • "Petronilla Deterville (1951–2010)". St Lucia Heroes. Castries, St. Lucia: St Lucia Heroes Associates. 2013. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  • "Piper's Song: Volunteerism to Safeguard the Music Art Form" (PDF). National Review. No. 23. Castries, St. Lucia. 24 September 2011. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  • "Queen's Birthday Honours: Full list". The Independent . London, England. 13 June 2008. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  • "Youth Theatre in the Spotlight with New Play". Castries, St. Lucia: The Star. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
<i>The Independent</i> British online daily newspaper

The Independent is a British newspaper that was established in 1986 as a politically independent national morning paper published in London. Nicknamed the Indy, it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published on Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only an online edition. It tends to take a pro-market stance on economic issues. Until September 2011, the paper described itself on the banner at the top of every newspaper as "free from party political bias, free from proprietorial influence".

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.