The strains of the violin lured her away from the science lab to the stage, and it’s a decision she says she will never regret.

And with that explanation, second-year music student at the Barbados Community College, Zarina Maynard happily accepted the 2024 Norma Holder Prize for Music, donated by the Errol and Nita Barrow Memorial Trust.

Zarina earned the honour, achieving the highest GPA in her first year of the Music programme.

However, the journey to this stage has not been straightforward. Although she always had a love for music, having attended music camp since she was three years old, Zarina still enrolled in the science programme at the BCC. “I wasn’t in love with what I was doing,” she admitted. It was Ms. [Kathy] Lewis, a tutor at the college, who encouraged her to pursue her dreams of music after she saw her work at the Joy Knight Music Camp during the summer.

Inspired by this support Zarina switched programmes, “Music is truly what I love to do.... this is something that I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Zarina delighted benefactors, staff and students who gathered in the College’s Liberal Arts Auditorium for the Music Department’s recent Lunchtime Recital series, expertly delivering a performance of Master Blaster by Stevie Wonder.

“I am very grateful, very excited because it is a result of my hard work over my first year,” Zarina shared. Aspiring to become a full-time performer, she has applied to two colleges to study classical violin. In addition to the violin, she also plays the cello, and the tenor pan.

She credits her passion for music and her faith in God as her driving motivators.