“Hello Houston - We Have A Problem” – Brooklyn Steelband Takes Over MIT
- Again!
...the steelband from space, mashing
down the place, every creed and race, jumping and rolling
they waist... it is clear to see pan gone universally,
but it now in the school and we taking it cool, beware!!
lyrics “Band From Space” - (Amrit Samaroo)
...with a look of wonderment, the
normally un-phased MIT scientists can be found chipping
across the campus to the beat of the steel orchestra’s music...
WST reporter observation
Pantonic
Steel
Orchestra
performs
at
MIT
during
campus
weekend
preview
Follow When Steel Talks on
The
‘face’
of
MIT,
the
Great
Dome
Cambridge,
Massachusetts
-
There
are very
few
things
that can
freeze a
Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology
(MIT)
graduate, student
or
professor
in their
tracks
and
simultaneously
etch an
unforgettable
image of
complete
wonderment
on their
faces.
After
all MIT
is the
stomping
grounds
for some
of the
most
brilliant
technological
minds in
the
world.
And yet
that is
exactly
what
transpired
when Pantonic
Steel
Orchestra
took
center
stage
during
this
past
weekend’s
campus
preview
weekend. Moreover,
it has
happened
several
times
before.
It is
now a
tradition
in an
institution
that is
filled
with
great
customs.
Pantonic
Steel
Orchestra
performs
at
MIT
So when
When
Steel
Talks
(WST) was
invited
to again
observe
this
annual
Spring
ritual
of a
“Band
from
Space”
taking
over a
major
institution
of
higher
learning,
how
could we
refuse?
Every
year New
York’s
Pantonic
Steel
Orchestra
treks up
the I-95
turnpike
from
Brooklyn
to
Massachusetts
as guest
of the
MIT
Caribbean
Club to
perform
to
perspective
students
and the
MIT
community
during
their
CPW
(campus
preview
weekend).
It is
one of
the
signature
events
that
marks
the
beginning
of
Spring.
As one
excited
MIT
student
told WST
- he
looks
forward
to
taking
in Pantonic
every
year. It
has
become
an
expected
part of
his MIT
experience.
Van Essayan after taking in Pantonic’s performance
Van Essayan
of
Montreal
was
there,
and
while
his
daughter
-
diligently
bent on
deciding
if MIT
would be
her
final
college
choice -
had the
run of
the
campus,
Dad
himself
preferred
to take
up a
position
very
near to
Pantonic
as they
played
through
their
entire
set.
“They’re
fantastic!”
he
exclaimed
of the
steel
orchestra.
Someone
else
came
running
up
excitedly
and
demanded
to know:
“Did
they
bring
them all
the way
up from
Trinidad?”
She was
quite
pleased
to learn
that Pantonic
hailed
from
much
closer
to home
-
Brooklyn,
New
York.
MIT
students
dancing
away
Again
this
year the
normally
unexcitable,
unmoved
and calm
MIT
folks
broke
all
protocol
as they
clapped,
danced
and
hooted.
And true
to the
scientific
and
investigative
minds
that
they are
- they
broke
down -
took out
the cell
phones
and
cameras
and
snapped
and
recorded
away
(digitally
of
course). And
during
the
breaks
they
investigated
up-close
and
personal
as only
an MIT
grad on
a fact-finding
mission
can. Pantonic
executed
a set
that
featured
long
standing
Pantonic
standards
like the
“Long
and
Winding
Road” and
“When
Will I
See You
Again”
between
a host
of new
and
popular
music; their
repertoire
was
met with
much
favor
from the
audience.
This is
also the
weekend
when
many
perspective
students
who have
been
accepted
to MIT
visit
the
school
before
making
their
final
decisions
on which
college
they
will
attend.
For many
it is
their
first
encounter
ever
with the
steelpan
instrument.
Moreover
it is a
magical
moment
for them
as their
logical
and
curious
minds
try to
digest
what
they
hearing
and
seeing.
Pantonic’s
Glenda
Gamory,
fourth
from
left,
with
MIT
Caribbean
Club
committee
&
Pantonic
management
This
year was
very
special
in that
as the
proud
parents
of MIT
students
walked
around
the
prestigious
campus
and took
in the
performance
of
Pantonic,
equally
proud
were the
parents
of many
of the
young
people
from Pantonic’s
youth
music
classes performing
with the
orchestra
for this
engagement.
There
were big
ones,
small
ones and
even
tiny
ones -
all
sizes -
“Beany
babies”
as Pantonic’s
president
Glenda
Gamory
affectionately
and
proudly
calls
them.
They’ve
been
working
hard,
practicing
and
going to
music classes
regularly
so that
they
could
‘make the
cut’ for
the annual
trip to
MIT.
This
young
group is
talented,
skilled
and
developing
quickly.
MIT
celebrates
150
years
of
existence
and
excellence
Pantonic
Steel
Orchestra
is at a
crossroad as
its
veteran
and
champion
players
representing
past
glories
and
accomplishments
have now
taken on
an added
role as
mentors,
educators
and
protectors
for this
current
group of
young
players
who
represent
the
future
of the
organization.
Moreover
they
represent
that
successful
bridge
between
yesterday,
today
and
tomorrow’s
performers,
thereby
insuring
that the
traditions
like
that
forged
with MIT
will
continue.
Fittingly,
continuing
traditions
in
excellence
is
exactly
what MIT
too is
about;
the very
next day
April
10,
marked
150
years to
the day
that the
state
sanctioned
the
charter
for the
birth of
the new
college
(April
10,
1861)
that
would be
known as
Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology.
l-r:
MIT
Caribbean
Club
exec
-
Edner
Paul,
president;
Kamil
Gedeon,
social
chair
&
former
vice-president
&
Chris
Chapman
It was
only a
few
years
ago when
then-sophomore
and
astronautics
major
Chris Chapman
under
the
auspices
of the
Caribbean
Club
brought
Pantonic
to MIT
to
perform
for the
first
time. Mr. Chapman
has now
passed
the
baton
and
tradition
to
current
club president Edner
Paul who
is a
math and
economics
major.
Added
bonus to
this
trip was
the
campus
tour
conducted
by none
other
than Mr.
Chapman
himself
for a
small
contingent
of the
Pantonic
players.
The MIT
Caribbean
Club has
done an
excellent
job of
diversifying
and
ensuring that the
MIT
community
has been
exposed
to and
experiences
a
significant
part of
Caribbean
culture.
WST
watched
the glow
on the
faces of
the
Tonic
players
has they
were
afforded
a look
at the
beauty
and
intrigue of
the MIT campus
-
and
everything
from
face
recognition
software
in
action
to a lab
geared
with nanobots. It
is
simply
just a
matter
of time
before
one or
several
of these Pantonic
youth
will be
both
Pantonic
alumni
and MIT
students.
The
tradition
continues.
Pantonic
Steel
Orchestra
at
MIT
with
members
of
the
Caribbean
Club