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Brooklyn,
New York, USA - Panorama
competitions, which engage the
steel band community infinitely
more than any other regularly
scheduled activity, will be the
focus of a symposium to be
presented by the Trinidad &
Tobago Folk Arts Institute in
conjunction with the School of
Professional & Community
Development of Medgar Evers
College, on Thursday evening,
February 17, from 7:00 to 10:00
PM. The event will be held
in the Mary Pinkett Lecture
Hall, Room S122 on the Medgar
Evers College campus, 1637
Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn
(between Carroll and Crown
Streets).
Specifically, the symposium’s
formal topic is:
Is There a Need to Revisit the
Steel Band Panorama Format?
The Panorama theme was
prompted, explained Les Slater,
chair of the Folk Arts
Institute, by the rash of
problems Panorama competitions
have experienced in recent
years. “Issues related to
monetary compensation for
participants seem to be a
continuing sore point, and this
has undoubtedly contributed to
organizers having to halt the
staging of competitions in some
instances.”
Among the
symposium’s scheduled presenters
are Garvin Blake, acclaimed
steel pan instrumentalist and
arranger; Anthony Hinds, leader
of Dem Stars Steel Orchestra of
New York and president of the
National Alliance of Steelbands;
and Kenton Kirby,
editor-in-chief of Caribbean
Life and formerly
a
multiple Panorama winning
arranger in St. Vincent.
Panorama
was introduced into the Trinidad
and Tobago Carnival festivities
in 1963. Since then there have
been Panorama offshoots
presented in other Caribbean
islands, in New York, London,
Toronto, Boston, and Miami,
among other locations. The
allure of this blockbuster
event, both in its birthplace
and elsewhere, has generated an
international following of steel
band music enthusiasts. But
financial considerations have
increasingly impacted the
competition in latter years,
creating problems for competing
bands, as far as meeting the
formidable costs involved in
bringing a band to Panorama
readiness, as well as for
competition organizers, more so
where funds from commercial
sponsors or government sources
have proven difficult to
acquire. The financial aspect,
although a major concern, is by
no means the only issue that has
triggered debate among Panorama
watchers.
“The
symposium reflects the Folk Arts
Institute’s determination to
highlight the factors that may
or may not be suggesting a fresh
look at the whole Panorama
concept,” Slater said.
The
February 17 event is part of an
ongoing series of forums in
which the Folk Arts Institute is
collaborating with Medgar Evers
College. Two others are
scheduled for during the
college’s spring semester.
Admission
to the symposium is free and it
is open to the public. Any
further inquiries may be made
at: 718-252-6161.
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