NIU Steelband
Northern Illinois University Steelband, under the direction of Liam Teague and Cliff Alexis, presents its spring 2015 concert on Sunday April 26th, at 3pm (CST) in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall, NIU School of Music.
The concert showcases an eclectic blend of music and highlights the many possibilities of the national instruments of Trinidad and Tobago, the steelpan.
The NIU Steelband is excited to welcome and collaborate with the NIU Wind Ensemble. The ensembles will perform Trinidadian graduate student Akua Leith’s adaptation of Gustav Holst’s "Jupiter" from The Planets, under the baton of Dr. Ronnie Wooten. Additionally, Kevin Bobo’s Origins and Expansions for steelpan and wind ensemble (Liam Teague as soloist) will be performed.
A number of works will be premiered including Cliff Alexis’s arrangements of Outta De Box (a very popular 2015 Trinidadian calypso co-written by NIU alum Seion Gomez) and the beautiful Latin composition Da La Vuelta.
In August, the inaugural International Steelband Conference and Panorama will be held in Trinidad, West Indies. Pastiche Steel Ensemble- a group of alumni and current NIU steelband members dedicated to demonstrating the steelpan’s versatility- have been invited to the event.
At the conference, Pastiche will launch its “Virtual Steelband” initiative, which, at its core, seeks to bring together individuals and steelbands from all over the world, by collaboratively performing a work that the ensemble commissioned from Liam Teague entitled Bella Vista (Beautiful View). The NIU Steelband is excited to present Bella Vista on April 26th. The concert will be streamed live at www.niu.edu/music