Classical singer Clarice Beeput entertains with classics and hymns

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When singer Clarice Beeput happened to hear the soprano aria “O Mio Babbino Caro” (Oh, my dear Papa) by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, she embarked on a classical path.

Many successes later, Beeput will host an evening of classical hymns, hymns and spirituals on July 27 at the Church of Scotland, corner of Oxford and Charlotte Streets, Port of Spain.

One of her goals is to raise money to continue her undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, but she also hopes to expose more people to the beauty of the classics.

In a phone interview with Newsday, Beeput said she gave her first concerts in 2019 and 2023. The first was to raise money for her alma mater, St. Joseph’s Convent in Port of Spain, and the other to raise money for her studies. The 22-year-old has just completed her first year of university. She expects to graduate in May 2027 and hopes to complete her postgraduate studies in singing in 2029.

She has been singing since she was seven years old. She started singing after she heard a school friend sing Beyonce’s song “Halo” in 2008 and wanted to do the same.

At the time, she was attending Blackman’s Private School in Maraval, and the school held a “talent hour” on Fridays.

“I also had some dance moves in mind that I liked. Then my principal, Mrs. Blackman, came to school that day and happened to hear me singing. She asked, ‘Who is that?’ And then she said, ‘You can sing.’

“I continued singing on the side, but I was really hooked when I started singing classical repertoire,” said Beeput.

Unsure of what she wanted to make her life’s work, she sang popular songs such as “We Are the World” and “Halo.”

But when Beeput heard Puccini’s soprano aria, she discovered the classics. She heard it in the hit British sitcom “Mr. Bean” and thought, “I used to say I was allergic to opera, but this is really good. I want to learn it.”

“Then I learned it, I sang it, it felt wonderful and then I thought, ‘Maybe this is what I want to do.'”

While studying science, she initially thought about becoming an orthodontist or a doctor. But music became an increasingly large part of her life.

She defied both her parents and school by passing the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) in Music, placing first in the region in 2019.

She has won a growing number of awards, including winning the 2018, 2020 and 2022 Biennial Music Festivals in various categories, winning the Intermediate Opera Aria category at the 2018 American Protégé International Vocal Competition and the 2017 Competition of Talented Teenagers scholarship competition.

Beeput has been classically trained for seven years and performs in several languages, including English, Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, German and Czech. At the July 27 show, she hopes to raise $40,000 and fulfill her promise to do something every year to help herself and her family.

The event is produced by the Liberty Chorale under the direction of John Thomas, who will play a major role in it.

It is not the first “evening with classical spiritual hymns and spirituals”: ​​The series began in 2020/2021 and usually takes place at Easter, she said.

“Originally it was something that John (Thomas) produced and we had a group of classically trained singers come together and sing different hymns and so on.”

The choir, consisting of about 20 singers, will perform the Gloria by the Italian composer Lucio Vivaldi.

“It made a lot of sense to combine my love of sacred music with Vivaldi’s Gloria and spirituals.”

Through her work, Beeput hopes to introduce more people from Trinidad and Tobago to classical music.

“I always meet a lot of people who say they didn’t know there were classical singers in the country. But the country is so diverse and everyone has something to offer, you can learn something from everything.”

Some people have an aversion to classical music, but the genre has much more depth than people think, she added.

“All over the world there are people who say, ‘Classical music is dead. It’s old music. Move on.’ But you have to appreciate everything that’s out there, and classical music is so beautiful…

“I say all this to say that I want to expose more people to classical music so that they can see what I see and hopefully appreciate it as much as I do.”

When asked if there are opportunities for hybridization between Trinidad and Tobago’s local forms and classical music, Beeput said she has heard of similar things happening in local spaces like Dimanche Gras. She also does her own stuff, playing the African djembe drum and singing classical songs.

Her ultimate goal is to lift up her audience, make the people around her happier and want to keep going and enjoy life. She wants to master her own craft and be the best singer she can be.