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Web Posted - Tuesday June 28, 2011
When Steel Talks

Kim Loy Wong - Taking Pan to the Americans
 

Global - Kim Loy Wong recently spoke in a telephone interview from Houston, Texas on Pan Diaspora with Hollis Clifton on WACK Radio 90.1FM in Trinidad. Wong is credited as being one of the men who originally brought steelband music to the United States during the ‘50s.
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Web Posted - Monday June 27, 2011
TDSB.on.ca

Steelband stars set to perform
in Italy


 

Ontario, Canada - A group of TDSB students who found a love for the steelpan at Rosedale PS and continued to master the instrument outside of school are set to travel to Italy this summer to participate in a world-class festival. The Toronto All Stars Steel Orchestra (TASSO) will perform in Rome and Florence as part of the Festival Orchestre Giovanili (FOG) this July.

Founded in 2000, the group evolved from the steelpan program at Rosedale PS, under the direction of TDSB itinerant music instructor and TASSO musical director Salmon Cupid. The long-time steelpan teacher and inventor of the world’s first electronic synthesized steelpan is excited that FOG will provide another opportunity for his students to compete on a global stage and showcase steelpan music internationally.
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Web Posted - Monday June 27, 2011
When Steel Talks

Starlift Juniors & Girls High School steel orchestras take trophies in St. Vincent 2011 Junior Pan Fest
Sion Hill dethroned in community category
 

Kingstown, 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.

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.
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Web Posted - Saturday June 25, 2011
When Steel Talks

The ‘Pan Buzz’ has moved to WhenSteelTalks/PanOnTheNet!!
 

Global - It is good to be back on track, giving you all the latest info, and of course lacouray (gossip) in the Steelband world, plus commentaries. First off, I want to say thanks to WhenSteelTalks for giving me the opportunity to keep the Pan Talk going.  Thanks, guys!

We start with Panorama 2012 and the war drums that are being banged. As you know the Buzz gets it live and direct, and my spies tell me that four pan songs are out of the Sunset Studio of Leston Paul. What this tells me is that Pan song composers are no longer playing the waiting game... or games for that matter.
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Web Posted - Friday June 24, 2011
When Steel Talks

Grenada’s Republic Bank Angel Harps Steel Orchestra ready for Panorama 2011


 

St. George’s, Grenada, W.I. - Reigning “Bomb Tune” Champions - Republic Bank Angel Harps Steel Orchestra, was the recipient of its annual pledge from corporate sponsor, Republic Bank. A cheque valued at EC $25,000.00 (USD $9,240.00) was presented to members of the band on Thursday, June 2, 2011.

On making the presentation, Managing Director Keith Johnson congratulated the band on its enviable achievements over the years and pledged the bank’s continued support to the musical icon. Republic Bank has been the proud sponsor of the band for the past twenty-nine (29) years.
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Web Posted - Friday June 24, 2011
When Steel Talks

Princes Town Methodist School Steelband, Grads, “Reach” Higher


 

Princes Town, Trinidad, W.I. - Under the astute tutelage of Noel Skair, the graduating Class of 2011 at Princes Town Methodist School in South Trinidad could comfortably take their hats off, take a bow and “Reach.”  The students have not only reached out to their parents, specially invited guests and well-wishers, but they had actually gotten their country’s national instrument - the Pan - to appeal to “the herd instincts of man” with a piece entitled “Reach” as arranged by Skair.

....This is not the first year that Skair has worked with the graduating class from Princes Town Methodist School, in readying them for memorable musical displays as they depart the educational institution for their secondary endeavours.
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Web Posted - Friday June 24, 2011
BarbadosCropOverFestival.com

New Pan Event to Interest Jazz Fans
 

Barbados, W.I. - Pan Fusion is new on the Crop Over calendar and will be the most exhilarating steel pan event of the season, featuring a sumptuous blend of three musical forms, Jazz, Tuk and steel pan music played by three of the region’s foremost musicians.

Barbadian Sax player and heart throb Arturo Tappin leads the concert as he introduces his ingenious blend of Jazz and Tuk (Tuk - an indigenous form of Barbadian music derived from the colonial British Military Band mixed with the African slave drums) in what he has branded as ‘Tappin 2 Tuk’.

