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 Trinidad -
“DOUGLA,” that’s the name of one of the tracks on his upcoming eight-track
compact disc which would be in honour of his son, Jaden who was born
on January 22nd, 2008 - surely he looks like a “true Trini.” So said
the musical virtuoso who was in Trinidad recently “to kill two birds
with one stone” – that of showcasing his first born to his mother
and sisters, as well as to do a concert entitled “Strings, Song and
Steel.”
This was a triad presentation featuring British virtuoso violinist
Oliver Lewis, a Trini operatic singer, Natalia Dopwell, as well as
the steelpan.
Liam Teague was responding to questions from Hollis Clifton, “Pan
Diaspora Visionary” and WACK Radio presenter Heshimu in a recent
interview at the studio in San Fernando, Trinidad.
Teague iterated that he attended the Northern Illinois
University (NIU) in 1993 at a time when the institution was the only
one in the world where scholars could acquire a degree in music with
a focus on the steelpan as the main instrument. The programme
originated with Professor Al O’Connor who also started the steelband
there. Liam later achieved his Masters Degree after which he was
invited on the Faculty. He is now the Head of Steelpan Studies and
co-director of the thirty-piece steelband with Clifford Alexis, one
of his closest friends in the world.
Clifford is one of the foremost steelpan tuners and builders in the
world, and in addition to maintaining the quality of NIU Steelband’s
instruments, is, along with Teague, responsible for many of the
band’s musical arrangements and original compositions in its
repertoire.
The 34 year-old Teague expressed gratitude to Ms. Joy Caesar, the
then-Vice president of Citi Bank who ensured him a financially safe
passage through the first year at university.
This was followed by the philanthropy of Mr. Lester Trilla, a drum
manufacturing and exporting mogul in Chicago whose barrels were
purchased over the years by Cliff Alexis towards building Steelpans
for NIU and other institutions. Trilla didn’t have an iota about the
use of those barrels until he responded to Cliff’s invitation to
hear the NIU steelband in concert. That concert blew his mind and he
asked Alexis “What can I do to help?” to which he responded “That
young man (Liam) needs to get through school.“ Liam’s tuition and
fees were subsequently covered by the Lester Trilla Foundation. Since
that time Lester Trilla has provided support to the NIU Steelband and a
number of students from around the world, including Trinidad, to the
tune of well over half a million US dollars.
Liam acknowledged that for him it was indeed a feat to become an
Assistant Professor at the age of thirty.
In response to the question from Hollis as to what he brings to the
table, Liam posits that as a result of his musical literacy and love
of various genres, he has performed in musical avenues which have
largely been untapped. The list includes performing with symphony
orchestras as a soloist around the world and continuing to highlight
the instrument consistently in what he humbly considers to be a
progressive context. Teague feels deeply committed towards the
imparting of knowledge to the up-and-coming panists of Trinidad and
Tobago. He has been fortunate to have delivered a number of master
classes at the University of the West Indies (U.W.I.) and is keen on
playing a more active role where music education is concerned in the
Steelband world.
When asked by Heshimu about his vision for Trinidad and Tobago,
Liam’s take was that “Trinidad and Tobago is the home of pan” however, he
laments that the term “National Instrument” is a misnomer. For
instance if one attends an average steelband concert where active
listening is required and not just another social event i.e. excuse
to wine and jam, one would realize just how small the audiences
actually are. The sale of steelpan-related merchandise is quite
poor. He further lamented that he still experiences people referring
to steelpan music as noise. If the instrument is truly in the hearts
of the majority of Trinbagonians, one would not see such a sad state
of affairs in its homeland. Teague does not lay full responsibility
on the public but also believes that it is up to panists at large
to find ways of making the instrument and its music more accessible
and desirable to the world.
In terms of the wider world Teague bewails that as “Trinis” we
continue to have an inflated view of where the pan stands. We truly
believe that the world understands the steelpan whereas the rest of
the world is not being exposed to the instrument in a consistently
progressive way. Evidence of this can be found where non-Trinbagonians
continue to request the stereotypical “Yellow Bird” and “Maryanne”
selections. Teague finds that on most occasions people continue to
gravitate towards the aforementioned pieces simply because they are
not familiar with the instruments’ extraordinary repertoire and
history, and are not simply trying to be disrespectful.
One of Liam’s tangible visions for the instrument is to one day
see it recognized and respected on the same level as any other
conventional instrument.
When teased by Clifton on the acclaim of being the “Paganini of the
steelpan” Liam blushed, yet, claiming to be proud of the association,
and iterated that Paganini was a virtuoso violinist from the
nineteenth century whose technical wizardry astounded listeners all
over Europe. Liam explained that several years ago he did a
performance at Woodstock in New York where there was a critic in the
audience who dubbed him the “Paganini of the Steelpan” in his
newspaper review. For Liam it was quite flattering to be associated
with a musician of such caliber although he tries not to get caught
up in the hype and prefers to live a life of humility.
The Assistant Professor has won countless awards in his twenty-two
years of music. These range from music festival solo championships
on the steelpan, violin and recorder, and also the National Youth
Award for Culture which he won on two occasions as a teenager. Teague won the Saint Louis Symphony Volunteers Association Young
Artiste Competition in 1998. Under the baton of Dr. Paul Freeman,
Teague with the Chicago Sinfonietta gave the world premiere of
Illinois composer Jan Bach’s “Concerto for Steelpan and Orchestra”
in 1995 at Orchestra Hall, Chicago.
On the question of his affinity to Robert Chappell, his performance
partner - Liam stated that Chappell is the Head of Percussion at NIU
and one of the most versatile musicians he has had the pleasure to
know and work with. Together they produced two CDs – “For Lack of
Better Words” and “Panoramic,” the latter resulting from a World
Music Group which they formed when they were invited to perform in
Taiwan in commemoration of the fifteenth anniversary of their
National Theatre. They are dedicated towards highlighting the steelpan’s uniqueness and versatility by composing original material
for the pan in combination with other instruments including the
piano, tabla and marimba.
Several callers from across the world phoned the station to
congratulate Liam on his amazing contribution to the world of music. These included close friend and associate Clifford Alexis from NIU who referred to Teague as “a special gentleman.”
Valerie from New York claimed that he made her “pores raise.”
Greetings were showered from Brownie from Canada, while Gail Gorder
from Seattle reminded him that she was in the audience when he
played for Belleview Symphony, and Phyllis of Pleasantville (TT) took
him back to his boy days when he played at Sip and Chat on
Pointe-a-Pierre Road.
Hollis Clifton
Pan Diaspora Visionary
hollisclifton@yahoo.com
+1-868-4622738
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