A Bright Spark for the Future
Miranda Hohenkirk is a young lady who became interested in the steel pan after
being introduced to the instrument by her father. He is a pan musician with
Nostalgia steel band, and a steel band teacher in local schools in the London
Borough of Newham. Miranda became one of the youngest players in Nostalgia Steel
Band, a pan-around neck steel band, playing the tenor pan and the double
second in her fathers steel band combo. Her journey this far should be an
inspiration to all of us involved in our community steel bands.
Miranda attended Edmonton County Secondary school where she studied music as
part of the National Curriculum. The school had a steel band which was not very
popular and rarely practiced at all. It was only offered to Years 7-9, and
Miranda was not a member of the band.
She
was however involved in a community steel band under the inspirational teaching
of Alan Baptiste, Pantonic steel band and finally, with Nostalgia Steel band.
Miranda opted to do GCSE music first using the trumpet as her main musical
instrument. Later, she learnt that she could change to the steel pan, and did
just that. She was the only child who chose the steel pan as her main
instrument, and spent two years composing two pieces to meet the certified
requirements at GCSE level. Both Alan Baptiste and her father accompanied her
live with pans, at her performance. The examination required her to record the
music, and also to produce a music score sheet - for her music teachers and the
external examiner. These were all recorded at the school: Two performances on
her main instrument, the pan, and another on the trumpet. Miranda gained an A
pass grade in her GCSE Music Exam.
This spurred Miranda to pursue this subject area at GCE A Level. For this
exam, she was required to perform a twenty minute recital on the instrument of
her choice, the steel pan. The pieces she chose were Blue Danube; The theme from
Dr. Zahavago; The Elizabethan Serenade, Some Day My Prince Will Come, and
another piece composed and arranged by her school music teacher. Miranda was
helped by her pan music teacher and mentor, Alan Baptiste, who was instrumental
in ensuring that her arrangements were as clinical as they could be. It was also
important to him that Miranda attended to detail to ensure the best of her
musical abilities.
The music scores were presented for all the pieces she played. In this recital,
Miranda was accompanied by Allan Baptiste and her father, Freddie, who ensured
that the background accompanying pan music was pre-recorded. This enabled
Miranda to carry out her live performance of her selected pieces. Miranda also
had a written exam paper to complete which tested her knowledge in world musical
genres, and her listening skills. The pieces were not well chosen for their
level of difficulty and Miranda had to work hard to project them to the
audience. Most of the time she worked alone as her music teacher at school had
many other pupils choosing more traditional instruments, needing support at
varying levels. Miranda passed her A level in music, and, with an additional
two A passes, was able to secure a place on the B.A. degree in Music at
Middlesex University. Her specialist music teacher appointed by Middlesex
University is Eversley Mills of Metronome Steel Band.
Miranda believes there should be more quality steel band teaching in our
schools, and more school steel bands offering tuition to a wider range of the
school student population. She is keen to enter the teaching profession after
her graduation.
by Lionel McCalman
©
and Courtesy
PanPodium
A Celebration of Women
And The
Steelpan Artform
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