Venelle Powell wants young musicians to find their voices

In 2023, Venelle travelled to Antigua as a chaperone for students attending the Go Compose workshop. The visit brought her into contact with The Commonwealth Resounds team and gave her an opportunity to contribute musically within a wider Commonwealth setting. She brings to this return visit the experience of both a performer and an educator: a singer-songwriter and vocal coach, she is also a founder and teacher at the Samuel O. Powell School of Music in Nevis.

I am proud to represent Saint Kitts and Nevis through my passion for music. Music has been an important part of my life, not only as a means of creative expression but also as a way of connecting with people.

Although our musical experiences and traditions may differ, music creates opportunities for us to find common ground, appreciate one another, and celebrate both our uniqueness and our shared humanity. It reminds us that our cultural differences do not divide us; instead, they can bring us together to create something beautiful.

The encouragement Venelle hopes to offer has a practical purpose. She wants young people to discover abilities they may not yet recognise and feel ready to share their musical ideas. Her message to Commonwealth leaders is that investing in music education supports personal development and helps preserve cultural identities. Back in Nevis, she hopes to share new ideas and experiences with her students at the Samuel O. Powell School of Music. A successful visit would leave her with meaningful connections and young people with the confidence to keep creating.

I hope to offer encouragement, inspire younger musicians, and build genuine connections with the people I meet. As an educator, I understand that music can help young people build confidence, discover their abilities, and find their voices. I hope those I work with leave the experience feeling encouraged to explore their creativity, believe in their potential, and recognize what they can achieve through music.

Elijah Kiwalabye brings Uganda’s music to Antigua

Elijah Kiwalabye is a Ugandan music educator and founder of Thrive Music Academy Africa in Kampala. In November 2026, he will represent Uganda as a Commonwealth Music Ambassador at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda. His programme includes performing with the special World Orchestra, contributing to the cross-cultural opening performance for the Commonwealth People’s Forum and taking part in the Commonwealth Music Conference. He hopes the visit will give international visibility to the talent and potential of the young musicians he teaches.

It validates years of grassroots work with young people in Uganda and shows that our local sounds have a global place.

I am particularly keen to share how music inspires grassroot young people in Uganda, I work with youth who have immense talent but limited resources. I have learned how to teach and arrange music with minimal infrastructure but maximum creativity.

I am very eager to learn about Antigua and Barbuda’s carnival music, steelpan traditions, and folk forms like calypso and soca. I want to understand how they preserve their heritage while making it relevant for young people today – that is exactly the challenge we face in Uganda.

I would like leaders to understand that music is not a luxury or just an extracurricular activity – it is education, it is employment, it is mental health, it is identity. When you invest in a young person’s music education, you are investing in peace, confidence, and entrepreneurship. If my students see that their teacher stood on a Commonwealth stage, they will believe they can too.

Ellen Wilkinson returns to Antigua

Ellen Wilkinson is an oboist, writer and arts educator who graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 2023 with First Class Honours. She also founded the conservatoire’s student newspaper, RAMpage News. In November 2026, she will return to Antigua with The Commonwealth Resounds for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). She will perform with the World Orchestra alongside international instrumentalists and members of the Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra, coach young wind players, and lead poetry and music workshops with the Commonwealth People’s Forum.

I am so touched to be invited to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2026. Antigua and Barbuda is extremely special to me; its vibrant steel pan bands, gorgeous sands and sumptuous mangoes have shaped my growth into adulthood, as well as my development as a musician and community leader. I will be delighted to connect with my Antiguan friends at such an important international event, broaden my global connections with inspiring cultural leaders and, most importantly, play music!

I am also so excited to have recently launched the organisation’s Commonwealth Music Ambassador programme, which connects musical representatives of each commonwealth nation to champion their culture and education programmes on international platforms, such as CHOGM.

I have always been struck by the advanced listening ability of Antiguan musicians, as well as their ease with improvisation and complex rhythms. British musicians are trained to be adept at and reliant on reading sheet music, and I hope to develop my freedom of expression away from that. Antiguan musical culture is built on intergenerational communities – steel pan band training sessions range from young children to experienced pan leaders, often within families, and practising into the evening multiple times a week. This gives sustainability to music making, which is integral to the nation’s wellbeing. I think British culture could benefit from this connective setup hugely.

With accessible ways of working, music is an equaliser; it is a tool for self expression, building confidence, growing skills in collaboration and showing that you can have fun through work. A child who disrupts a maths lesson is able to keep a steady drum beat, a non-verbal child is able to make a loud noise by hitting a bell, a toddler learns how to hold an instrument with care.