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New
York - There have been many, many
great musical moments in the history of New York and this
past
Friday another great moment occurred at the prestigious
Manhattan School of Music (MSM). Indeed, the institution
has a ninety-year history of music-making in New York City.
New York may always be known as Bradley’s town -
so
named after the late great master arranger - but on this
Friday night in upper Manhattan, the Big Apple belonged to
Andy Akiho and his superb collection of talented fellow musicians.
Moreover, the music and performances on this evening at the
MSM blazed a new path and
understanding for the steelpan instrument as part of the
institution’s revolutionary Master of Music Contemporary Performance Program.
 Billed as “Synesthesia Suite”
- Works for Steel Pan with jazz combo and chamber orchestra -
Andy Akiho successfully
delivered a collection of music that redefined the accepted norm
and conventional thinking of not only music for the steelpan
instrument, but more importantly the context in which the
instrument is viewed and used. By incorporating a
series of techniques Andy was able to coax tones and
responses from the instrument that lead, complimented or
supported the accompanying performers as desired.
From solo performances to jazz and
chamber orchestra, for just over an hour, Akiho paired and married the steelpan
instrument in an eclectic body of work that featured his own
original compositions, which were both deeply
personal and moving. Although Andy is youthful in age
he has clearly mastered the art of musical storytelling.
His voicings and harmonies are distinctive but essential to
creating the movements that are fundamental to this group of
instrumental works that are based on colors.
 Ironically one of the people who
contributed greatly to Akiho’s development, guitarist and
arranger
Scipio
“Skip” Sargeant, passed away only last week.
The show and one of the songs entitled ‘Momo Iro (Pink)
- Quartet for Steelpan, Acoustic Guitar, Bass and Drumset’ - was
created specifically with Sargeant as inspiration.
In light of the fact that New York has the largest and most vibrant steelpan community outside
of Trinidad and Tobago, it seems only natural that the MSM
would develop a premičre program that would nurture
and further develop natural talents - the likes of Andy Akiho,
who now graduates MSM with his Master of Music degree.
This young musician is well on his way to becoming one of
the most significant young composers of music that is either
for, or incorporates the steelpan instrument.
Manhattan School of Music is an
established conservatory for all of ninety-one years -
mentoring and honing the skills of many of the world’s most
promising talents on the music artistry scene. With the
backdrop of New York’s urban lifestyle, the school has
stepped outside the box with its curriculum as boldly as do
those who are part of the New York scene, with the addition
of the Contemporary
 Performance Program to its instruction
line-up. For 2009, twelve of the overall twenty-two young
musicians who are dead set on making their musical mark in
the world - graduate MSM’s halls. Percussionist/Pan Player
Andy Akiho is one of that dozen; and after the two-year
presence of this young musical genius-in-waiting, the
practice rooms of MSM will never be the same.
But that is what MSM intended when it
trail-blazed and unveiled this unique masters degree
program. New York is a constantly evolving social landscape,
teeming with the anticipation of inventiveness and
creativity waiting to be revealed, and it is onto this
canvas of pregnant possibility and viability, that MSM is
now projecting its musical progeny, by unhesitatingly
providing them the medium of educational faculty
(world-recognized performing artists in their own right)
resources, guidance and inspiration - buttressed with MSM’s
tradition of intellectual and musical excellence - to make
their mark.
In Pictures
click to see and hear more of Andy Akiho's work
Contact Andy Akiho at:
http://whensteeltalks.ning.com/profile/AndyAkiho
www.andyakiho.com
Manhattan School of Music (MSM) Contemporary Performance Program:
www.msmnyc.edu/contemp/
Contact MSM PR Assistant Chloë May:
cmay@msmnyc.edu
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