-
WST
- How
were
you first
introduced
to the steelpan
instrument?
Fridal
- I was
introduced
to steel
pan by a
pioneer
of pan, Mr.
Peter Aleong,
and performed
in a jazz
concert
entitled
Jazzance
’87 with
a host of
wonderful
musicians
including
Anise Hadeed
and Raff
Robertson,
at a sold-out
performance
at the Central
Bank Auditorium
in
Trinidad.
-
WST
- Who are
your musical
influences?
Fridal
- My musical
influences
were rather
classical
-
the music
of Verdi
Puccini
Bach and
Handel etc.
But I have
also been
influenced
by the music
of
calypso
artistes Lord
Kitchener
and Shadow
whose melodies
are infectious
- and of course
the great
jazz influence
of “Boogsie”
Sharpe and
the voices
of Ella
[Fitzgerald],
Louis
[Armstrong], Frank
[Sinatra],
Cleo
[Laine], Sarah
[Vaughn]
and many
more.
-
WST
- You’ve
had some
very interesting
experiences
with the
steelpan
genre where
you have
combined
your vocal
operatic
skills with
steel orchestras
in performances. How did
that come
about?
Anne Fridal and CASYM Steel Orchestra performing “Carmen” at New York’s City Hall |
Fridal
- I had
been sponsored
by the New
York Daily
News to
do a series
of concerts,
in the New
York metropolitan
district.
The invitation
came from
Mr. John
Campi, an
American
and a steelpan
lover who
brought
the winning
bands from
Trinidad
and Tobago
to New York.
I had the
privilege
of singing
with all
of them.
It was an
exciting
time of
my life
and I looked
forward
to doing
this every
summer for
many years.
-
WST
- What is
your most
memorable
steelpan
experience?
Fridal
- My most
memorable
steelpan
experience
was singing
the national
anthem of
Trinidad
and Tobago
for Panorama
in the
Queen’s
Park Savannah
[can’t remember
the year].
The crowd
roared after
I sang.
I sang with
a medium
sized-band
called
Parry’s
Pan School
and I remember
them having
a really
sweet sound.
-
WST
- Compare
the experience
of performing
with a “conventional”
orchestra,
with that
of being accompanied
by the steelpan?
Fridal
- I feel
great.
I suppose
it is my
national
instrument
and I am
naturally
excited
to sing
with a steelpan
orchestra,
on every
occasion.
-
WST
- There
seems to
be a growing
feeling
among steelpan
musicians
that the
steelpan
instrument
is taken
more seriously
outside
of it’s
birthplace,
Trinidad
and Tobago.
Have you
seen or
experienced
anything
in your
global travels
to substantiate
this belief?
Fridal
- This I
believe
to be true;
we only
become attached
when we
feel that
someone
from the
outside
is showing
a greater
interest.
We tend
to be too
casual in
our acceptance
and appreciation
of the instrument
and we need
more of
an interest
in the promotion
of the instrument
coming out
of Trinidad.
There is
a more active
interest
that circulates
abroad in
comparison
with Trinidad
and Tobago-
in
England,
the
[United]
States,
Europe.
We need
to wake
up and invest
more time
and money
to put this
instrument
on the world
market.
-
WST
- Do you
remember
the first
female you
ever saw
play a pan?
Fridal
- The first
female I
saw play
the pan
was my dear
friend Geraldine
Connor who
played bass
[in
Invaders
Steel
Orchestra] and I always
wanted to
play with
her in a
band for
panorama
- one fine
day.
-
WST
-
What do
you think
might account
for the
large increase
in women
in pan worldwide?
Fridal
- Women
are no longer
in the kitchen
all day,
most women
today have
more interesting
lives, they
are independent,
they are
in jobs that were
only held
by men before
- playing
musical
instruments
that were
controlled
by men, like
the saxophone
and percussion
drums, etc.
And women
have moved
onwards
and upwards
being
in many
positions
held only
by men in
the past. Women have
shown the
world that
they too
are capable
of playing
the steel
pan to a
standard
that can
be matched
with any
man [and
sometimes
better].
-
WST
- What would
you like
to see happen
to the steelpan
instrument,
steelpan
music genre
and players?
Fridal
- I would
like the
steelpan
to be accepted
as a conventional
instrument
and accompany
more singers
in my profession
and accompany
an entire
opera and/or musical
theatre
production.
-
WST
- You were
a good friend
of Clive
Bradley. How has
his passing
impacted
on you and
the music?
|
Clive Bradley and Anne Fridal
|
Fridal
- Clive
Bradley
was my friend,
yes.
He saved
a show of
mine when
a performer
did not
turn up,
and
accompanied
me on
the
piano
with
Kitchener’s
Symphony
in G.
Then
he went
on to the
bass, percussion
and every
instrument
that was
in the house
that night.
He was the
ultimate
musician
and I loved
his magic.
He was a
genius and
God knows
how much
I miss him.
I hope that
young people have learnt
something
from his
talent and
technique.
-
WST
- What developments
in pan are
you most
fond of?
Fridal
- I love
the G-Pan
and hope
sincerely
that we
will continue
in creating
as the true
inventors
of this
amazing
instrument.
And I also
hope we
will consider
documenting
material
so that
one day
we could
pass it
on to perhaps
one day
be registered
in a library
or the sorts.
-
WST
-
What development
in pan are
you most
disappointed
in?
Fridal
- I feel
that we
do not have
enough concerts
throughout
the years
to facilitate
some of
our venues
that are
often left
empty around
the city
[Port-of-Spain,
Trinidad].
There
should
be
concerts
throughout
the year
at the academy
and Queen’s
Hall, and
lectures
and workshops
and every
school should
have a class
in pan playing,
the theory
of music
and performance
ethics.
-
WST
- Do you
think we
will see
a female
president
of Pan Trinbago
in the near
future?
Fridal
- Yes.
It
would be
great to
see the
emergence
of a female
president
of Pan Trinbago;
but she
would have
to prove
the mettle
of her making
- not just
be a figurehead.
-
WST
- From your
perspective,
what is
the future
of pan?
Fridal
- Pan has
to move
and we must
take it
seriously,
we must
move it
through the world
and be more
innovative
in its promoting. The future
could be
exciting. Pan could
be included
in the major
theatres
of the world
on the operatic
stage to
accompany
ballet and
musical
theatre,
a local
play or
musical,
and a regular
feature
to educate
young people
in the wonderful
art of steelband
playing.
