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Web Posted - Tuesday May 14, 2013
When Steel Talks

Historical Photo!! - Carnival Trinidad and Tobago:1969 - "Fun and Laughter"

 
 

Trinidad & Tobago - This picture was taken at Trinidad and Tobago's 1969 Carnival. The mas was called "Fun and Laughter".

When Steel Talks Carnival and Steelpan media archives.
click to view

Web Posted - Wednesday May 15, 2013
TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc

Steel Pan Fest and Culture Night for 2013 Festival

Trinidad and Tobago - "The devil's music!"

That was the European, Christian take on the pagan, pulsating, infectious beat of the African drum. Its primal edge scared the living daylights out of them. It unleashed sensuality, social revolt and spirituality of another kind, something forgotten, primordial, Mother Earthly and definitely anathema to colonial values.

"Surrendering to this music is essentially a communion." -- Thierry Teston, director, PAN! A Modern Odyseey

The shock to the system Europeans experienced when they heard this lower chakra vibration is not difficult to comprehend. Their primal connection to the drum had been violently severed more than a thousand years ago, when their ancestors were colonized by a Roman Empire that would soon become a Christian empire. The iron-fisted Church banned all displays of sensual, passionate self-expression tied to their pagan religious rites. Their Celtic, Norse, Gothic drums had long faded into the background, becoming one uniform, metronomic, marching beat for the new military empire. String and wind instruments took the spotlight. It was beautiful music that stirred the soul, but only from the waist up. As custodians of the imperial status quo, they would resist the influence of the African drum (among other indigenous tribal rhythms) in every territory they claimed for crown and church.

The demonization of "negro" music in the Americas would extend to blues, jazz, samba, calypso and rock 'n' roll, which met a wall of censorship and condemnation. From the censoring of Elvis' illicit hips on Ed Sullivan, to the mounting fear as white children began doing the Watusi and eventually wanting to integrate the concert halls and dance floors, to the fear of hip-hop's revolutionary edge, many commercially successful movies and documentaries hearken or hint at the establishment's fight against Afro-influenced music.
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Web Posted - Tuesday May 14, 2013
When Steel Talks

Just Listen!! - Billy Ocean and Ebony Steelband:1994 - Caribbean Queen

 

Global - The great Billy Ocean performs his monster hit  Caribbean Queen with Ebony Steelband.
click to listen and watch

Web Posted - Monday May 13, 2013
BVI-Hotpress

Steel Pan Fest and Culture Night for 2013 Festival

British Virgin Islands - Although plans are still in the early stages for the 2013 Emancipation festival, both the Chairman of the Virgin Islands Festival and Fairs Committee, Marvin Blyden and Director of Culture, Luce Hodge-Smith confirmed that culture night and steel pan fest will be repeated for 2013.

Blyden and Hodge-Smith disclosed the inclusion of the two events at a press conference that was held on April 30 to announce the winners of the 2013 theme and slogan competition.

Both steel pan fest and culture night were unsuccessful last year, but judging from crowd turnout, both events seemed to have public appeal. On the 2012 roster, the ‘Steel Pan Fest’ was scheduled for July 29 and was supposed to feature local and regional steel bands. The “Culture night” was slated for August 1, and according to the schedule the night was to feature troupe performances, and the King and Queen of the Band competition.
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Web Posted - Sunday May 12, 2013
When Steel Talks

The Journey has Begun - Kendall Williams: Master of Music - Steelpan: Instrument of Choice

Panist, composer and arranger Kendall Williams presents his NYU recital - Music Theory & Composition
 

New York, USA - Quiet, unassuming and intense – you won’t even know he’s in the room. But don’t be fooled by his quiet demeanor. Kendall Williams is immensely talented, witty, humorous but focused. Moreover, he has a voice and has charted an unexplored music path for the steelpan music family of instruments. Those who know him of course, already knew this. And after last weekend’s past recital for his degree of Master of Music, many, many more will now know it too.
read more

Web Posted - Sunday May 12, 2013
When Steel Talks

To Mothers all over the world

 

Global - Happy Mother’s Day to all the Steelpan & Steelband Music Moms.
click for Mom’s tribute

Web Posted - Saturday May 11, 2013
When Steel Talks

Just Listen!! - NYU Steel - 
Ben Lion - 2013

 

Global - NYU (New York University) Steel performs the classic "Ben Lion" at their annual Spring Concert.
There are very few if any musical institutions that boast a diverse and varied repertoire such as NYU Steel - from the works of Philip Glass to those of calypso legend The Roaring Lion.
click to listen

Web Posted - Friday May 10, 2013
CompassCayman.com

Cayman Prep and High win NCF steel pan competition


 

Grand Cayman - The National Children’s Festival of the Arts took a tuneful turn on 29 April with a special steel pan competition.