....Steel pan virtuoso Liam Teague’s return to the shores of Barbados to appear in concert, has been long awaited. A break from his whirl-wind schedule of appearances is opportune and gifts the Crop Over season and his legion of fans with the delight of a performance from one of Trinidad and Tobago’s finest steel pan players ever.
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Web Posted - Friday June 24, 2011
When Steel Talks

Pan Trinbago ‘After-Work Limes’ Return


 

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Pan Trinbago’s ‘After-Work Lime’ returns this Friday evening, June 24, to the Grand Stand Courtyard, Queen’s Park Savannah, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, from 6:00 p.m. The event will showcase past winners of Pan in the 21^st Century and Pan Down Memory Lane competitions in a musical showdown.

Participating steel orchestras include Brazil RX4, St. James Tripolians, Woodbrook Playboyz and more.
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Web Posted - Thursday June 23, 2011
theVincentian.com

‘Children should play Pan,’ urges Chief of Police Miller
 

Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines - Commissioner of Police Keith Miller is calling on parents to encourage their children to get involved in playing the steel pan.

The Commissioner made the call on Wednesday at a news conference held at the Central Police Station.

The top cop noted that a number of students who sat the June 3 Common Entrance Examination, and did very well, were products of the Pan Against Crime Initiative.

He pointed to 11-year-old Alron Harry who placed first for boys and first overall in the examination.

The Commissioner underscored that Harry, a serious tenor and double tenor panist with the South East Steel Orchestra from Stubbs, is a product of the Pan Against Crime Initiative, as well as the band for which he plays.

....“I remember it was said, many years ago, that the steel pan is a bad boy thing. That is what I heard. I am really happy that the steel pan now is seen as an instrument that our young people can gravitate to and do not waste time,” Commissioner Miller said.
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Web Posted - Tuesday June 21, 2011
CarnivalSVG.com

Junior Pan Fest gets Vinlec Money


 

Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines - Last Monday June 20^th, the St. Vincent Electricity Services (Vinlec) handed over EC$30,000 in sponsorship money to the Youlou Pan Movement (YPM).  The money will be used to help with the staging of the 2011 Vinlec Junior Pan Fest competition which takes place at Carnival City Victoria Park this Sunday June 26^th. This is the fourth consecutive year that Vinlec has injected money into one of the YPM’s pan competitions.

The money was handed over to Head of the YPM Warren Knights by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vinlec Thornley Myers. The handing over was witnessed by among others CEO of the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) Ashford Wood. Accepting the cheque and thanking Vinlec, Knights said that he is hoping that other private sector entities can follow in the footsteps of Vinlec. He stressed that donations like Vinlec’s, demonstrates corporate support for the young people of the country.
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Web Posted - Tuesday June 21, 2011
CarnivalSVG.com

Steel and Glitter
 

Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines - This year persons attending the Steel and Glitter show slated for next Thursday June 30^th will be entertained by three different aspects of Vincy Mas in a competitive setting.  Scheduled for the Victoria Park, Steel and Glitter will this year see three different competitions being held. They are the Senior Panorama Competition, the Mas Bands Section of the Year competition and the new addition, the Soca Dance off Competition.

On Tuesday at the Carnival Development’s (CDC) final press conference for Vincy Mas 2011, Head of the Youlou Pan Movement (YPM) Warren Knights revealed that participating in the Senior Panorama Competition this year are the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) Sion Hill Euphonium Steel Orchestra, the Potential Steel Orchestra, the Elite Steel Orchestra, the South East Steel Orchestra, Dynamic Stars (Union Island) and the Starlift Steel Orchestra. Starlift is returning from a two year absence while Dynamic Stars are in the competition for the first time.
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Web Posted - Tuesday June 21, 2011
BarbadosCropOverFestival.com

An Extended Weekend of Sweet Steel Pan!
 

Barbados, W.I. - Few words can describe the euphoria of the Steel Pan events during Crop Over and this year the Festival calendar boasts more pan events than ever.

