Press Release                                                                           Contact:  Barbara Rhoden

                                                                                                            (718) 240-0264

                                                                                                steelpanvibes@yahoo.com

                                                                                                            Nia Gaskin

                                                                                                            (718) 469-0077

                                                                                    ngaskin@stamfordmarriott.com

SYMPOSIUM ON PAN WOMEN

 TO OPEN YOUTH STEELPAN FESTIVAL

Brooklyn, NY – September 24, 2004 - Something Positive Inc. is dedicating its 2004 Youth Steelpan Festival to the memory of founder and cultural icon Cheryl Byron.  “Among the many art forms Cheryl advocated among our youth, she was most passionate about the steelpan”, stated Michael Manswell, the new executive director of the organization.  “This festival keeps her spirit alive”, he added.

The two-day festival kicks off at Medgar Evers College Bedford Avenue Auditorium on Friday, November 5, from 6 to 9 pm with a steelpan symposium themed, “Women’s Contribution to Pan”.  The distinguished panel of music experts invited includes Dr. Dawn Batson currently at Indiana University, music teachers Lindy-Anne Bodden-Ritch and Esther K. Batson, arranger and ethnomusicologist Pat Bishop, Merle Albino Decoteau from the Creative Arts Centre at the University of the West Indies, and Nyasha Rhoden, pannist and music teacher at Philippa Schuyler Middle School in Brooklyn. 

On Saturday, November 6, from 12 noon to 5 pm, the performance segment of the festival moves to Middle School 2, 655 Parkside Avenue in Brooklyn, between Nostrand and Rogers Avenues.  Parents are urged to have their children who play the instrument take part.  All participants and their music teachers are invited to a one-hour pre-festival orientation at Middle School 2 on Tuesday, October 12 beginning at 6:30 pm sharp.

The Youth Pan Festival was first staged in 1997 to provide encouragement and publicity to young people playing this innovative instrument. Participants who must be under 21 years of age choose their own performance piece. They may perform an original composition or one from the standard repertory from any genre:  calypso, soca, classical, pop, jazz, rhythm and blues, reggae, gospel, hip hop, etc.  Various scholarship, trophies, and other prizes will be awarded with special recognition by age group and for pannists playing their own composition.

Admission to the festival is free at both venues.    Participants can request entry forms and more information at somethingpositive@excite.com or by phone at (718) 252- 4692 or (718) 240-0264.

Something Positive Inc. is a community-based, not-for-profit, arts and education organization dedicated to the art and culture of the African Diaspora and its cross-cultural influences through performance and education.  The Festival is made possible with the support of Dr Edison Jackson, and the M.C.C.P.A.S Department at Medgar Evers College and The Flatbush Beacon.