Botswana - On April 5, the entire
community of Broadhurst Primary School came together to
honour the memory of the pan pioneer of the school -
John Stoddart.
Music Teacher Verity
Knight put together a music programme outside the
Music Room which was renamed The John Stoddart Music Suite.
The ceremony included performances by the Chipolatas and
the Calabash steelbands - his brainchild. Mr. Stoddart's wife Gwen was invited to cut the ribbon to
formalize the occasion.
John passed away last December
following a battle with cancer. A Zimbabwean by
birth, the former School Deputy Headmaster served the
Broadhurst Primary School for some 19 years. It was during his
study of music in the United Kingdom that he fell in love with the
sound of the steelpan, as he realized that it could
render from calypso to salsa to the classics.
His dream was that all students at Broadhurst Primary be
exposed to the essentials of pan playing. That dream was
ultimately realised, in that the students
who took to the instrument naturally, would eventually
be selected to form the school steelband.
Currently the school has
three concert groups according to age and/or ability -
the Chipolatas, Marang and the Calabash, all from the
vision of John Stoddart.
Hollis Clifton
- WST Africa correspondent