Starlift Juniors & Girls High School steel orchestras take trophies
in St. Vincent 2011 Junior Pan Fest

St. Vincent & the Grenadines - Even with the threat of inclement weather, nothing could dampen the spirits of supporters of the steelpan art form and lovers of steelpan music - and the younger generation of pan players who would be taking the field, literally, at Carnival City Victoria Park in Kingstown, St. Vincent.  Twelve bands - six community-based and six school-based - competed in their respective categories in the 2011 Junior Pan Fest on Sunday. Families had been on the grounds as early as 2:00 p.m. to enjoy to the fullest, the mini-fair which preceded the steelpan show. The mini-fair featured many children-friendly activities including face-painting, trampolines, and more.

It was just about 4:25 p.m. when Warren Knights, the head of Youlou Pan Movement (the national steelband association) concluded his comprehensive words of welcome heralding the official opening of the steelband competition. Knights was quite pleased about the increase in the number of competitors in both categories of the event. He was followed by a cultural officer from the Ministry of Culture who delivered brief remarks on behalf of the Culture Minister who was unable to be present.

The audience first witnessed the school-based orchestras with CW Prescod Primary taking the stage at 4:35 p.m. as band number one, with twenty players and Keslon “Taffa” Wilson as arranger. The defending champions, Girls High School, competed in second position with twenty-six players, performing “Jubilee” with Johnny “JP” Pompey as their arranger; they struck their last notes at 5:00 p.m. The steelband from St. Joseph’s Convent followed with thirty players opting for Beckett’s classic “Teaser” as their tune of choice.  Fourth band to perform was from Adelphi Secondary, followed by Bishop’s College Steel Orchestra’s twenty players taking the spotlight from about 5:53-5:59 p.m. playing instruments tuned by Sherwin Pierre. The final band in the community category was Troumaca Primary School from North Leeward with a small contingent of 16 players. Performing 2009 St. Vincent Ragga Soca Monarch Maddzart’s winning 2009 hit “Is Meh Friend,” Troumaca rounded out the first category of school-based bands by 6:17 p.m.

A short break with soca entertainment preceded the next phase of the Junior Pan Fest - the community-based steelbands in competition. By 6:44 p.m. the first band trying to snag the 2011 trophy - Rose Bank North Stars with twenty players playing “Back-Off” - had completed their presentation It was then on to Starlift Steel Orchestra, one of the largest bands for the evening with forty-seven players. For some reason, the band took an incredibly long time to set up on stage, to the chagrin of many. Finally getting it together at 7:04 p.m., Starlift’s seven-minute performance of “Picking Cherry” commanded arguably the best crowd response for the evening.  Another crowd favorite came on the heels of Starlift, in the form of defending community steelband champions Sion Hill Euphonium Junior Steel Orchestra playing “Kangaroo” by Touch, as arranged by Rodney Small, their arranger of three years.  By 7:35 p.m. they wrapped up their selection, making way for band number four Symphonix Steel Orchestra. There were two more bands in this second segment of the Junior Pan Fest:  Georgetown All Stars featuring twenty-five players dressed in green and black playing Septimus Cain’s arrangement of the late Dan Simon’s “We Want Pan,” and Genesis Steel Orchestra performing “Pan Jam;” the latter brought the curtains down on the steelband performances for these Junior steelpan musicians at 8:42 p.m.

Even though performances by three of the country’s very popular soca artists kept the crowd on hand entertained for a short time, having them jumping throughout their renditions, it was still a perplexing period of about forty-five minutes between the end of the appearances by the competing junior steel orchestras, and the actual announcing of results around 9:26 p.m.

In the school-based category, the defending champs from Girls High School retained their hold on the title for 2011, with the bands from Adelphi Secondary and CW Prescod Primary following in second and third place. The bands from Bishop’s College, St. Joseph’s Convent and Troumaca Primary School took fourth, fifth and sixth positions, respectively.

Sion Hill Euphonium Junior Steel Orchestra, the 2010 winners in the community-based category, had to settle for second place in 2011, with arch rival Starlift Junior Steel Orchestra capturing the title and trophy in the customary steelband tug-of-war that unfolds annually between these two key bands. Genesis Steel Orchestra impressed the judges enough to come in third, while Symphonix Steel Orchestra, Georgetown All Stars and Rose Bank North Stars rounded out the fourth, fifth and sixth positions in the 2011 Junior Pan Fest.  The event was broadcast to the world over the internet by St. Vincent’s ‘Star FM.’

School-based Steel Orchestras - 2011 Junior Pan Fest Results
Placing	Band	Selection / Performer	Arranger
1st	Girls High School	Jubilee / Touch	Johnny “JP” Pompey
2nd	Adelphi Secondary	Soca Battlefield
3rd	CW Prescod Primary	Mocou / Touch	Keslon “Taffa” Wilson
4th	Bishop’s College
5th	St. Joseph’s Convent	Teaser / Beckett
6th	Troumaca Primary School	Is Meh Friend / Maddzart
Community-based Steel Orchestras - 2011 Junior Pan Fest Results
Placing	Band	Selection / Performer	Arranger
1st	Starlift Junior	Picking Cherry / Poorsah
2nd	Sion Hill Euphonium Junior	Kangaroo / Touch	Rodney Small
3rd	Genesis	Pan Jam / Exodus
4th	Symphonix	We Want Pan / Dan Simon	Septimus Cain
5th	Georgetown All Stars
6th	Rose Bank North Stars	Back-Off

 

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