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Diamond Steel
Orchestra in 2003 |
St. Lucia
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As the euphoric panists of Diamond Steel danced on
the stage actuated by the proclamation of their victory,
an obviously happy but measured Gregory “Shining”
Emmanuel declared it “lucky seven” after his band
regained the coveted crown two years after their last
triumph in 2006. Arranged by Aimran Simmonds with
whom Emmanuel co-wrote their tune of choice Celebration,
the name of the selection was a good portent of how the
night would end for one of the Caribbean’s most talented
steel orchestras. They are no stranger to winner’s row, having copped the
title six times previously in 1998, 2005 and 2006, with
a hat trick from 2000—2002.
The titular
tug-of-war among the panorama champs aspirants took center stage once more this year
as the 2008 St. Lucia National Panorama unfolded
at the Beausejour Cricket Grounds (BCG) in Gros
Islet, just north of Castries, the capital of
the Caribbean nation. It is the second
year in a row that the competition was held at
BCG, dubbed by many one of the most magnificent
cricket grounds in the world. And to keep
it that way, the area where the orchestras
performed was covered with a black protective
layer to maintain its pristine condition, with additional
safeguards in place for the pathway
where bands rolled on and off the field.
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Click ‘play’ to hear samples of panorama
performances |
With a jumbotron positioned to the rear of the
stage area, six orchestras performed under
blazing lights to the delight of the crowd which
was even larger than that of 2007. This major showing
was expected in advance as there was a huge
surge in ticket sales earlier in the day as
folks tried to avoid being locked out; and here
lies the big story. By 10:09, there were
no more seats available in the two stands
allotted for the event. After some lean
and declining years in the late eighties and
early nineties, the steelpan instrument, fans
and culture have made a significant comeback as
new generations of steelpan music lovers and
performers have entered the St. Lucia cultural
and arts arena.
As an organization that has both respect and
consideration for the pan community and St.
Lucians as a whole, the national steelband association
has apparently found a way to sustain reasonable
pricing for tickets, as entire families related
to pan players, school mates who have friends
playing in bands, and legions of pan fans, attended the 2008 panorama in numbers
significantly higher than last year.
Sadly, the issue of affordable panorama tickets in
the two other meccas of pan, has posed obstacles
for many who would dearly love to attend in
larger numbers with
friends, family and music lovers in general.
The St. Lucia national panorama
commenced at exactly 9:00 PM with the
national anthem performed by two
pan-round-the-neck panists, exactly one hour
later than the scheduled start time, reportedly
due to an accident in the vicinity that
adversely impacted the arrival of patrons on
time for 8:00 PM. In 2007, the grounds
were almost filled by the time the show was
slated to begin.
As was the case in 2007, each orchestra played a
“warm-up” piece of about three to four minutes,
before executing their panorama arrangement,
with music from the crop of popular soca music
for 2008 being preferred. Babonneau opted for
‘Suzette’ as their warm-up selection, while
eventual panorama winners Diamond Steel
delivered Wheel and Come Again by St.
Lucia’s 2008 soca monarch Ricky T. The
warm-up session works well all around; players
get into the ‘groove’ and mood of performing,
the sound engineer is afforded ample time to
fine tune his sound reinforcement output to the
audience, and avid pan music fans are treated to
two performances per band.
St. Lucia is way ahead of the two ‘meccas’
of pan - Trinidad & Tobago and New York - as
the organizers of the St. Lucian event exercise sheer acoustic common sense, and
place their judges directly in front of the
bands, while the speakers are positioned some
distance behind them (but facing the audience
directly), so adjudication is predicated on the
natural and unamplified sound and harmonics of
the orchestras, with no added colorization. Only
for the USSA 2001 Panorama in New York was this
done. Otherwise, this strategy and sonic
postulate are largely disregarded, and musical results
of competitions are delivered based on sound severely impacted by the sometimes
overpowering and usually distorted and
questionable mix issuing from the
speakers.
The St. Lucia National Steelband
Association (SLNSA) employed what they termed “regional judging”
with seven adjudicators in total from various Caribbean
regions. From Trinidad and Tobago there were
Merle Albino-de Couteau, Joycelyn Sealey and Jeanette
Johnson, and one each from St. Vincent & the Grenadines
(Vince Stewart), Antigua & Barbuda (Jagger Martin), and
Grenada (Andy Chester). Rounding out the panel were
two from St. Lucia, with one of the latter being an
alternate. Results of the show were
validated and signed off on by each adjudicator on
the panel.
