Every one of us has unique gifts and talents.
Our gifts manifest themselves differently, and David Jonathan Allens was born on May 14, 2000 with the gift of music.
He is a 10th grade student at Queen's College and will be presented with the Rising Star award for youth in the arts during the youth awards presentation at the Melia resort tonight.
Allens began performing locally and oversees shortly after his grandmother recognized his musical talent.
At the time, he was only four years old.
Over a decade later, Allens is still singing and has expanded his skills to include playing the piano, saxophone and developing proficiency in music theory.
At the age of 14, Allens now boasts a remarkable list of accomplishments.
His music teacher, Edward A. Cox, wrote in 2009, "I had no idea that someone so young could have had such vast musical experiences.
"I remain astonished by the amount of work David has done since his commencing at the age of four. David is very alert and focused. And, I say with a degree of certainty that if he continues he will make his parents, school and indeed our country very proud".
Over the years, Allens has certainly made his parents, church, school and community proud.
From 2009 to present, the musician has passed a total of 17 internationally acclaimed examinations from the Trinity College London and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, many of which he received high marks on.
Allens has successfully passed the examinations for grades one, two, three, four, five and eight solo singing levels.
He fast-tracked past the grade six level and opted to forgo sitting the grade seven exam to participate in a two-week practical singing emersion in Izmir, Turkey.
He is also believed to be the youngest Bahamian to boast of reaching the grade eight solo singing level, having earned a mark two points shy of distinction at age 13.
Allens is currently pursuing the associate of Trinity College London (ATCL) examination which is equivalent in level to an associate degree at an accredited college or university.
For the ATCL examination, he will be singing pieces by composers such as Donizetti, Handel and J.S. Bach from world-renowned works such as "The Messiah", "Israel in Egypt" and "L'elisir d'Amore" which are oratorios and an opera, respectively.
He will be required to perform a recital singing in German, Italian and English for an internationally acclaimed examiner.
Allens has also passed grades one through five in music theory and is now working on advanced level theory for the grade six examination, which encompasses composition and arranging music.
In addition to his successes in voice and music theory, Allens has also reached the grade four level in classical piano and is now pursuing the Trinity grade five examination, which includes as a requirement playing intermediate-level pieces by composers such as Mozart and Beethoven.
Allens has excelled even in his most recent musical endeavor, the saxophone. After three years of studying the saxophone, he has already reached the grade four level and is progressing to the grade five examination from the Associated Board of The Royal Schools of Music.
Since his first performance in 2004, he has created a name for himself in The Bahamas and in the wider world not only in solo singing but in piano and saxophone.
Apart from regularly receiving invitations to perform at churches, banquets, weddings, funerals, social events, concerts, graduation ceremonies, dedication services, and school functions, Allens has been invited to perform at high profile events at places such as Government House.
One of the most recent important events at which he was asked to perform was the 238th anniversary of independence of the United States of America at Liberty Overlook.
At the independence celebrations, Allens sang the American national anthem.
Recently, Allens also begun playing contemporarily and is the pianist for his church's youth choir. Even his saxophone performances are becoming more frequent. Most recently, he accepted an invitation to play The Bahamian national anthem at the opening of the Special Olympics Games at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Center.
Allens has won numerous awards and has been asked to sing and play the saxophone on collaborative CDs.
Allens also performs with numerous organizations, including The Bahamas National Children's Choir, The Bahamas National Boys' Choir, The Church of God of Prophecy Junior Brass Band, The Church of God of Prophecy East Street Tabernacle Youth Choir, The Church of God of Prophecy National Children's Choir, The Queen's College School Band, The Queen's College School Choir, The Urban Renewal Band and The Bahamas All Star Band.
Allens has represented The Bahamas on multiple international trips to places such as London, Prague, Poland, China, Turkey, Mississippi, New York, and Atlanta and will be traveling to New York again with the Bahamas All Star Band to perform in the Macy's Day Parade next month.
David's musical development has been advanced and inspired by, among others, Ena-Mae T. Cox (grandmother), Dorcas Cox (mother), Dr. Desiree Cox (aunt), Capt. Anthony Allens (father), Akia Knowles, Rosalie Fawkes, Sgt. Theodore Campbell, Officer Capron, Wilfred Adderley, Melanie Moss, Edward Cox, Patricia Bazard, Alfred Dean, Audrey Dean-Wright, Yvonne Faulkes, Karel Colbey, Kieran Roker, Yonell Justillian, Gerard Lafleur, and Gerard Rigby (voice coach).

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