Sangre Grande Cordettes Steel Orchestra

2025 Tune of choice: “Wine On Something” | arranger: Clarence Morris
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- 2025 Tune of choice: “Wine On Something” | arranger: Clarence Morris
- 2024 Tune of choice: “Soca Baptist” | arranger: Clarence Morris
- 2023 Tune of choice: “It’s Carnival” | arranger: Kion Robinson
- 2020 Tune of choice: “Breakaway” | arranger: Kion Robinson
- 2019 Tune of choice: “Professor Say!” | arranger: Kion Robinson
The following info - by Gideon Maxime - Steelband Showcase - 23rd January, 2002
CORDETTES
Hailing from Sangre Grande is one the more successful steelbands of the Eastern Region of Pan Trinbago. The founder of the band was Stanley Cooper.
Cordettes emanated from several bands. They include Metronome, All Stars, Stardust and Wonderland. Stardust was one of the earliest bands which when it stopped, Wonderland from Caigual was formed. The children of Stardust also assisted in the formation of Wonderland.
On one faithful Carnival day when Wonderland came into Sangre Grande to play, Stanley Cooper, spoke to one of the legends of the area Paul Campbell and asked him to join Cordettes and this assisted in the strengthening of Cordettes which when taken up, made the band into a potent force musically.
The band Cordettes did not take long to establish itself and in 1967, the band captured the Prime Minister's trophy for the unsponsored class in the Independent Steelband Music Festival. At first the band was sponsored by the KLM airlines but with the advent of the National Quarries Limited they readily assisted the band by sponsoring it.
Although the band has made several appearances, at the Panorama Finals, it is only in 1990 that the band had won the East Zone of Panorama with the selection “Nah Do Dat”.
The ace panist and arranger Jit Samaroo greatly assisted in putting Cordettes on the map. His compositions “Gaping Season” and “Miss Supporter” come readily to mind.
Over the last few years the band, although to the fore, has not been able to capture any titles; Cordettes have earned the respect of all and is destined to greater things.
