In
Pictures
New York,
USA
-
Not even
the
slightly
grey
skies
overhead
could
maintain
its dour
countenance
as
NYU
Steel
from New
York
University
kept up
a
determined
music
pulse and
rhythm
in the
rather
cool
afternoon.
Eventually,
even
those
very
skies
cracked
a tad to
finally
let the
rays of
the sun
come
peeking
through,
the
latter perhaps
in
defiant
and happy
response
to the
beckoning
steelband
sounds
of the
NYU
Steel
Ensemble.
NYU
Steel
performs
in
Washington
Square
Park
As
people
wandered
through
the
famed
Washington
Park
Square
in New
York’s
Greenwich
Village
- some
of them
with
prized
pooches
in tow -
several
stopped
to take
in the
steelband
sounds
which
ranged
from
contemporary
works,
to
familiar
Christian
strains
(Amazing
Grace),
to kaiso
standards
frequently
adapted
to the
steel
orchestra
(The
Hammer).
The
repertoire
also
included
Conscious
Chutney,
J’Ouvert
Barrio,
Exit
Music
(For a
Film),
Afro
Pan,
Shaw
Park,
Forever
Soca,
and
Sideways.
As
expected,
a
plethora
of
digital
products
-
from
smart
phones
to
cameras
to
camcorders
-
immediately
popped out
as
several
chose to
capture
imagery,
audio
and
video of
the
skillful
music
works
presented
by NYU
Steel.
Washington
Square
Park is
a US
landmark
steeped
in
significance
as a
public
space
where
people
have
gathered
throughout
the
years, to
discuss
and address
matters
of
urgency
impacting
society;
it is
also a
hub of
cultural
activity.
It was
therefore, a
fitting
place
for
showcasing
the
steelband
culture
and artform
(itself
in part
a
product
of
social
struggle
and
cultural
change
in its
home of
Trinidad
&
Tobago)
-
represented
by the
New York
University
Steel
Ensemble
as they
performed
music
arrangements
by
Joshua Quillen
and
others on pan.
NYU’s
Jonathan
Haas
(in
shades) with
NYU
Steel
The
players
are
students
in the NYU
Steinhardt
Percussion
Program
directed
by
Professor
Jonathan
Haas;
the band
itself
is
directed
by Quillen
who has
been to
Trinidad
and
performed
with
Phase II
Pan
Groove.
Haas has
been at
NYU for
seven
years,
during
which
time he
crafted
the Percussion
Program
with a
unique
caveat -
all
students
in the
program
have not
only to
study
and play
steelpan,
but must
also
have
command
of the
various
voices
of
instruments
in the
steelpan
family
as
currently
utilized
in the NYU
Steel
Drum component
of the
percussion
program.
It was a
mini-ensemble,
as Haas
put it,
which
played
in the
park,
but the
full
contingent
will
take the
stage in
their
annual
concert
next
evening
at the
Frederick
Loewe
Theatre.
Jacqueline
Russo,
Sean
Statser,
Dani
Fortner,
Becky
Reid,
Jeffrey
Eng,
Jeremy
Lowe,
Jim
Woolf,
Frank
Tyl,
Andy
McBeath,
Matthew
Lau and
Alex
Reynolds
were the
students
on hand
for the
afternoon
performance.
Farley
J.
Joseph
and
Jamie
Pittle
Along
with
Professor
Haas,
NYU
students
Farley
J. Joseph
and
Jamie Pittle
(naturally
part of
the
Percussion
program)
who were
happily
tasked
with
managing
both the
park and
concert
performance
productions,
were
also
present.
They answered
questions
and
provided
information
about
NYU
Steel
along
with
flyers,
while
encouraging
everyone
to
attend
the free Wednesday
evening
concert, open to
the
public.
And even
as the
mini-ensemble
was
enticing
onlookers
to join
them
then,
back at
NYU
tuner
Kyle
Dunleavy
was
working
away
tuning
the
steelpan
instruments
in
readiness
for the
concert.
Also on
hand to
take in
the
music
were
some
familiar
faces on
the New
York pan
scene,
including
those of
Khuent
Rose,
Navarre
Mason
and
Sparkle
Demming.
They
made it
clear
that
they did
not
intend
to miss
the
upcoming
concert.
The
music
seldom
ever
stops in
and
around
Washington
Square
Park.
Even as
WST
(When
Steel
Talks) departed,
a lone
trumpeter
took up
the
cultural
baton,
positioned
comfortably
in his
temporary
space
under
the
park’s
famed
arches,
deftly
playing
in
seemingly
preferred musical
solace,
and
drawing
attention
from
passers-by.
NYU
Steel
with
Jonathan
Haas
(in
shades)
And on
Wednesday
evening,
the
music
continues
a
stone’s
throw
away
from the
park as
NYU
Steel
delivers
their
annual
concert
beginning
8:00
o’clock
at the
Frederick
Loewe
Theatre,
35 West
4th
Street
in New
York.
With a
CD
release
carded
for May
2011,
expect
to
experience
the
works of
Philip
Glass
and much
more
from the
group at
the
show.
Since
NYU
Steel’s
first
concert
in
2007
they
have
been
consistent
throughout
the
years;
in 2010
they
took the
audience
on a
memorable
journey
from
“Glass”
to
“Boogsie.”
In Pictures
Contact
NYU
Steel:
Jonathan Haas, Director -
New York University, 35 West 4th
Street, New York, NY. 10012
Phone: 1 (212) 992-9466 Email:
jonathan.haas@nyu.edu