Web Posted - Saturday March 31, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Shawndel George
Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “Being a woman player in the world-famous Phase II Pan Groove is humbling. The idea of being affiliated with the band, not just as a female but as a regular member of the band is something to be proud of. However, when specifically talking about being a woman player in the band, I always feel comfortable and embraced by my male counterparts. The men look out for the women. They are like our brothers. I do not feel less of myself being a part of a band that is male-dominated. And to play the music of the great Mozart of Pan - Len “Boogsie” Sharpe - is indeed an honour.”

She is a “pro.” And excellence is her game - whether as a media personality or panist for the world-renowned Phase II Pan Groove. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - Shawndel George shares her joy, experiences, and insight into the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Friday March 30, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Zakiya De Coteau
Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “In 2016 I made history with Platinum All-Female Steel Orchestra by becoming the first all-female band to compete in the panorama competition. I also had the opportunity to experience different cultures performing at the Panorama competitions in both New York and St. Vincent. Overall, it has been tough at times being involved in the pan fraternity but, I have always been grateful for the opportunity.”

Despite being young in age, she posses an unapologetic combination of intellect, awesome talent, a confidence and beauty that are in the DNA of this generation of trailblazing women panists. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks -  Zakiya De Coteau shares her feelings, experiences, and insight into the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Friday March 30, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Laéticia Walker
New York/Saint Vincent

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. - “Steel pan has become a part of who I am. The sound is my heart beat, it is something I will never attempt to try and live without.”

She is an intellect whose ultimate destination is medical school. However, what is abundantly clear is that along that journey Pan and the music of the steel orchestra will be constant companions. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - panist Laéticia Walker shares her feelings, experiences, and love for the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Thursday March 29, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Alice Adams
United Kingdom

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

North Tyneside, U.K. - “It’s the most indescribable & amazing 10 minutes. I felt full of every single emotion after Trinidad Panorama, it was my biggest achievement to date and I just can’t believe I did it. It’s bittersweet because you have worked so hard up until that performance and then it goes over so quick and you don’t play the tune again!”

She is insightful, daring, and committed. Her passion for Pan took from the UK to participate in the Trinidad and Tobago National Panorama. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - panist Alice Adams shares her feelings, experiences, and insight into the Steelband music art form and more. Hear her voice - feel her passion.
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Web Posted - Thursday March 29, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Ayana “YaNz” Garcia
Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “Those eight minutes are magical - it’s what I wait for 364 days of the year. The emotion you feel telling this music story is like heaven on earth. Putting on that costume no matter how outrageous it may be, feels like masqueraders getting dressed for Carnival Monday and Tuesday. You the panist become an artist, painting a picture for the audience musically.”

She has undoubtedly a natural drive for excellence in every aspect of her life. And when your godfathers are the likes of legendary panist Robert Greenidge and the late great Grammy award-winning Ralph MacDonald - subscribing to greatness is almost a given. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - scholar, musician and soon-to-be PhD student Ayana Garcia shares her feelings, experiences, and insight into the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Wednesday March 28, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Etsuko Tajima
New York/Japan

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

New York, U.S.A. - “...It is a magical instrument. Especially when you play as a band, I can’t even describe how my spirit is lifted. The only way is to experience it.”

She was simply walking along a Brooklyn street one Summer night with friends when the sound and spirit of the pan beckoned, enticed and enveloped her in an inexorable musical relationship - that resulted in her becoming a performing Pan Woman in a historical Brooklyn steel orchestra. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - educator, performing and recording artist Etsuko Tajima shares her feelings, experiences, and love for the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Tuesday March 27, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Sheleen Baynes
Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “What keeps my passion for the instrument and art form going, is having people walk up to me and express their appreciation for my skills of playing the instrument, having kids wanting to be like me some day and competing, and making my community, family and friends and sponsors proud.”

She is both a seasoned musician and ranking steelband administrator. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - veteran panist Sheleen Baynes shares her insight, experience and knowledge in meeting the challenges of performing with and administrating - an established Trinidad steel orchestra.
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Web Posted - Tuesday March 27, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Ke Shari J’knysa Caesar
Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “My vision is for Trinidad & Tobago to embrace the steelpan instrument and we can make the steelpan industry become as lucrative or more so than the oil industry.”

And when it comes to Pan she is keeping it 100. No doubt it is a lifetime love affair. The “Pan Jumbie” lives in her 24-7-365 days a year. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks, the immensely multitalented Ke Shari J’knysa Caesar shares her deeply personal feelings and insight into her relationship with the Steelband music art form and culture.
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Web Posted - Sunday March 25, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Ivor Shatal Francis
St. Lucia

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

St. Lucia, W.I. - “Playing steelpan promotes positive self-expression, and it also has the potential to build self-confidence as players tend to see their skills improve as time goes by.”

She has been very passionate about her involvement in Pan at every stage. As the first female captain in her country of a champion steel orchestra she has been afforded a unique vantage point of the art form in St. Lucia. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - panist Shatal Francis shares her outlooks, success, experiences, and insight into the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Sunday March 25, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Kayleigh Lewis
United Kingdom

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

London, U.K. - “Pan links everybody together from all over the world and to know I have family in Trinidad, Japan, and Guadeloupe amongst other places, makes me know I have many places to stay if I want to travel the world. I am proud to belong to something. Some people don’t have one family so I feel spoilt to have a few. To be able to connect to people through music is a wonderful feeling.”