The
judging criteria
is divided into sections for a total of 100
points. The highest and lowest scores are eliminated from
each band’s tally, for a maximum (this year) combined total of 500
points. Total possible points that could be awarded in each
section were as follows: arrangement - 40 points; general
performance - 35 points; tone - 10 points; rhythm - 10
points and presentation - 5 points.
The six orchestras who participated in this year’s
competition, in order of appearance were: Harmonites Steel
Orchestra, Busta Emerald Steel Orchestra, Digicel
Pantime
Steel Orchestra, Leverage North Stars Steel Orchestra,
Courts Babonneau Steel Orchestra and Diamond Steel
Orchestra.
Harmonites Steel Orchestra
came
together in four weeks. Attired all in black for the
panorama,
Harmonites is an
offshoot of Courts Babonneau Steel Orchestra and made its first panorama appearance
this year with Dong de Road as their tune of choice.
According to the band captain Bernard Stephen, they had originally planned to
enter the competition in 2009 but were persuaded to instead
make their move in 2008. The band is made up primarily
of young people who are part of their year-round
educational program, and Stephen was amazed at how much they were
able to accomplish in the short period between their
decision to compete, and panorama night. Arranger Hausan ‘Zorro’ Griffith
said that he was quite pleased with the group’s performance in
their maiden voyage in panorama and looked forward to 2009. Harmonites’
performance illustrated that they possess a lot of skilled
musicians and the future looks very bright for them. Their
showing exceeded what one would expect from a freshman
panorama orchestra made up of very young people.
Taking the stage with about twenty-six players, they placed
sixth overall.
More on Harmonites.
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Emerald Steel
Orchestra in 2003 |
Busta Emerald Steel Orchestra
started in 1993 with students who
arranger Guy Innocent had taught in
secondary schools in St. Lucia, a
trend which continues to this day. Sporting
a simple combination of white
pants and white T-shirts,
effectively enhanced with
brightly colored vests, the
orchestra featured many new faces this year,
as Innocent admitted it was a
struggle to acquire and more so to
keep, players. About
thirty-six to forty
band members took the stage for panorama
with their tune of choice Dance
Hall for Two Days; inclusive of nine
players coming from
Trinidad. In the past, the
Emerald contingent has been as large
as fifty-five. If the panorama
was based solely on the execution of the most difficult
musical passages on the family of steelpan instruments,
Emerald Steel would be at the very top, hands down.
They exhibited awesome performance skills, however the arrangement lost
direction from time to time.
More on Emerald.
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Digicel Pantime
Steel Orchestra in 2006 |
Digicel Pantime Steel Orchestra
performed a beautiful warm-up piece
that got the crowd into the mood. They then exploded
with Pan Baby, their tune of choice while dressed in
red and black, the signature colors of Digicel, their
‘sponsor.’ The arrangement was well
thought out and balanced. Their performance reiterated
the fact that
Pantime is a class act at the top of its game.
Their ability embraced many of the native rhythms of the
Afro-Caribbean experience in a manner that was phenomenal. In addition,
their musical theme was repeated throughout the performance
allowing the audience to stay connected melodically with the piece as they
moved through their musical variations. The band was
very tight and the arranger allowed the music room to breathe
even when there was much activity occurring, by separating the
ranges well and varying the styling of the percussion
section. This is no doubt one of the best performances
so far for the
2008 panorama season in any country. With seventy-three players, the orchestra
again placed second this year, the last time being in 2006 when Pantime came
even closer to seizing the Panorama title - losing by a mere
one half of a point.
More on Pantime.
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| North Stars Steel Orchestra
performing at St. Lucia’s 2006 Panorama |
North Stars Steel Orchestra
had the crowd going from the opening notes of their warm-up
tune as the crowd joined in, singing. North Stars
executed a coherent musical arrangement that met all the
facets of the judging criteria. Dynamics, variations,
clarity, presentation and showmanship - it was all there. The
popularity of the band is in no doubt, as the leader
explained he wanted to come to the panorama with one hundred
and twenty players,
but due to ‘concerns’ from the other band leaders, North Stars
limited themselves to eighty players for panorama.