The Mary Miller Hall in Red Bay hosted the contest, which was of a high standard.

Cayman Prep and High School eventually took away all the major honours.

The junior band beat John Gray to take the gold and the trophy and the senior band beat John Gray, Grace Christian, UCCI, Cayman School for Pan and St. Ignatius to take the gold and the top trophy. Adam Stoner (senior category) and Britney Ferguson (junior) won their solos, as well taking home both the gold and the trophy for Cayman School for Pan. Britney beat Grace Christian, Clifton Hunter, Red Bay Primary, Prospect Primary and Cayman Academy. Adam defeated Grace Christian.
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Web Posted - Thursday May 9, 2013
When Steel Talks

Eduardo “Lalo” Tellez speaks on Xalapa Steel Band of Mexico

Pan comes to Mexico in a big way

Global - Eduardo “Lalo” Tellez is a music Bachelor and a Percussion Professor in the Superior Institute of Music in Veracruz, Mexico.  He first encountered the steelpan instrument four years ago in 2009, and began to educate himself in the art of playing the instrument.  In January 2012 Téllez founded a small steel orchestra - the first one in Mexico.  The orchestra is called “Xalapa Steel Band,” so named because it is the city where Téllez and the other musicians live in Mexico.

Xalapa Steel Band is growing quickly, and will be attending the 2014 National Panorama in Trinidad & Tobago, to play with Valley Harps Steel Orchestra.  Presently, their repertoire includes music works from Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, Edwin Pouchet and Ray Holman, along with traditional music from Caribbean countries, as well as Eduardo Téllez’s own compositions. Most of Xalapa’s steelpan musicians are percussion students in the University of Veracruz.
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Web Posted - Tuesday May 7, 2013
Youth Today

Community Center’s Low-Cost Music Program Breaking Down Cultural Walls
 

New York, USA - A shabby community center on the first floor of one of the 12 buildings that make up the vast Gov. Alfred E. Smith public houses is where social workers and teachers are hoping music can break down cultural barriers.

.....But the music school -- run by Hamilton Madison House a progressive non-profit -- which offers piano, violin, guitar and even steel pan lessons for a reduced fee, is a well-kept secret, patronized almost entirely by Asian families, not the black and Latino kids who also live in the housing project.

....Still, of the almost 4,300 residents in the Smith houses, almost 800 are black, and about 1,600 are Latino. To attract those residents, the House’s executive director Mark Handelman suggested starting a steel pan class, hoping that the music of Trinidad and Tobago would attract different students than piano and violin. This class is only $20 for the entire year.

“I don’t think he thought that it would turn out to be an Asian steel band group,” Goodman said, laughing. “I think his thought was that we’d get a bunch of teenagers off the street. But those aren’t the kids that decided to come.”
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Web Posted - Tuesday May 7, 2013
Coventry Telegraph

Thousands of people enjoy sunny Earlsdon Festival

Coventry, England, UK - Glorious sunshine brought an estimated 10,000 people out for the final day of Earlsdon Festival.

The 20^th annual event saw High Street closed off yesterday and filled with stalls and performances in the culmination of 11 days of events.

Dayspring Steel Band performed outside Earlsdon Methodist Church while Coventry Morris Dancers and children’s entertainers put on shows next to the Royal Oak pub.

....Kerry Burgess, of Green Lane, Finham, was at the festival watching Dayspring Steel Band with her one-year-old daughter Freya Kirkman.
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Web Posted - Tuesday May 7, 2013
When Steel Talks

Just Listen!! - Casablanca Steel Orchestra -  A Theme For Steel - 1952

 

Global - A Theme For Steel - by The Casablanca Steel Orchestra ℗1952 Sa Gomes Music Ltd. Composer: Arthur DeCoteau, Ormond Haynes Label: Sagomes.
click to listen

Web Posted - Monday May 6, 2013
Richland Chronicle

Carnival of Steel a big success

Texas, USA - This year, Richland's "Carnival of Steel," the annual steel drum festival of North Texas held on campus April 20, was "extremely successful," according to Derrick Logozzo, director of instrumental music, who heads the outdoor music event every year.

