Sometimes, it’s tempting to fear for the future. With the economy on life support and employment in a nosedive, staring blankly at the horizon waiting for Armageddon begins to take on a perverse attraction.And then.An event like the Summer Showcase, presented by the Music Institute of Bermuda on Sunday afternoon, jolts you back to reality. You’re given proof that there’s a generation of young people, brimming with promise and supported by loving families, who will surely steer the Island in the right direction. Concerns about the future evaporate. Skies are sunny and all’s right with the world.During a two-hour presentation that mixed performance with conversation, 14 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 charmed a standing-room-only audience with their clear-eyed commitment to excellence and unwavering focus on success. Under the direction and guidance of Bim Bademosi (“Mr B” to his students), the young people sparkled like the gems they are.Sunday’s programme included jazz, reggae, gospel and pop medleys, chosen by the students, and performed by the InTune band made up of five vocalists (Danté Taylor, Kioshi Burgess, Shantina Cumberbatch, Delijah Symonds and Jade Richardson); a drummer (Marcus Bean); bass guitarist (Tafari Raynor); three violinists (Shamar Morris, Shanyce Morris and Ore Bademosi); a cellist (Tamia Bademosi, who also played synth keyboard); and two keyboard players (Deston Campbell and Malick Alick). Selections included Coldplay’s ‘Paradise’, Jazmine Sullivan’s ‘I Need You Bad’ and the Broadway jazz classic ‘My Funny Valentine’.The Music Institute of Bermuda was established earlier this year by Bademosi siblings Bim, Olu and Aderonke. The Music Institute is affiliated with the UK-based Rockschool, which bills itself as the “rock music exam board”. Rockschool was founded by Norton York, a former professor of Bim’s at the University of Westminster in London.Following Rockschool’s curriculum, the Music Institute will offer young people in the last years of high school as well as adults the opportunity to study various aspects of the commercial music industry as well as musicianship. Students will take exams that lead to internationally-recognised accreditation.The Bademosis hold the Rockschool license for the Caribbean. Once the Bermuda facility is established, they plan to set up similar offerings throughout the region, supporting the Rockschool’s mission of enabling rock musicians to get the same type of qualifications as classical musicians.Sunday’s showcase was designed to give parents, families and friends a sense of what the students had learned during a nine-week programme held this summer at CedarBridge Academy. In between each medley, audience members were invited to ask the young people questions.Mr B’s students performed with confidence and competence. Working as a tight knit ensemble, they filled the open rafters of the Music Institute’s new home on King Street with a full-bodied, well-mixed sound.While the performances were impressive, the students shone the brightest as they answered questions about their future plans.“How are you fortifying yourself, to protect yourself?” asked one audience member. “This is an industry that isn’t fully developed. You may have to do things that have nothing to do with music.”“I am doing the research I need to understand what I want to do,” said 18-year-old Kioshi. “I know this is not an easy journey. But it’s a beautiful journey. I know there are lots of people better than me. But I can only be me.”“And it’s not how long the journey is, it’s that you finish,” added 18-year-old Shantina.“It’s important to stay humble,” said 15-year-old Shamar, “and to keep pushing and pushing and pushing.”Mr B’s dictum that “talent is nothing without education” seems to have hit home with his pupils, all of whom tempered expressions of passion for music with pragmatism.Delijah, 18, will be touring with Up With People next year and then studying performing arts in Canada or the UK. Shantina will be pursing a nursing degree to make sure she has “something to fall back on” if her singing skills don’t translate into a sustainable career. Marcus, 16, aims to study in the UK to become a barrister (“Drumming is a hobby for me”). Shalae Robinson, 17, who worked on the showcase as audio engineer, will be going to Atlanta to study music production and sound engineering.Throughout the question and answer periods, students were offered words of wisdom from an audience that included music industry veterans Steve Easton, Francine Burrows and Wendell Daniels.“Take your music as far as it can go,” urged Mr Easton. “Music is a powerful tool. Remember that King Saul hired David to play music to soothe him. Try your best not to wield it in a negative direction.”“Don’t give up on what your desire,” cautioned Ms Burrows. “Study your craft and don't let anyone tell you it’s just a side job.”Mr B closed out the afternoon with a call to action.“We need to invest in our entertainers,” he said. “Our tourism industry is in stasis, to be revived by these young people.“And education and talent will sustain their careers.”The Music Institute of Bermuda will have its formal opening in January when the King Street space will be transformed into purpose-built studios, classrooms and offices.For more information, contact telephone Bim Bademosi on 338-3335 or e-mail at thefeelofmusic@gmail.com.