With festively adorned stands, they were the largest band
of the night; their players initially appeared in white
pants with attractively printed red T-shirts for their warm-up piece, then quickly
morphed into orange shirts for
their panorama selection.
North Stars was originally named Scrubb’s Steel
Orchestra after its late founder Lennard “Scrubb”
Wellington. Their tune of choice was St.
Lucia’s 1980 Road March called Guy Love Dance, a
selection based on a colorful - literally and figuratively -
very popular and well-known character from the streets of
St. Lucia called Guy Love. With the older members of
the audience dancing along to the band’s interpretation of
this classic favorite, the orchestra latched on to the third
prize in the 2008 competition.
More on North Stars.
Babonneau Steel Orchestra’s
performance brought the
listeners back to another era in pan. Indeed their
approach and arrangement are reminiscent of the ‘golden age’ of
pan. Efficient, and operating on a high level, Babonneau Steel Orchestra
demonstrated that they understand their craft very well.
They made a great musical statement without a lot of
extemporaneous musical movements that have been known to lose the
interest of the listener; lots of real music here. “Leaner and meaner” was the description ascribed to the band
by Allison Marquis when asked about the smaller size of the
band in the 2008 competition - about forty-six
players. Babonneau’s usual complement was lessened
with the departure of some players forming Harmonites, the
new entrant in the panorama arena. Marquis was very proud
of his players’ performance of Calypso Jail. Though the
category of “presentation” only affords a maximum of ten
points, Babonneau’s was the most noteworthy and captivating of
the night, and it did garner them the mantle of
‘Best-dressed steel orchestra’ which was accompanied by a
prize of EC $1,000.00. Based on the theme of the
orchestra’s tune of choice, the players portrayed inmates -
and as prisoners in shackles - were guided by ‘police’ to
their respective ‘jail cells,’ which were in fact their steelpan
instruments. Some mused that this appeared to be the
band’s response to that other fourth position placement doled out
last year, thought to be unjustified by many present at that
panorama. Indeed Marquis wryly referred to this as
being held in a type of ‘Panorama jail.’ And,
they again placed fourth this year.
More on Babonneau.
Diamond Steel
Orchestra ,
on this night and with sixty-five
musicians, simply did
everything better than the other performing orchestras.
It was a steady, even performance that connected well with
the audience, and as importantly
from a competitive point of view,
the judges.
It was ‘lucky seven’ for the
orchestra as they took home the
title of panorama champs for
the
seventh time in eleven years.
They had a great arrangement which
was delivered with great execution,
while appearing in eye-catching
satin shirts in vibrant colors,
complimented by white slacks and
topped off by their trademark white
hats which were trimmed with
matching colored ribbons, as they
proceeded to bring their selection
Celebration, to life under the
bright lights of the venue.
Diamond Steel’s capture of the crown
continues the
trend of
the past eleven years where the
title has been held by only two
bands - North Stars and Diamond
Steel. Their Saturday night
execution left no doubt as to why they are one of the
top-rated steel orchestras in the Caribbean.
More on Diamond Steel.
The SLNSA - not an institution to rest on the laurels stemming from the success of
the 2007
panorama - instituted
forward-thinking factors to make this year’s
competition and overall production even better
than before. As SLNSA president
Nikki Calderon tells it, there was a drive to
incorporate culture as a whole into this year’s
affair.
Stilt walkers, a local dance troupe and
folk musicians were added to the line-up, all
being part of St. Lucia’s culture, along with
pan.
There were also
other new elements to the program.
Attendees were afforded a particularly special
event featuring the actual singers of the
orchestras’ tunes of choice before each band
executed their arrangement of the songs. Four
of the respective calypsonians performed live,
while there were music video performances for
the other two.
This really allowed the audience to get into the
spirit of the panorama bands.
Additionally, a short video profiling
each band
featuring the arrangers, leaders and the band,
was shown over the video jumbotron. The
documentaries allowed the fans to have a deeper
connection with the performers and what they
were about to experience. As a result of
these two program innovations, the
turnaround/setting up time between the
changeover of bands was adroitly addressed.
