England, UK - “My name is Dr. Geraldine Connor (PhD, MMus, LRSM, Dip.Ed.).
My father Edric Connor (Singer, folklorist, actor and film-maker) was responsible for bringing TASPO to the Festival of Britain in 1951.
Between 1978 and 1984 I adjudicated as a Judge, many Panorama competitions.
I was the first woman to play bass in the then Trintoc Invaders 1977 - 1983 and in 1984 was the first woman to arrange a panorama tune for them. Indeed I might have been the first woman to arrange for a panorama competition.
In the UK I arranged for Ebony Steelband for Panorama in 1983 which they won for the first time that year. I also arranged their classical repertoire for many years. In 2005 The British Association of Steelbands (BAS) gave the Connor family an award (which I accepted on their behalf) for their contribution to the Steelband movement in the UK.
I taught Arddin Herbert a piece of Bach for the T&T biennial music festival. I have worked very closely with Dudley Nesbitt, panist extraordinaire and New World Steel Symphony Orchestra in Leeds, UK for many years.
Most recently (2008) I played bass with Tobago band Steel Xplosion.
My show Carnival Messiah features a 25 player steelband playing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. This show is set [to] be commercially produced and extensively toured throughout the world from 2012.
Presently I am based in the UK and write validation documents and handbooks for the Steelband to support its teaching in schools and universities.
I think that When Steel Talks [WST] is one of the best things that has ever happened to pan!
I view WST as a breath of fresh air ...... very, very informative, wide-ranging and relevant .. .. Your [the] organization gives Pan an international profile, credibility and audience ...... placing the Steelband movement where it rightfully should always have been!”
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