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Assistant
Professor of Steel Pan and co-director of the NIU Steelband,
Liam Teague |
DeKalb, Illinois,
USA -
This past weekend while members of When Steel Talks
(WST) took
in the NBA broadcast on cable television, we were equally
pleased to tune into the internet broadcast of NIU (Northern
Illinois University) Steelband’s annual
Spring concert on Sunday.
The steelband music event was great as it was led by
NIU’s Assistant Professor of Steel Pan Liam Teague, also co-director of the
institution’s steel orchestra. The music presented for
the evening showed off
the versatility and skill set of the band as they performed a
wide variety of songs over the approximately ninety-minute, two-set
performance.
The overall quality of the internet
stream was quite good. It was far superior to the
internet audio and video broadcast streams we have come to expect for
steelpan music events experienced through this medium.
On Friday April 24, WST was alerted to the fact that the feed and embed codes
for the steel orchestra’s annual spring concert would be available -
but which unfortunately
left insufficient time to alert the entire WST network that
they could view the steelband concert online.
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Northern Illinois
University Steelband performs at Boutell
Memorial Concert Hall on campus |
When Steel Talks sees this particular
internet stream as an example of what the
standard should be when considering a good quality broadcast
of a steelpan event over the internet. Other internet
streams/broadcasts viewed and heard in the past including
that of Trinidad and Tobago’s panorama and other steelband
music performances always leave a lot to be desired and do a grave
disservice to the instrument, its musicians and the art
form.
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Assistant Professor of
Steelpan Liam Teague onstage with the NIU Steelband |
Armed with a suite
of selections that included works from the likes of Stevie
Wonder, Len “Boogise” Sharpe and Bach, the NIU
Steelband delivered a good representation and illustration
of the capabilities of the steelpan
family of instruments, and the wonders of a fair-sized orchestra.
It was a competent blend of a good steelband concert and
technology that worked. The video and sound quality
were very good, with multiple camera angles, wide shots,
isolations, zooms - the works. Actual stage lighting
may have been sufficient for the live audience, but was
inadequate for internet viewers. In this situation,
spotlights would have been ideal. The musical landscape
was attractively laid out and periodically featured compositions
with different voices and classes of instruments, such as
the collaboration of pans with the
xylophone.
In addition to
featuring rhythm and blues, classical and popular
selections, Trinidad and Tobago composers were spotlighted
prominently in NIU’s repertoire. Beginning just
after 3:00 p.m. CST (4:00 p.m. EST), NIU steelband ended
their first half with one of the classic songs penned for
pan and arranged by Ken “Professor” Philmore - “Pan by Storm.” After a brief
intermission, the band’s second set got underway at 4:08
p.m. with Jason “Peanuts” Isaac’s 2008 panorama
contender “Ten
Commandments of Pan.”
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Members
of the NIU Steelband |
During the second half of the program, Liam Teague encapsulated the history
of the steelpan instrument and its inception in Trinidad and
Tobago, which was an apt prelude to the honoring and
recognition of pan pioneer Clifford Alexis - co-founder and
co-director of the NIU Steelband. Teague highlighted
and commended the role of Alexis and his contributions to
the NIU steelband
program, and also offered congratulations to Alexis on being
an
Awardee as one of NIU’s
‘2009 Outstanding Civil Service Employees.’ Following
this intro, Alexis was additionally totally overwhelmed and
happy with the opening bars of the well-known film fanfare
performed on steel that followed Teague’s words ushering him
to the front of the stage.
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Mia
Gormandy makes a presentation to NIU co-director Clifford
Alexis |
“This one get me. They set me up... this was a real
set up!” declared an emotional Alexis as he began to thank
everyone for the presentation and recognition during the concert
- with
the former attended to by noted panist
Mia Gormandy. Alexis - who noted that he had been
at NIU for twenty-two years (at the heart of the
university’s steelband program), and hoped that he would be
there for many more - also reminisced about picking Liam
Teague up at Chicago’s O’Hare international airport when the
latter was a mere nineteen-year old, and an incoming
freshman at NIU. The journey from that point to Teague’s current
position as Assistant Professor at NIU was a significant
milestone, and one that made Alexis extremely proud.
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Panist Mia Gormandy
accompanied by pianist Stewart Mendelman |
Moments
of pride and accomplishment continued to pepper the evening, such as when star panist
and current NIU student Mia Gormandy took the stage to
perform, accompanied by pianist Stewart Mendelman; their
performance included lighthearted interplay - well appreciated by
the audience. The NIU steelband continued on after,
intending to close with Franz Von Suppe’s “Poet and
Peasant Overture” and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe’s
composition and arrangement of “Birthday Party.”
With the
audience’s obvious enjoyment of the delightfully
high-spirited calypso number “Birthday Party,“ Teague
promised them ‘one more’ selection, if they promised to stay
on their feet
(they were in the throes of a standing ovation) and dance. With the audience obviously needing very little
encouragement and wholeheartedly on board with the request, the steel orchestra launched into a parting
dance-tempo, soca-flavored
extract of the “Poet and Peasant Overture.”
No doubt with NIU Steelband’s concert
performance they solidified their fan base, and also
generated new found interest and intrigue, probably
attracting newcomers into the orchestra. Look out for
another captivating Spring concert next year, already on the
band’s calendar for April 25, 2010.
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