BRENT HOLDER - Panist
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submitted by Robbie Joseph

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United Kingdom - The Port of Spain Police Youth Club in Trinidad was the first place that Brent Holder started playing the steelpan instrument from the age of eight.  At the Youth Club he was able to play with Potential Symphony and Blue Diamonds Steel Orchestras at the Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) National Steelband Panorama competition, as well as in many school festivals, until they were victorious at the Schools Steelbands Music Festival in 1991.  In that same year at age thirteen, Brent played with the renowned Renegades Steel Orchestra (where he would stay for eight years, honing his skills) at the annual  Steelband Panorama competition where they placed second with Christopher “Tambu” Herbert’s Rant and Rave.  Brent was also a member of the Solo Pan Knights Steel Orchestra for a few years before he immigrated to the United Kingdom. He is no stranger to competitions and the following are some of his achievements:

1995

   

T&T Junior Steelband Music Festival – 2nd Place in the soloist category playing his own composition, ‘Patience’

1996

   

Pan is Beautiful – 1st place in the soloist category playing his own composition, ‘Patience’

1997

   

T&T Junior Steelband Music Festival - 2nd place in the soloist category playing, ‘Voices of Steel’, his own composition

1998

   

Pan is Beautiful – 1st place in the soloist category playing his own composition, ‘Voices of Steel’

2000

   

World Steelband Music Festival – 2nd place in the soloist category playing his own composition, ‘Musical Antics’

2001

   

BAS Pan Explosion Competition – 2nd place in the soloist competition playing his own composition, ‘Musical Antics’

2002

   

BAS Pan Explosion Competition – 1st place in the soloist category with his own composition, ‘Voices of Steel’

Brent’s musical arrangements of ‘Free Up’ saw Pan Knights placing second in the Point Fortin Borough Day competition in 1999. Brent confirmed that composing needs lots of focus and determination and it was evident in his domination of the 2002 BAS (British Association of Steelbands) Pan Explosion competition. His own composition, ‘Daylight,’ saw them capture the ensembles category.

He was also one of Ebony Steelband Trust’s in-house arrangers during his tenure with them, before he decided to set up his own gigging steelband, CSI (Caribbean Steel International Steelband), which he formed in 2002 to perform at corporate events, wedding receptions and birthday parties. It is also the resident steelband at the Kensington Holiday Inn’s Caribbean Experience evenings. Brent Holder orchestrated the creation of the CSI Steelband Trust in 2008 as part of CSI’s development cycle. Since then his band has been developing in leaps and bounds achieving 3rd place in the UK National Panorama after only two appearances in this competition.

Playing Brent’s musical arrangements, CSI Youth Steel Orchestra has won the UK BAS/CAPCA Junior Panorama competition consecutively for the last three years, and in June 2010 they were also crowned the Dutch Junior Panorama Champions.

Brent Holder
Brent Holder

For the past few years Brent has been the visiting tutor for the Co-Musica project and the Weekend School at the Sage Gateshead, Newcastle, UK. He continues to teach the art of playing the steelpan in several London schools. Brent has worked with many bands including Sounds of Steel, Ebony, Steelquake, Stardust, Solo, Sunshine Panners and North Tyneside, just to name a few.

For 2010 Brent Holder - composer- arranger-educator is acclaimed to be the first British/Trinidadian to compose his own tune for pan. He also wrote the lyrics for his first tune, Pan in de Panyard, for the 2011 Panorama. The tune is about giving people who do not know - an idea about how steel bands get ready for panorama. For years, Brent wanted to do a Panorama tune but because of his busy schedule running the CSI Steelband Trust in London, he had not been able to find the time. Pan in the Panyard will be CSI’s Panorama tune for 2011 in the UK National Panorama competition.

Pan in de Panyard is written and composed by Brent “Antics” Holder, sung by Anslem Douglas and produced by Junior ‘Ibo’ Joseph. Brent extends his sincere thanks to Anslem, Ibo and Duvone Stewart for his pan solo in the tune. He also acknowledges the efforts of Alvin Daniell, Pan Podium and When Steel Talks.  


 

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