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Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Pan Elders Steel Orchestra will be the first to throw its hat into the performing ring as it goes up against seven fellow bands in the Pan is Beautiful XII Steel Orchestra Finals. The event will bring the curtains down on this 2013 Trinidad & Tobago steelband music festival. The Codrington Pan Family which gained top marks in the preliminary round, plays in sixth position delivering both the Test Piece and their tune of choice The Pan With Love: Our Gift to the World composed by Keisha Codrington and arranged by Keisha, Khari and Cary Codrington.

Defending National Steelband Music Festival Pan is Beautiful XII and World Steelband Music Festival title holders, Exodus Steel Orchestra will be performing at position four on Saturday 16 November 2013 at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain. Showtime is 7:00 pm.  Exodus is among eight finalists in the Orchestra Class of Pan Is Beautiful XII seeking to capture the TT$250,000.00 first prize and trophies.

This class (Orchestra) of competition in Pan is Beautiful XII comes together in two phases:  the preliminaries, where The Codrington Pan Family was in the lead at the end of the performances of the initial fourteen competitors, and this - the finals - where the qualifying eight steel orchestras go head-to-head battling for musical supremacy in the music festival.

Steel orchestras are required to perform the Test Piece “Mr. Pan Maker” composed and sung by Dr. Leroy Calliste aka Black Stalin, along with a ‘Piece of Choice,’ i.e. any musical composition that will not only test the skill of the players, but also highlight the beauty and versatility of Trinidad & Tobago’s National Instrument. The piece is to be played in accordance with the musical score as submitted by the Orchestra and to be performed for a period not exceeding 12 minutes. The total playing time of each orchestra shall not exceed 18 minutes.

Saturday’s Orchestra Class line-up is as follows:-

Play order	Orchestra	Tune of Choice	Composer	Adapted by
#1	Pan Elders	The Barber of Seville Overture	Rossini	Dante Pantin
#2	Couva Joylanders	Symphonic Suite from ‘The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Rings’	Howard Shoe	K. Brown/ J. Whitney/ B. Jackson/ A. Keshwar
#3	Tropical Angel Harps	The Voices In My Head	Clarence Morris	Clarence Morris
#4	Exodus	Moods of The Maestro... (dedicated to Pat Bishop)	Cecil Hume	Pelham Goddard
#5	Renegades	Academic Festival Overture	Johannes Brahms	Desmond Waithe
#6	Codrington Pan Family	The Pan With Love: Our Gift to the World	Keisha Codrington	Cary/Khari/ Keisha Codrington
#7	Diatonic	Symphony No. 4	Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	Khion De Las
#8	Invaders	Zampa Overture	Herold	Arddin Herbert

The competition will be judged by a panel of four which includes three sitting judges and one alternate judge. They are Dr. Ronnie Wooten, Dr. Lennard Moses (foreign), with Dr. Anne Marion Osborne and Merle Albino-De Coteau (local).  Criteria for adjudication include Accuracy of Score (40), Accuracy of Dynamics (20), Interpretation (20), Articulation (10) and Quality of Sound (10).

Tickets for The National Steelband Music Festival XII cost TT$200.00 and TT$250.00.