"Basically, we upped our attendance a lot this year," Logozzo said. "We had over 1,000 people both day and night."

....Logozzo said that six steel bands from mid-state participated in the festival. The list included bands from Austin and Laredo and four from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
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Web Posted - Sunday May 5, 2013
When Steel Talks

Just Listen!! - Len "Boogsie" Sharpe - Mangrove -  Ben Lion
 

Global - The ace at work. The year is 2002 and the song is “Ben Lion.” A Len "Boogsie" Sharpe arrangement...
click to listen

Web Posted - Sunday May 5, 2013
The Trinidad Guardian

Pan film to promote T&T

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - A major feature film on the steelpan is finally in the works and the local team behind it promises that the quality of the production will serve as the ideal marketing mechanism for the universal advancement of the instrument, while giving T&T an easily recognisable brand. Pan! A Modern Odyssey, is the title given to the project conceptualised by music producer and publisher Jean Michel Gilbert and Dr Kim Johnson, a veteran journalist and author, under the banner of the Caribbean Music Group.

Gilbert, the executive producer on the project, will double as co-producer alongside acclaimed french cinematic expert Barthélémy Fougea and Johnson. Johnson, the historical consultant on the film, is also the man behind the script which has been re-written no less than 15 times. A French company called WINDS will serve as the international co-producer.
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Web Posted - Friday May 3, 2013
When Steel Talks

NYU Steel Comes Full Circle - The Dream, the Vision, the Reality

When Things Come Together - NYU Steel, A Success Story

Global - He still waves to you from afar, still seeks you out and greets you with a warm smile and sincere handshake. And still remains quietly in the background supporting and admiring his creation and the considerable progress of the young people like a proud parent. Yes, Professor Jonathan Haas, department chairman at the prestigious Percussion Studies program at NYU Steinhardt has a lot to be proud of. NYU Steel is a musical reality that has indeed come full circle.
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Web Posted - Thursday May 2, 2013
When Steel Talks

Just Listen!! - Robert Greenidge - Moods Pan Groove -  Ben Lion
 
 

Global - The boss at work. The year is 2002 and the song is “Ben Lion.” A Robert Greenidge arrangement...
click to listen

Web Posted - Wednesday May 1, 2013
LucianCarnival.com

Pantime Triumphant in Junior Steelband 2013

St. Lucia, W.I. - Pantime Steel Orchestra is the 2013 Junior Steelband Champion. The 35 member youth band, led by Cecil Tortee Philgence captured the top prize at the National Junior Panorama Competition held Sunday at the National Cultural Centre Grounds.

Pantime outplayed six other hopefuls from around the island; second place went to the Diamond Steel; and third place to a very enthusiastic and well-supported Laborie Steel Orchestra. The Junior Pan competition attracted not only several friends and family members of the participants but also a decent number of loyal pan lovers.
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Web Posted - Tuesday April 30, 2013
The Trinidad Guardian

Pan Trinbago to get new headquarters

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Government may have to start from scratch on the construction of a headquarters for Pan Trinbago, despite spending approximately $4 million on the existing structure at Orange Grove, Tacarigua. Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism Lincoln Douglas said, in an interview yesterday, that over $40 million was estimated to have the headquarters completed. “We met last week with Udecott (Urban Development Corporation of T&T), who is the project manager, and Pan Trinbago and we are currently in the process of creating new designs for the organisation,” Douglas said.

Douglas said new designs might include training classes, a pan museum and money-making facilities. “We are also evaluating the current structure to see if it is workable or if we need to start fresh.” The structure is 11 years old and shows signs of neglect and vandalism.
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Web Posted - Monday April 29, 2013
Richland Chronicle

Festival to focus on steel drums

Texas, USA - The Richland College Music Department will present its annual “Carnival of Steel” Drum Festival from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday in an outdoor concert featuring steel pan recording artist Liam Teague, drum set and world-class percussionist José Aponte and steel pan and percussion artist Shelly Irvine.

The 11 a.m. concert is free and open to the public. At 5:30 p.m. the festival will include a guest-artist performance demo clinic...and an evening concert at 8 p.m.

