Hyattsville, Maryland, USA - On
Saturday, December 12th, “one of the best small charities in the Greater
Washington region” will host an unforgettable evening of Holiday music featuring
a unique and often misunderstood musical instrument - the Steelpan.
The Cultural Academy For Excellence, based in Prince George’s County, Maryland, has
been teaching the art of the Caribbean Steel Pan to school-aged children for
more than a decade. The program has fostered the award-winning Positive
Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra (PVYSO) (pictured), which has traveled extensively
throughout North America and Senegal, Africa, as ambassadors for the instrument
and the Region.
The Steel Pan was born on the island nation of Trinidad. Originally fashioned
from discarded oil drums, the instrument has become a marvel of musical and
technological advancement. With steel bands in virtually every developed country
in the world and steel pan studies in thousands of high schools and universities
world-wide, the artistic expression of the instrument has gone beyond the once
typically expected “Caribbean vacation music.”
This
exciting
concert, in
the
beautiful
First United
Methodist
Church
sanctuary,
will feature
several
steel bands
representing
different
levels of
study, from
young
children to
full-time
professional
performers
and
instructors.
The
performance
will include
works by J.S.
Bach
(Baroque),
W. A. Mozart
(Classical),
Giovanni
Gabrieli
(Renaissance
Chamber),
Astor
Piazzolla
(Tango
Nuevo),
Aaron
Copland
(Contemporary
American). Additionally
the audience
can expect
to hear
traditional
Holiday
songs, and,
of course,
Calypso and
Soca - the
indigenous
music of
Trinidad.
This program
is FREE and
will be
appreciated
by all
members of
the
community.
For more
information,
kindly
contact the
Cultural
Academy For
Excellence
at:
vprovost@cafeyouth.org
or call
1 (301)
262-9032.
WHEN: Saturday, December 12th, 2009
WHERE: First United Methodist Church (Sanctuary)
6201 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, Maryland, 20782
TIME: 4:00–6:00 p.m.
From the
News Desk of
the Cultural
Academy For
Excellence
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