Princes Town,
Trinidad, W.I. - Under the
astute tutelage of Noel Skair, the
graduating Class of 2011 at Princes
Town Methodist School in South
Trinidad could
comfortably take their hats off, take a bow and “Reach.” The students
have not only reached out to their
parents, specially invited guests
and well-wishers, but they had
actually gotten their country’s
national instrument - the Pan - to appeal
to “the herd instincts of man” with
a piece entitled “Reach” as arranged by Skair.
The students, indeed, did justice to
the Gloria Estefan composition as
they sang and/or played:-
“If I could reach, higher
Just for one moment touch
the sky
From that one moment in my
life
I'm gonna be stronger
Know that I've tried my very
best
Put my spirit to the test
If I could reach”
The
band also played the National
Anthem. It was indeed their moment
to be stronger having put their
spirits to the test... Later on, the
proud graduating students performed a Spiritual Dance.
The Graduating
Class of 2011 performs on
steelpan for proud and happy onlookers
The Graduation Service/Prize Giving
Ceremony took place at the Methodist
Church in Princes Town on Friday
June 17, 2011. The guest speaker was
journalist A.P. Toussaint.
Other presenters included the
school’s Principal – Ms. Marva
Gordon,
Methodist School Board Secretary –
Ms. Pearl Mulrain, the P.T.A. President – Mrs. Biance
Bejai-St. Louis and Superintendent
Pastor Rev. Derrick Richards. Valedictorians were Caroline
Kirk and Amani Alexander. The
Expression of Gratitude was done by
graduates Kelsey Mark & Kirdeen
Spencer.
The occasion also climaxes
a
victorious year for the school’s
Steelband. Earlier - having adapted to the theoretical
and practical aspects of music - the
school had entered the National Primary
Schools Music Festival and placed third
after landing the second position in
the South Eastern District. Their
tune of choice was “Let there be
Peace on Earth.”
The
institution’s Music instructor Noel Skair brings to the education table a wealth
of experience, having played with the
likes of Sunland, Dixieland and Texaco
Sky Chief Steelbands; he is now the
leader of Pan Vibes. As an
arranger, Skair, apart from arranging
for Pan Vibes, also did the same for
World Wide, Belmont Fifth Dimension
and Scrunters Pan Groove, among others.
Steelpan
arranger and Princes Town
Methodist School music
instructor Noel Skair with the
2011 Graduating Class
Skair
has brought home “Silver” ware with
World Wide Steelband in the Single
Pan category of the national Panorama; ‘Best of
the Rest’ competition with Belmont
Fifth Dimension and; the Chutney Soca
Competition with Scrunters Pan Groove. He has also travelled extensively
throughout North America, Europe and
Asia.
This is not the first year that
Skair has worked with the graduating class from Princes Town
Methodist School, in readying them
for memorable musical displays as
they depart the educational
institution for their secondary endeavours. Both the
graduating
Class of 2009 and
Class of 2010
also delivered performances in the
presence of proud mothers, fathers,
teachers and others as they, too,
bade goodbye to their school and
moved on to respective institutions
of higher learning.
Edited by
When Steel Talks