Derrick Logozzo, Richland director of in­strumental music, said people will really enjoy this festival because they will see and hear peo­ple from all over the world play music.

“They will hear many styles of music – clas­sical, jazz, and they will hear all kinds of Ca­ribbean music,” Logozzo said. “It’s going to be a fun exciting show.”
read more  ---  Festival registration info

Web Posted - Sunday April 28, 2013
The Cultural Development Foundation (CDF)

PanTime Steel Orchestra wins St. Lucia’s 2013 Junior Panorama

St. Lucia, W.I. - Caribbean Metals Pantime Steel Orchestra is the newly crowned champion Junior Steelband in Saint Lucia. The 35 member youth band, led by Cecil Tortee Philgence captured the top prize at the National Junior Panorama Competition that was held at the National Cultural Centre Grounds on Sunday 28^th April, 2013.

The event which was produced by the Cultural Development Foundation, featured the musical talents of seven bands from around the island including two new bands with the participation of approximately 250 young persons between the ages of 6 – 20 years.
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Web Posted - Sunday April 28, 2013
When Steel Talks

1947 Recording of Casablanca Steel Orchestra

Global - This is, to date, the earliest [known] recording of SteelBand Music worldwide.
click to listen

Web Posted - Saturday April 27, 2013
When Steel Talks

Carnival TV streams Tobago Jazz Festival 2013

Global - Carnival TV has quickly established itself as one of the leading organizations for streaming music entertainment content out of the Caribbean. For those who are unfamiliar with Carnival TV, they are the media broadcast company that has been providing the internet stream of the annual Trinidad and Tobago steel orchestra music national panorama competition for the last three years.  This time around they took on the challenge of delivering the performances of the 2013 Jazz Festival to the world over the internet. Carnival TV is no stranger to the sometimes daunting task that is layered with unsuspecting technical, human and natural minefields - where the only thing you can depend on - is that there will be problems in broadcasting a live show over the internet.
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Web Posted - Friday April 26, 2013
When Steel Talks

Great Steelpan Events
Promote Your Event

Global - Make sure your upcoming steelpan music event gets maximum exposure. Add it to the WST events calendar. It’s free.
list your event

Web Posted - Wednesday April 24, 2013
The Susquehanna Independent Weekender

BHS Steel Drum Band to perform in Montrose

Pennsylvania, USA -  Island music will overtake Montrose, Tuesday, April 30, as the Binghamton High School Steel Drum Band presents the “Juice Blenders” concert, 7 p.m., at the Montrose Theatre, Public Ave., Montrose. Admission to the concert is free. Donations will be accepted.

The BHS Steel Drum Band ensemble performed with Harry Belafonte, the Binghamton Community Orchestra, and many area New York college and university music departments, as well as steel drum greats Andy Narell, Liam Teague and Tracey Thornton and other luminaries in the music world.
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Web Posted - Wednesday April 24, 2013
The Royal Gazette

Festival to celebrate the steel pan

Bermuda -  Bermuda’s first Pan Jazz Festival takes place next month, celebrating one of the world’s most versatile instruments.

Organised by Somersfield Academy and Atlantic Publishing, the festival will include the 18-piece Somersfield Steel Pan Orchestra, the Happy Hands steel pan group and the Bermuda School of Music and the Giant Steps Band.

“I think the steel pan is a nice instrument for young people to be versatile on,” said Somersfield music teacher Janice Pearman. “We play all different styles of music on the instrument. It is comparable to your traditional orchestra. You can play any style of music whether you want classical or jazz, contemporary, calypso or reggae. I think it is one of those instruments where the children can achieve something at a very quick stage.”
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Web Posted
When Steel Talks

Complete RESULTS for the Trinidad & Tobago 2013 Panorama

Global - Full results for the Trinidad and Tobago 2013 Panorama are in. Steel Orchestras competed in the medium and large categories at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad last evening.  Both 2012 defending champions were dethroned.
click for full results

Web Posted
When Steel Talks - Special

Champion Panorama Tunes of Trinidad and Tobago

Global - A critical component to winning any panorama competition is the song the orchestras choose to use as the basis of their panorama arrangements. Over the years these songs have inspired classic panorama arrangements. When Steel Talks invites you to take a look at and listen to, these famed tunes which have played more than just a cursory part in the history of Pan, and the lives of the players and fans.
click to hear and/or view