She is truly a stellar practitioner of the performing arts. A comic and musician who is more than up for the joys and challenges of being an intercontinental pan player. Now a champion with two of the world’s premiere standout steel orchestras, Kayleigh Lewis shares her feelings, experiences, expectations and concerns for the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Saturday March 24, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Mia Morgan
London, United Kingdom

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

London, U.K. - “I love pan because of the way it makes me feel when I play and listen. Its pure vibes. In addition to this, the relationships and friends I’ve made through pan are really something special and totally irreplaceable. Pan has opened up a whole new world and a hidden confidence in me, and I don’t know where I’d be without that.”

Pan has played and continues to have, a profound impact in the growth and development of Mia Morgan. Her intensity, joy and passion for the instrument leap out at you. Moreover this young lady’s positive development through her personal challenges moving from youth to young adult with pan, demonstrates the power of the art form on the human spirit and condition. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - Mia Morgan shares her feelings of self fulfillment, experiences, and insight into the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Saturday March 24, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Devon Cumberbatch
Maryland, USA

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Maryland, USA - “I would love for the instrument to be as mainstream as the piano, guitar or violin. It may have a ways to go, being a fairly young creation, but I believe pan can progress, develop and infiltrate music of all cultures. I would love to see it as an instrument for all peoples, and universally accepted. The history of the pan is just as important as the future where it can potentially end up and blossom.”

Pan is a significant part of her heritage and her story. And within the steelpan artform she experiences her yesterday, today and tomorrow in a real and tangible way. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - writer and panist Devon Cumberbatch shares her cross-continental experiences and insight into the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Friday March 23, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Natalie Wint
New York, USA

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

New York, USA - “Ahh, the glorious 10 minutes. It’s a feeling like no other. Indescribable. When you’re on stage and the lights hit, you instantly start sweating. Your arranger starts the count, your heart speeds up in anticipation of the excitement. When that last count strikes and the song starts, the crowd disappears for a second. It’s me, my pan and the music saturating my ears straight to my soul. You go through every emotion created by that sound. It’s an adrenaline rush and a wave of euphoria you’ll never experience until you stand on that stage for yourself. I absolutely fell in love with it.”

She is simply one of New York’s finest panists. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - the multitalented and extremely versatile musician Natalie Wint shares her feelings, experiences, and insight into the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Thursday March 22, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Clara Ozanne
France

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

France - “In France steelpan is quite unknown. Except with steelpan players, I have to explain quite every time what steelpan is. In general people are interested and don’t understand how we can play with that strange “pan.” I’m so passionate about steelpan that it’s a pleasure to share about Pan with people.”

She fell in love with Pan as a child when Pan‘n’Co Steelband’s founding members visited her school in France. There has been no looking back as her pan passion has only grown, and she is now unmistakable when playing her signature pink tenor. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks and ten years later, Clara Ozanne shares her feelings, experiences, and dreams relative to the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Tuesday March 20, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Shannon Mc David
Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “I must say performing on a Panorama stage is the most invigorating experience. I feel such a thrill - like there’s an energy running through my veins the second the stick touches the pan. It’s like electricity. For me, playing pan (or music) is like entering a new world....While I’m playing I listen to everything from the iron man to the tenors; so every run, every drop, every hit of the iron drives me. I often laughed when people told me I was dancing out of time sometimes but I knew that I was dancing to someone else’s part.”

She is a scholar, an intellect, a serious practitioner of the performing arts. This, in addition to being a budding scientist and of course a panist, who knows a thing or two about winning Panorama performances - as a member of both the 2009 & 2010 champions Silver Stars Steel Orchestra - and the 2018 Renegades Steel Orchestra. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - Shannon Mc David shares her feelings, experiences, expectations and passion for steelpan instrument, its music, the art form and more.
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Web Posted - Sunday March 18, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Nandia Hamilton
New York, USA

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

New York, USA - “What disappoints me is when people think pan is just a set of noise rather than hearing the beauty in the music.”

She is focused, has a vision for the future, has talent & skills and values her independence. “I want to be my own boss.” In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks Nandia Hamilton shares her feelings, experiences, and insight into what drives her passion for the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Friday March 16, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Solange Baptiste
Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “My love for music and the instrument keeps me going, together with the adrenaline rush and new upcoming challenges which a Panorama piece produces; while performing with fellow band members on the ‘Big Savannah stage.’”

She is brilliant, immensely talented, has a positive outlook and full of confidence. And don't be surprised if this panist/pilot is the airline captain flying the aircraft that you are on in the very near future. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - Solange Baptiste shares her feelings, experiences, and insight into the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Thursday March 15, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Diane Thomas 
Indiana, USA

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Indiana, USA - “....Playing with others who play steel pan is really where I find my true happiness, whether it is a duo or a small group of steel pan players, or a band in Trinidad...”