The grounds of Ilaro Court, home of the island’s Prime Minister, will be the venue for Pan Fusion on Thursday, July 14^th from 7 p.m. This premier Steel Pan concert which combines the best of steel pan, jazz and tuk, features international homegrown sensation Arturo Tappin alongside steel pannists extraordinaire Victor Provost and Liam Teague for a night of exquisite entertainment under the stars.
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Web Posted - Tuesday June 21, 2011
When Steel Talks

Small & Single Pan Bands Panorama Finals Released on DVD


 

Global - Steel pan music lovers - particularly those of Single Pan and Small Conventional Bands - will be pleased to know that respective DVD recordings from the 2011 National Trinidad & Tobago Panorama Finals, are now available. It is the first time that the Panorama Finals of the Single Pan and Small Conventional Bands have been presented on DVD.

....The DVDs each capture the “live” performances of the Single Pan and Small Conventional Bands. The production is presented on two separate discs of approximately 90 minutes.
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Web Posted - Monday June 20, 2011
Trinidad & Tobago Guardian

Pillars of Steel brings action to Queen’s Park
 

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - It’s being dubbed the biggest post-Panorama event, and the action is set to go down at the Queen’s Park Savannah on July 2 from 7 pm. The Four Pillars of Steel…A Repertoire Championship, produced by ENI Entertainment and WACK Radio 90.1FM, will see the nation’s four oldest steel orchestras square off in a musical battle, where the winning steelband will go home with bragging rights and a cash prize of $40,000.

The other three bands would be paid an appearance fee of $20,000. With more than 250 years of steel under their belts, CAL Invaders, Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars, Tokyo and Witco Desperadoes Steel Orchestras are expected to put their best pan sticks forward as they compete in the first affair, priced at $150.

Speaking at a news conference at the Hotel Normandie, St Ann’s, on Wednesday, the mastermind behind the event, Junior Hutson, said there was need to provide “different avenues” for local panmen to showcase their skills and take T&T’s national instrument to the next level. Noting that he would have hoped to offer participants a greater incentive, Hutson lamented that he was financially limited as only two corporate sponsors, Heinken and Angostura, had come on board to support the venture. “If we could have done more, we would have,” he said.
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Web Posted - Saturday June 18, 2011
Trinidad & Tobago Newsday

Sweet pan ends WeBeat in St. James


 

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - The sounds of sweet pan filled the air in St James last Saturday night when the curtains came down on the 2011 edition of WeBeat St James Live.

Some of the top bands in the area paraded east along the Western Main Road paused and played a tune of choice in front of the St James Amphitheatre, and moved off playing other tunes to suit their followers as they made their way to their stopping point at the corner of Long Circular Road and the Western Main Road.

Those bands included Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove – and its mass of followers – playing “Saltfish” and ”Country Roads;” Exodus with a scintillating performance of its 2011 Panorama offering “Calling Meh” and “Unknown Band;” Starlift playing its 1978 winning song “Du Du Yemi” (Natasha) and “Dingolay;” CAL Invaders with a spirited “Toco Band” and “Say Say;” and Brimblers with “Close To You” and music for dancing.
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Web Posted - Saturday June 18, 2011
When Steel Talks

Trinidad and Tobago Steelband Panorama 2012 Registration begins
 

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Pan Trinbago has announced that Registration forms for Trinidad & Tobago’s annual National Panorama 2012 Competitions are ready for distribution.

Steel Orchestras – Single Pan Bands, Small, Medium and Large Conventional Bands - should note that registration commences on Monday June 20^th 2011 and closes on Friday July 15^th 2011.
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Web Posted - Wednesday June 15, 2011
When Steel Talks

Pan in De Countryside: It’s Tobago’s Turn
 

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Tobago will be the next stop for the Pan Trinbago sponsored Pan in De Countryside series. The third in the six-part pan concerts will take place on Sunday 3^rd July in Parlatuvier, Tobago, from 2:00 p.m. till 8:00 p.m.