The association’s
overall aim was to afford the audience an
all-encompassing cultural experience, bolstered
by additional live performances and relevant
facets. The result: a
well-rounded production highlighting several
aspects of the cultural spectrum for the benefit
of patrons, while taking advantage of current
multimedia technology.
Indeed St. Lucia
has moved into the forefront in terms of
redefining the expected steelband panorama
experience.
The show
ended before 2:00 AM, and it would be after two in the morning of Saturday
July 19 before pan lovers would know that
victory in this year’s battle would go to
Diamond Steel Orchestra, sponsored by Cable and
Wireless. With a score of 429, the 2008
panorama winners dethroned the 2007 panorama
champs and crowd favorite
North Stars
Steel Orchestra, who could only muster third
place with 415 points. Accruing a score of 416,
Pantime Steel Orchestra
narrowly copped the second
prize.
During the show there had been opportunity to
hear from key movers and shakers,
including Scotia Bank’s Chester Hinkson and
SLNSA president Nikki Calderon. Now having
successfully delivered on the national panorama
front, Calderon said that the association was
looking forward to the development of pan in St.
Lucia as a product, and to continuing the
uplifting of the artform from the social
stigmatization where the movement has
traditionally been in a quagmire. In this
vein, he also spoke of turning attention toward
the acquisition of land to house a facility that
would be devoted solely to pan performances.
In addition to new events on the pan calendar
throughout the year and throughout the island,
Calderon indicated that organizations were now
eager to come on board as sponsors of the
panorama, based on the success of 2007.
“Like I told you, it has to do with the product.
Cable and Wireless last year gave us $8,000.00;
this year, $50,000.00. You have Bank of Nova
Scotia - $15,000.00; you have the Tourist Board
- $105,000.00, so that tells you something. And
they are very happy with what we’re doing.
Strange enough, someone has already approached
us to sponsor Panorama for the next two years -
we not sure yet.”
In 2007, Chester Hinkson had been so awed by the
panorama presentation that he declared he would
have been delighted to play a role in that
panorama. Since then, Hinkson has become the
first St. Lucian national to hold the position
of General Manager and Country Head of the Bank
of Nova Scotia in St. Lucia, and this time
around and true to his word, Hinkson brought the
financial institution on board as a major
sponsor of the country’s 2008 panorama venture.
And he was extremely pleased when it was time,
to have the honor of handing over the second
prize to runners-up Pantime Steel Orchestra.
Approached for his thoughts on this year’s
production, Hinkson - himself a musician -
replied “absolutely beautiful! I was
impressed with the standard of music, I was
impressed with the performance of every group; I
was impressed with their presentations - I mean
this was just awesome! In fact that is an
understatement!” The bank executive went
on to say that it was the objective of the
financial institution to support the arts, and
that music was part of the arts.
For 2008, a total
of EC $138,000.00 was awarded in prizes to the
orchestras. The top four prizes
remained the same as in 2007, but there was a
reduction by two and five thousand dollars
respectively, for the fifth and sixth placing
steelbands in this year’s competition. Full results
and details are
below.
But before the official panorama results were
announced, awards were given out to deserving
individuals within the ranks of each of the six
orchestras. Each had been
asked to identify someone,
who over the years had made sterling
contributions to the St. Lucian steelband
movement, with focus on their respective bands.
These individuals were now honored with
plaques of gratitude presented to them by
representatives of their own music organizations.
For outstanding service, Juliana Smith,
mother of arranger and leader Ivan Smith received her plaque, and
was described as one of the “backbones” of North Stars. Steelpan veteran
Francis Augustine followed, with his lifelong commitment
to
Diamond Steel being presented by Gregory ‘Shining’
Emmanuel. Pantime’s Albert Daniel and Harmonites’
Bernard Stephen were up next. Alfred Julien
of Babonneau, and from the area of the same name on the
island, returned home after residing for
some years in St. Croix, to support and play
with the orchestra, and joined his fellow
steelband luminaries. Emerald Steel
selected Barbara Duvalier, and finally, all the members of the
SLNSA, as a body, acknowledged the priceless contribution
of Teddy “Gabriel” Francis, who
continues his selfless service for culture in
his capacity as the 2008 Carnival Coordinator.
He received accolades for his devotion to the steelband movement on the
island, having been one of the pillars who
resolutely persevered and was successful in his efforts
to resurrect the steelband movement from its
decline in the late 80s and 90s.
