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Carnival 2009 has become a time to remember for
peripatetic pan tutor - Trinidadian Ian “Cokie” Beckles, and the nineteen members of the Luton
Music Service (LMS) for whom he arranges.
In an interview with Hollis Clifton of WACK90.1FM - Beckles revealed that it was in 2007 following a concert in the UK,
when he
expressed to the audience that his dream was to take the kids to
Trinidad “the Home of the Steelpan” to experience carnival “the Greatest
Show on Earth” and of course the steelband culture, in full swing during
that period.
According to Ian, his boss, Stephen Beaven, head of the Luton Music
Service promised 100% support on the venture. The rest is now history. The group of nineteen included members of the Luton
Music Service,
with
youngsters from 10 years up, and some parents. They arrived
in Trinidad from the UK, led by Beaven, together with Daffyd
Billinghurst – head of Peripatetic Teachers at LMS and Beckles’
immediate supervisor. While in Trinidad, the group participated in
three pan workshops under the tutelage of Richard “Alvin” Gittens at
Pan Elders’ Pan Theatre in San Fernando.
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| Members
of LMS with Ian Beckes (right) and Richard Alvin Gittens
(left) in the rear |
Alvin conducts workshop for UK panists in San
Fernando |
When asked by Hollis Clifton why Pan Elders was chosen for the
exercise, Beckles iterated that sometime ago when he was in Trinidad on
bereavement for his late father, he heard the group practice and was
impressed with the band’s overall discipline. In addition, Pan
Elders and the LMS steel orchestra both share a common component – both
are family bands, where the parents are heavily involved with the
organizations. The interaction also gave Beckles the opportunity to work
with an old buddy and school mate in “Alvin.”
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| The
Luton Youth Steel Orchestra with Richard Gittens (back row)
-
workshop facilitator, Ian “Cokie” Beckles - tutor,
and Michael Belgrave of St. Croix at Pan Elders Pan Theatre |
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Kofie Charles-Ashton (10 yrs); Talamika Castor-Williams
(11 yrs); Micah George(12 yrs) and Dareece Parris-Bell (14)
- the ‘babies’ of Luton Youth Steel Orchestra. |
With respect to the expectations of the younger ones, Kofie, whose
mother is also a panist expected the temperature to be really hot,
while Talamika expected more sun and a whole lot of flies. Micah was
disappointed with the amount of rain whereas Dareece did not expect
the houses to be so modern and thought the structures would be
‘insulated.’
According to Mr. Beaven, Luton Music Service is funded by the British
Government and comprises several youth music organizations including a
concert band, jazz and percussion orchestras, a wind ensemble and more,
including a steel orchestra. And it is the latter, which was the focus
of attention at C2K9.
Members of the band include Kofie Charles-Ashton, Talamika
Castor-Williams, Dareece Parris-Bell (son of Ian & Jennifer Beckles),
Jasmine Warner, Micah George, Jennifer Beckles (Ian’s wife), Glenis
Ashton, Annemarie Williams, Nadine Madi, and Juliet Sharpe.
The aim was that at the end of the trip, members - apart from
developing their “panmanship” - would be able to understand and appreciate the
socio-cultural background which gave rise to the only musical percussion
instrument to have been developed in the twentieth century. While in
Trinidad, the group experienced the national steelband panorama
competition and parade of bands in Port of Spain, along with
J’Ouvert in San Fernando with Pan Elders. They also visited Trinidad’s
sister isle of Tobago on the Wednesday after the Carnival celebrations,
before returning to the United Kingdom on Thursday.
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Ian Beckes (left) with
Stephen Beaven (head of LMS) & Richard Alvin Gittens
(workshop facilitator – Pan Elders) |
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Hollis Clifton
Pan Diaspora Visionary
pandiaspora@gmail.com
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