Participating bands in order of appearance are San City, Westside Symphony, East Side Symphony, Arima Golden Symphony, Royal Bank Redemption Sound Setters and Katzenjammers Steel Orchestras.
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Web Posted - Wednesday June 15, 2011
When Steel Talks

Chase Manhattan Savoys - Festival 1966
 

Global - Chase Manhattan Savoys Steel Orchestra performed ‘Dama Antanona’ from the Steelband Festival Finals of 1966, with Martin Albino as arranger.  The other finalists in 1966 were North Stars, Starlift, City Syncopators and Guinness Cavaliers. 
experience the music

Web Posted - Wednesday June 15, 2011
When Steel Talks

Spanning the Globe - the When Steel Talks Steelpan Music Network
 

Global - The When Steel Talks (WST) network has become the internet epicenter of all things steelpan music related. With over 100,000 subscribers, more than 8,300 online members, 4,000 photos, 1,300 videos and thousands of discussions, articles and interviews, the WST network spans the globe with up-to-date steelpan information, history, current news and upcoming events 24-7. Addition, WST provides direct access to the movers and shakers of the steelpan music movement.
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Web Posted - Sunday June 12, 2011
When Steel Talks

Conspiring to Pigeonhole Pan, and that’s Cool?


 

Global - I don’t know if he remembers making the comment or still is of that view, perhaps more than twenty years later, but no less a pan-world figure than Boogsie Sharpe once said to me that if pan had been invented in Jamaica, it would have made greater progress. The particular reference to Jamaica (or anyplace else, for that matter) in that context might precipitate some spirited give-and-take. But be that as it may, there’s no doubt lots of us have had occasion, over time, to ponder the path pan has traveled, and whether we Trinidadians, as its creators and gatekeepers of record, have come anywhere close to affording ample opportunity for pan to realize its full potential.
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Web Posted - Thursday June 9, 2011
When Steel Talks

T&T and China make sweet music


 

Trinidad  & Tobago - For the second time in as many years, the Trinidad and Tobago Chinese Steel Ensemble(TTCSE) teamed up with a group of musicians from Tianjin, China, to play together.

After practicing together a few times before the reception started, the bands thrilled the guests with their performance of the popular Chinese tunes “Tien Mi Mi” and “Along the River of Love.” The four Tianjin musicians played the traditional Chinese instruments—pipa (lute), erhu (two-stringed fiddle), yangqin (dulcimer) and guzheng (zither)—together with the sixteen members of the steelband.
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Web Posted - Thursday June 9, 2011
When Steel Talks

‘In The Middle of a Couple of Different Worlds’

A Dalton Narine Special
 

USA - Jonathan Scales plays a voguish style of pan. And he does so by articulating life and personal experiences that are crowned in a mélange of musical idioms and styles. Like the mix of instruments in the Panorama, each offers its own delicacy in a smorgasbord of sounds. But, with Scales, the buffet is spooned out as treats from his exotic mind. Here, try this, the band Jonathan Scales Fourchestra seems to be saying.

The following is an interview conducted a few weeks before the CD was distributed. It is accompanied by mini reviews of the new work.
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Web Posted - Monday June 6, 2011
SpicemasGrenada.com

Visit gives rise to idea of Grenada/Trinidad Mini Pan Competition

St. George’s, Grenada, W.I. - ....One Trinidad steelband captain, Junia Regrello of TCL Skiffle Bunch, has responded to the idea of a competition at next year's Grenada carnival by asking, “Why not?”

A 25-member Skiffle Bunch contingent recently visited Grenada to participate in pre-Spicemas activities.

....The event, advertised as a “pan war” and a clash of Trinidad panists “matching their skills against Grenada's finest pan players,” included the participation of Republic Bank Angel Harps, LIME Commancheroes and Coyaba New Dimensions.

....Regrello, a panist for almost 45 years, described Grenada as having a strong “pan fraternity.”

He said the steelbands are good but pointed to what he called “some inconsistency in tonal quality.”

Regrello, a one-time Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Culture in the government of former Prime Minister Patrick Manning, also suggested that Grenadian steel orchestras “need to have a more varied repertoire, and the arrangers can probably do a little more work.”

