La Horquetta (LH) Pan Groove Steel Orchestra

Deemed by many of its supporters to be a band destined to achieve greatness - in 1990 the newly-formed La Horquetta (LH) Pan Groove made its foray in the National Panorama landscape, placing sixth in the National Single Pan Panorama Competition (formerly Pan-round-de-neck). The band also topped Arima Panorama that same year.  However the widely-predicted success managed to elude LH Pan Groove for more than a decade.

On the verge of becoming obsolete, the band began grabbing for the proverbial “brass ring” — gaining a spot in the finals of the national competition 2002, placing second and going on to challenge the pan world year after year. In 2006 the band experienced a turnaround, placing first in the Single Pan competition and harnessing five consecutive wins in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

After its five-year reign as Single Pan Champions and almost an entire decade of success the band began to struggle yet again. This time the curve ball came when the band’s ace arranger Duvone Stewart moved on to greener pastures. The band’s gamble to move up to Small Conventional category and its decision to recruit young player, Kion Robinson as its new arranger, who in 2011 led the band fourth place, boosted its confidence.

In 2012 the band placed second. In 2013 however, the band failed to qualify for the semifinal round of competition for the first time in 15 years. LH Pan Groove’s luck has turned around yet again with its new partnership with the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) which has recently signed on as the band’s new sponsor. In a press release UTT stated, “As the national university, UTT is continually seeking to advance research and understanding all aspects of our culture via its strategic engagement with the national community.”

La Horquetta Pan Groove finally became champions in the small steel orchestra category in 2017, in the Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama competition.

Source:  LH Pan Groove
 

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• 2023 Tune of choice:  “Band From Space”  |  arranger:  Kion Robinson

• 2020 - Kwesi Paul

• 2019 - Kion Robinson