Despite the naturally competitive but still
relatively amicable competition on an
annual basis for panorama, the majority of
steelbands essentially derive from North Stars
who are affectionately termed the “Granddaddy”
of all the bands.
Arising out of Babonneau Steel Orchestra, and
based in the same geographical enclave as the
latter, Harmonites is just the most recent
example of a ‘split’ on the St. Lucian pan
scene. Along the same lines, the two orchestras who have
maintained the monopoly on the steelband panorama
championship during
the last eleven years
- North
Stars and Diamond Steel - have the same
type of connection, with the latter having seceded
from the former.
Pantime also emanates
from North Stars, along with Pan Exodus who
competed in 2007 but did not participate in the
2008 panorama.
North Stars’ history dates back to when its
founder, the late Lennard “Scrubb” Wellington,
became the first St. Lucian to fall in love with
the steelpan instrument around the time of the
end of the second World War, and he subsequently became
- almost single-handedly - the person to develop
the artform on the island. He later
went on to form Scrubb’s Steel Orchestra which
was later renamed North Stars by his son and the
band’s current arranger, Ivan “Cypha” Smith.
To continue the history of orchestras in St.
Lucia and their progeny, Diamond Steel in turn
birthed Emerald Steel. Aside from the
major orchestras which participate in panorama,
there are smaller pan sides around the country.
When it was officially time for the outcome of
the night’s competition to be revealed,
newcomers Harmonites claimed their sixth prize
purse of EC$ 10,000.00. Accepting from Mr.
Lewis of the St. Lucia Tourist Board on behalf
of the fifth-placed steelband
Emerald Steel, was an official - as it appeared
that no member
of the orchestra was on hand to accept their
prize. Recent recipient-now-turned-presenter Teddy Francis, did the honors for
those ranked fourth, Babonneau Steel Orchestra.
North Stars Steel Orchestra received their
third-place reward from SLNSA president Nikki
Calderon. Panorama champions Diamond Steel
happily and triumphantly collected the fruits of
their long nights of musical labor from the
show’s main sponsor Cable & Wireless. Mr. Usman Saadat, the organization’s Chief Executive
was on hand for the transaction and the joy was
mutual for both parties involved, with Cable &
Wireless also being the champion steel
orchestra’s benefactor.
Listeners taking in the show on Radio St. Lucia
and over the internet were privy to an
educational and enhanced experience
professionally delivered by the knowledgeable
trio who made up the outside broadcast team. Any
one listening to the show had the opportunity to
access and learn about the steelpan history and
culture as applicable to St. Lucia. It
harkened back to the days when one would be
physically present at an event, but still opting
for the ability to clutch a small transistor
radio next to one’s ear to be totally in sync
with the events unfolding in front of them.
There were also kudos coming in from all around for the pan association
with reference to the night’s show, along with
the comment that “if other shows
were as well produced and organized as the pan
show, things would be great.” The
steelband scene in St. Lucia is no doubt
destined for even greater things in the future.
If the dedication and determination on the part
of the present executive of the SLNSA are any
indication, the ongoing resurgence of pan on the
island, buttressed by the mushrooming support of
major sponsors, augers well not only for the
steelpan culture in St. Lucia and the wider
Caribbean, but can serve as a beacon for all
throughout the world who
care about the future evolution of the artform.
RESULTS, PRIZES for St. Lucia’s
2008 Panorama
|
Results / Points |
Order of Appearance |
Bands |
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1st /
429 |
No. 6 |
Cable & Wireless
Diamond Steel
Orchestra
|
EC$ 38,000.00 |
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2nd /
416 |
No. 3 |
Digicel Pantime Steel Orchestra
|
EC$ 30,000.00 |
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3rd /
415 |
No. 4 |
Leverage Management
North Stars
Steel Orchestra
|
EC$ 25,000.00 |
|
Ivan Smith
|
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4th /
403 |
No. 5 |
Courts
Babonneau Steel Orchestra
|
EC$ 20,000.00 |
|
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5th /
384 |
No. 2 |
Busta Emerald
Steel Orchestra
|
EC$ 15,000.00 |
|
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6th /
342 |
No. 1 |
Harmonites Steel Orchestra
|
EC$ 10,000.00 |
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