Younger inexperienced Grenadian panists, Regrello added, “were using inappropriate sticks; the grip on the sticks was poor and they were not hitting the notes the way they should. There is technique in everything you do.”
read more  -     then Discuss in the WST forum

Web Posted - Monday June 6, 2011
Bed-Stuy Gateway

Feel the steel: Bed-Stuy’s Steel Drum Symphony

New York, USA - Summer is here and the perfect music for a hot and humid New York is definitely the steel drum. I like mine as Soca and Reggae, and that’s just how USA San Juan East Side Symphony does it. Born out of a band from Trinidad of the same name, the East Side Symphony has been rocking out Brooklyn for three years now. They have a huge reputation to keep up: their home-country and namesake ensemble are taking home the trophies at steel pan competitions back in the Caribbean. But here on the mainland, the East Side Symphony plans on doing a lot more than just competitions.

....The Brooklyn-based East Side Symphony has been jamming for three years now, but has recently acquired a vacant store-front on Fulton Street here in Bed-Stuy with the help of financial support from local businesses like Melanie’s Juice Bar and Restaurant. “We have been lucky to get the support of business owners like Michael Goul [of Melanie's Restaurant],” continued Mr. Cupid, “but we need more help from local businesses to continue to be a major part of the community and grow.”
read more

Web Posted - Sunday June 5, 2011
SpicemasGrenada.com

Panist enjoys Grenada, Grandfather’s Homeland
 

St. George’s, Grenada, W.I. - Trinidadian Keina Calliste is the daughter of one of the Caribbean’s greatest calypsonians and she has familial ties to Grenada.

Calliste has just completed her first visit to Grenada and felt right at home.

“I like it. It’s not that much different from Trinidad. We have a lot of similarities,” said Calliste, daughter of Leroy Calliste who is popularly known as Black Stalin.

....She is impressed with the performance of Grenadian panists, as well as their knowledge of the pan movement in T&T.

“The standard here and the passion are very high,” Calliste said.  “It was really amazing also that people here know so much about pan in Trinidad. People in Grenada really keep up to date on the pan movement.”
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Special: When Steel Talks
Michael Jackson
Celebrated in Steel


 

Global - Michael Jackson’s music was loved, respected and interpreted by the steelpan music community.  His music will continue to inspire musicians all over the world.
click to see video special

Web Posted - Friday June 3, 2011
When Steel Talks

“Pan On A Higher Note” at Lord Kitchener Auditorium, NAPA
 

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad - Trinidad and Tobago National Steel Symphony Orchestra (NSSO), conducted by Jessel Murray, present their annual formal concert which will feature the first complete performances of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in Trinidad. These concerts will occur at the Lord Kitchener Auditorium, NAPA on Saturday 4^th June at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday 5^th June at 6:30 p.m.
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Web Posted - Thursday June 2, 2011
When Steel Talks

Trinidad versus Grenada Steelband Jamboree


 

St. George’s, Grenada, W.I. - The Grenada Carnival Committee and the Grenada Steelband Association proudly announces a grand Steelband Jamboree this Friday, June 3^rd.  Skiffle Bunch Steel Orchestra from Trinidad and Tobago will be matching their skills against Grenada’s finest steelpan musicians.

This event, which is free to the public, signals the return of steelband in its fullest form to Spicemas.
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Web Posted - Thursday June 2, 2011
Trinidad & Tobago Guardian

Dixieland Five get awards
 

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I.  - They have been hailed as the “Liberators” of the steelband movement, and panmen. I’m talking about the Dixieland Steel Orchestra led by Curtis Pierre. It was only a few years ago the band, which blazed a trail in the 1960s, was honoured by Pan Trinbago. While panmen grudgingly accept the fact that it was only when these “white boys” started to play the pan, the barriers of prejudice and the stigma of hooliganism began being lifted. It’s really a fact that panmen have to live with, as these “college boys,” flew in the face of society and family to embrace the national instrument. They did so at great risk, even sacrificing their school careers. Long before the Pan Am North Stars, Dixieland was the rage in parties, dancehalls… you name it.

....Soon they were off to London for an extensive European and African tour.
read more  -     then Discuss in the WST forum