Preserving promoting and sustaining the legacy of Pat Bishop in Art, Literature and Music
The PALM’s prime objective is to preserve the legacy of Pat Bishop in the spheres of art, literature and music and comprises a Board of Directors under the chairmanship of Martin G. Daly S.C. The Board is responsible for setting the agenda and managing a programme that stays within the terms of its incorporation and which keeps faith with Pat’s lifelong commitment to the arts and to building community.
Honouring its commitment to building community, and at the same time recognising the contribution made by many individuals and groups who engaged with Pat Bishop on her long creative journey, the PALM Foundation invited a number of Pat’s fellow travellers to accept Honorary Membership. Individual and Group Membership was ceremoniously conferred in the spheres of literature, music and dance, art and community/intellectual endeavour, at the Inaugural Meeting. The citation on the Certificates of Honorary Membership read, “in recognition of a long and fruitful creative and intellectual relationship with Pat Bishop”.
The Lydian Singers and The Lydian Steel were prominent among those on whom honorary group membership was conferred and a number of long-standing Lydian members and associates also accepted honorary membership in their individual capacities. This was only natural given the twenty -five years which Pat Bishop devoted to directing the Lydians, and her establishment of The Lydian Steel as the orchestra of The Lydian Singers; an experience which she counted among her life’s blessings. To mark the occasion of the inaugural meeting, the Directors of The PALM Foundation took the decision to commission and confer the PALM medal of excellence on one of its honorary members.
The recipient of the award was someone early identified by Pat Bishop as a person whose natural talent, coupled with his sense of dedication, self-discipline and willingness to work marked him as her special responsibility. The announcement of the award of the PALM medal to Edward Cumberbatch for Song was easily the highlight of the evening as all shared joyfully in the achievement of the ardent, energizing Lydian of twenty-seven years. Edward Cumberbatch’s dedication and attention to his craft mark him not only as a source of inspiration for Lydian members, but a potent motivator for The PALM itself in the achievement of its goals.
Pat Bishop’s belief in the humanizing and civilizing power of the arts, her commitment to nurturing the creative imagination, her dedication to high standards and unwavering hope for self-realisation on the part of each individual, the nation and Caribbean region, powers both The PALM and The Lydian Singers and Steel. We ask for the public’s support as we work together to preserve, promote and sustain Pat’s legacy.
The PALM will accept donations, gifts and bequests and sponsor fund-raising events. In this way it will provide financial, technical and other assistance to community groups and organisations wishing to explore and express the creative imagination in an artistic or cultural form. You may find out more about The PALM Foundation by e-mailing thepalmfoundation@gmail.com. Please join us in keeping Pat’s legacy alive.
Art
Pat Bishop, recipient of the Hummingbird gold medal, the Trinity Cross and an Honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies was regarded as one of the country’s leading painters. her work is held in collections both private and corporate
Literature
Pat’s command of the English language was legendary and as a public speaker she was greatly respected and sought after . For many years at the Trinidad Steelband Panorama Competition, together with Eddison Carr she would provide colour commentary on the radio. She was deeply knowledgeable on all aspects of the competition and the music and she continues to be missed all these years later
Music
As an infant Pat was taught to read music by her Father, Sonny who was a tenor and played a number of musical instruments Throughout her life she built and never gave up on her passion for music as she was trained in voice and piano both in Trinidad and in the UK alongside her training in Art. When she returned to Trinidad Pat threw herself into a range of musical activities with countless choirs , steelbands and individuals which will be listed and discussed elsewhere in this website
Rehearsal Video
At choir rehearsals, the Lydians were always happy to provide an audience for its soloists. Edward Cumberbatch accompanied by Pat’s long time friend and colleague, Lindyann Bodden Ritch, sings Gute Nacht from the famous Schubert song cycle, Winterreise. In this video, Pat is urging Eddie to put just a little more passion into the song. At the end of the song, she is happy with the result