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Full results for Pan in the 21st Century

Full results for Pan Down Memory Lane
 

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Supernovas Steel Orchestra led by arranger Amrit Samaroo took the title in Pan in the 21st Century.  Also in the coveted spot, Chord Masters Steel Orchestra copped the top honors in Pan Down Memory Lane, working once more with arranger André White; the successful combination had resulted in a first-time Single Pan championship last year.

With their explosive performance - literally - of Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” arranged by Amrit, Supernovas brought the crowd in attendance to its feet in a standing ovation. In doing so, the orchestra also claimed the top prize of TT $200,000.00 (circa USD $29,531.77) in its category. Veteran drill master and pan conductor Ben Jackson kept the band on point as they left no stone unturned, musically or presentation-wise.

Sister Sledge’s “Frankie” was the choice which synced with Chord Masters, the arranger - and ultimately their  presentation of it - with the judges.  The reward for getting it all right was TT $75,000.00 (circa US $11,049.32). Marsicans Steel Orchestra were the title-defenders (since 2010, the year of the last competition) in this category, and emerged in a tie for fourth place.

After an absence of thirteen years, steelpan music lovers in Trinidad and Tobago turned out to enjoy the evening billed as “One Night, Two Competitions, Beautiful Music” featuring some of the best performances in two categories: Pan Down Memory Lane & Pan in the 21st Century. The show was staged at the Queen’s Park Savannah on Sunday June 11, 2023. Some in the audience sang and danced along in enjoyable nostalgia, both when the original tracks were played by the in-house DJ, and definitely appreciating the songs when rendered on steel by some of their favorite bands.

The overcast skies, and eventually a short downpour between the two competitions, did not cast a pal at all over the show, which began with a resounding set by acclaimed vocalist Kay Alleyne, and also featured the world-renowned Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra midway in the two competitions.

Each competition was judged by two different panels; Ayana Garcia, Dike Samai, Ezra Joseph, Joanna Shortt, Kenrick J. Noel and Stephanie Power made the musical decisions with relation to Pan Down Memory Lane. Those single pan bands - with a minimum and maximum complement of fifteen and twenty-five players, respectively - performed selections chosen from 1999 or earlier, for not more than four minutes, with a ten-second grace period. Arrangement and General Performance counted for forty points each, with ten going to Rhythm and ten to Tone, totaling one hundred.

Pan in the 21st Century steel orchestras were adjudicated by Damion Phillip, Dr. Louis Nurse, Dr. Mia Gormandy-Benjamin, Lorna Conyette, Richard Pierre and Sherry-Ann Saunders.  With the same grace period, six minutes was the time set as these steel orchestras drew from music released from 2000 onward, while allowed between thirty-five and fifty musicians while competing.  The ‘Arrangement’ criterion counted for sixty-five points and encompassed 1) interpretation; 2) melodic/motivic development; 3) harmonic development re-harmonization; 4) pan orchestration; 5) creativity & innovation, and 6) rhythmic development.  General Performance was twenty-five points, with the remaining ten going towards Tone.

The event organizer Pan Trinbago maintained the same judging structure they had in place for the national Panorama: the six respective judges would draw numbers after the adjudication of 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 left in consideration points from only three judges, with three hundred the maximum possible number awarded. 

Pan lovers had a few options to take in the performances. In person at the venue itself, the Grand Stand, via Pay-Per-View on WACK TV, and also - just under two hours after its official start - via delayed broadcast simultaneously on radio 91.1 FM, and on TTT Live Online.

The event was dedicated to late Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold who passed away recently; both these competitions had been initiated when he helmed the organisation.  Both Supernovas Steel Orchestra and Chord Masters Steel Orchestra received Patrick Arnold Challenge Trophies in addition to their prize purses.

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Related content:

• Pan in the 21st Century 2023 - Finals: Order of Appearance
• Pan Down Memory Lane 2023 - Finals: Order of Appearance
• Pan in the 21st Century - Preliminaries Results
• Pan Down Memory Lane - Preliminaries Results