Educator and fungi master
The versatile Elmore Stoutt
Maura Curley
Elmore Stoutt sat quietly working at his desk at BVI High school where he had been a popular principal for the past 18 years. When this visitor appears, without any appointment to talk about fungi music, he graciously begins doing what he does best: educate and inspire.
Elmore Stoutt, spent 46 years in education and is credited with making massive improvements.
He is also an engaging entertainer and known as one of the islands' most intriguing fungi masters.
Stoutt, who plays guitar, ukulele, and sings, says fungi music ( known as quelbe in the USVI) is one big cook-up.
He draws the comparison between a combintion of foods like ochre, beans, seasoned rice and steamed coconut milk with the mixing of lead vocalist, chorus, strings, percussion and wind instruments.
The wind, percussion, strings and vocalist says Stoutt are "the combinations of cultures coming together." He cites the dominant African influence in the drums, and the BVI's 300 years of British and European engagement evidenced in the waltz and swing two step. Then there is input from Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico, which add elements of merenge and mambo to the music.
"It's people in progress. Nothing is static," Stoutt observes with joy, breaking into song to illustrate this massive cultural cook-up.
Stoutt was educated in Tortola and continued his studies at Leeward Islands Teacher Training College, the University of the West Indies, Murray House College in Scotland and the University of Hull in England.
He began his teaching career in primary school and then taught English and history.
His love of music has become a family affair. Stoutt's son Caave, who teaches music throughout the BVI, co- produced the compact disk Welcome to the BVI, which contains BVI folk songs and anecdotal historic narratives, along with original tunes like Happy n Glad, Fungi and Fish and Sunday Morning Well. Another son Craig, a medical doctor in Tortola, plays fungi when he can.
Stoutt's wife, Geranium, loves music, and is very supportive.
Stoutt is an innovative man who utilizes his talents, as an entertainer to promote history and folklore, much of which he notes is not written anywhere.
Maura Curley is publisher of virginvoices.com
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