Panorama 2023 Results - Renegades Steel Orchestra Chalks Up 12^th Victory - Duvone Stewart, Arranger - Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Renegades Steel Orchestra took its twelfth National Panorama title in 2023, as champion arranger Duvone Stewart led them to victory with his arrangement of Black Stalin’s “Black Man Feeling To Party.” The band now ties Desperadoes Steel Orchestra, which also has twelve titles, for the most number of Panorama championships. The latter was defending its title, but placed ninth this time around. Renegades was the top scoring band throughout - from the preliminaries, on to the semi-finals, and now on final night in ‘The Big Yard.’

The sounds of steel heated things up at the Queen’s Park Savannah when the large steel orchestras took command of the stage. Starlift cast its musical spell from the get-go playing the Mighty Sparrow’s “Witch Doctor” as arranged by Danté Pantin. The passion for pan was in full effect from the thirteen finalists and the pan lovers in the Grand and North Stands. The former was filled not too long after the event got underway, where the first notes sounded circa 8:20 p.m. and Invaders brought the curtains down on competition at 2:12 a.m. with results coming within thirty minutes.

Many weeks of prep and practice, and subsequent taking into account judges’ comments and suggestions after two previous rounds, brought bands to this point. In all their finery, flush with presentations and most of all - music, Corinne Soo Ping Chow, Dr. Roger J. Henry, Joanna Ragbir, Michelle Dowrich, Richard Pierre and Stephanie Power were tasked, for the final time this Panorama season, with deciding which orchestra was ‘best’ overall.

And it was a bit more granular than that, because there was a possible maximum of three hundred points, not six hundred. Reiterating the strategy outlined earlier in the season by event organizer Pan Trinbago: this panel of judges “would draw numbers AFTER all the performances were complete, with one pulling the designation ‘alternate.’ That specific ‘alternate’ judge’s scores would be set aside. Then, the highest and lowest scores from the remaining five judges with respect to each band would also be discarded.” This would leave in consideration points from only three judges, with three hundred the maximum possible score awarded. Arrangement and general performance counted for forty points each with ten going to rhythm and ten to tone, totaling one hundred. Rules in this large band category allowed for a total of one hundred and twenty-five musicians.

The final tally on this night which saw Renegades besting fellow bands and securing first place also guaranteed them TT $1,000,000.00 (circa US $148,000.00). Exodus - which returned to competition with a tad bit more ‘covering’ (canopies) than in recent years - and Silver Stars snagged second and third place prize purses of TT $700,000.00 and TT $650,000.00, respectively; full prize listing is here.

On the topic of Silver Stars, it brings to mind that the year 2023 has been good to sister isle Tobago in competition overall. Two of Tobago’s musicians, Ojay Richards and Kersh Ramsey are first-time Panorama co-arrangers in the large category with Silver Stars, and took the band to third place. Tobago-based Katzenjammers Steel Orchestra is the 2023 national medium band champion, led by Ramsey, who additionally himself garnered a clean sweep in the 2023 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Pan Champs - charting the course as arranger in the three titles up for grabs: large, small, and single pan.

Four bands paid musical tribute to the late calypso icon “Black Stalin,” Dr. Leroy Calliste, who recently passed. Fans of Renegades, Invaders, Skiffle and Buccooneers steel orchestras enjoyed Stalin’s classics which were brought once more to the fore, this time on the big stage for Panorama 2023 as his musical legacy was celebrated.

With a two-year hiatus after 2020 due to COVID-19, it had been a welcome return both to Carnival and the Panorama season, which for the large bands started with preliminary panyard judging on January 29 in Tobago. Competitors from the South/Central, North and East regions then had their turn, in similar format as initially followed by Single Pan and Small band categories.

Following are the full results for the finals competition for Large conventional steel orchestras.

Color Key

East Zone Region

North Zone Region

South/Central
Zone Region

Tobago Region