A voice with uncommon beauty spoke to her years ago. It was indeed unconditional love at first contact. Years later the love affair continues, and is as intense as ever. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - Diane Thomas shares her feelings, experiences, and passion for Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Tuesday March 13, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Daneisha Frederick
Queens, New York

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

New York, USA - “....I have no personal preference when it comes to performing or teaching. I love the idea of performing. The energy behind it. The goose bumps from playing that sweet part in a song is the best feeling; but also teaching is a great feeling.”

She is a self-described “Carnival Baby” - simply destined to play mas and pan from jump-street. After falling in love with Pan at an early age she has since blossomed into one of the key fixtures and players in New York’s renowned CASYM Steel Orchestra. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - the multitalented musician, educator and performing panist Daneisha Frederick shares her thoughts, experiences, and insight into the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Monday March 12, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Jossane Kerrice Felix 
Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “At 5 years old, my parents took me to Renegades’ panyard and I was totally mesmerized by the level of complexity and difficulty of Dr. Jit Sukha Samaroo’s music. This compelled me to want to grow up to become a Renegade to be able to play his music and, I did just that! I have always been a real die-hard Renegade.”

She is an infectious spirit who leaps off the page and delivers breaths of unadulterated enthusiasm into the reader/listener for her story and the magic of the steelpan art form. She is forward-thinking with an open-the-door and “let’s do this - let me at it” attitude. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - multi-talented panist and performing artist Jossane Kerrice Felix shares her vision, experiences, and feelings for the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Saturday March 10, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Tashie LeMaitre
Seattle, Washington, USA

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Seattle, Washington, USA - “I definitely think Panorama is a blessing all around. In my eyes, it’s more than a competition. It’s a way to showcase your passion individually, as one unit. What I mean is an individual playing their best next to several other individuals doing the same creates a beautiful piece as a whole. Whether you’re arranging or playing; even when working behind the scenes. So much work, effort, and time is put into Panorama and I think it deserves more attention worldwide.”

She is from a family of Panists. And as the saying goes - the fruit never falls far from the tree. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - panist Tashie LeMaitre shares her thoughts, experiences, outlook and viewpoints on the Steel Pan music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Thursday March 8, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Teneisha Campbell
Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “I will always have a passion for steelpan because it is engrained in my DNA. It is an incredible art that was created out of brilliance.”

Teneisha Campbell surely knows a thing or two about greatness. Long before her role in the movie Black Panther - one of the great box-office smashes of all time, she was a performing panist for the great Panorama Champions Renegades Steel Orchestra during their three-peat years.

She is a multi-talented musician, screen-writer, actor and performing artist. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - panist Teneisha Campbell shares her thoughts, experiences, opinions and viewpoints on the Steel Pan music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Thursday March 8, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Nicole Archer
Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “Playing pan is my therapy, my ultimate relaxation, my one constant throughout the years. I don’t think I can properly explain the feeling I get from playing. You know those players that jump and wine, stand up on the stands while performing? Well I am not one of those, on the outside that is, but on the inside when I am playing I am doing all those things and more. I have not been able to find a single thing that duplicates that feeling for me...”

She is an honest, deep thinking, very talented and thoughtful panist in an arena where these attributes are becoming more and more in short supply. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - multi-talented panist and performing artist Nicole Archer shares her feelings , experiences, and insight into the Steelband music art form and more.
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Web Posted - Wednesday March 7, 2018
When Steel Talks

Meet Carla Robinson
Illinois, USA

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

Illinois, USA - “The steelpan has proved its versatility, by being able to shine through classical music, jazz music and other genres of music that many feel the steelpan would not be ideal for. The steel pan can do what many other instruments can do and even what some cannot.”

She is a multi-talented musician and scholar, an educator, writer and performing artist. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - panist Carla Robinson shares her thoughts, experiences, outlook and viewpoints on the Steel Pan music art form and more.
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 2018 Trinidad and Tobago National Steelband Panorama Info - Complete

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - PanOnTheNet/ WhenSteelTalks is Panorama Central!  Complete information on the 2018 season of the Trinidad and Tobago National Panorama, and competitions:  Schedules, Orders of Appearance for preliminary, semi-final and final phases for large, medium and small conventional steel orchestras, and single pan bands; arrangers’ bios, bios of steel orchestras; full results, panyard addresses, history of previous Panoramas, and much more!
see complete information index

Web Posted -  September, 2017
When Steel Talks

New York, USA - Well if you haven’t heard already, New York’s 2017 Panorama Steel Orchestra competition was an epic failure for most. Unless you were the show’s promoters - who got away as bandits in the night - except it was a broad daylight-mugging with everyone watching. Calling the promoters “bandits” is really a description ‘upgrade’ as they have been known as the original Evil Empire to the Brooklyn Steelband community for decades.

So in this regard, let’s cut the crap! And the fake news from those who are spreading alternative facts, about how great New York 2017 Panorama was. In reality it was jacked up.
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Web Posted
When Steel Talks

Global - Within the historical context, a look at the impact of American movies on the naming of early steelbands of Trinidad and Tobago.
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