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Meet Sherry-Ann Welsh of Grenada

A non-believer who was literally bitten by the Panorama bug and is now a serious pan-jumbie for life.  In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks the young Sherry-Ann Welsh speaks of her experiences and concerns for Pan in Grenada as she sees it.

A When Steel Talks Exclusive

 

WST - “You are a steelpan musician in Grenada - tell us about yourself?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “Yes, my name is Sherry-Ann; I am a double seconds player for Pan-Ossia and played cellos when I was of age to play with the junior band. If I was to tell any one I was never interested in pan when I was younger no one would believe me, now I would jump at the chance to play for panorama. Playing pan has become part of my life, I dream of traveling to every country that has a panorama to experience their panorama. [In Trinidad] I have played seconds with Sforzata in 2011 and with Siparia Deltones for finals that same year. This year I played with Siparia  Deltones. 

“The greatest feeling I have experienced playing pan was going to a panorama with a new band, fresh on the scene, and us coming in second place; it’s not first place but as a band it felt as first place to me.”


WST - “How and when did you first become involved with the steelpan art form?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “I first got involved in pan at the age of 17 years, right after finishing school with a band called Florida All Stars, but currently I am a member of Pan-Ossia. I wasn’t always a fan of Pan, but after being nagged so many times by one of the arrangers to come join, I decided to give it a try and got hooked from there.”


WST - “Do any of your family members play pan?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “Well you can say Pan-Ossia is a family band because most players are related to each to each other in one way or the other, but to answer your question, yes, I have a younger brother who plays six bass plus is the stage side drummer, and two cousins - one playing double seconds like myself and the other plays tenor bass.”


WST - “In your opinion, how are pan players in Grenada—women in particular—viewed by the wider, general society in the country?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “Pan players in Grenada—women in particular—are not viewed in any negative way, simply because the wider general society views women as the ones who would always be engaged in positive activities rather than men; therefore the men are the ones viewed in a particular way - not literally by the wider society, but mainly by their peers.”

Sherry-Ann W.
Sherry-Ann Welsh

WST - “What is the Panorama experience like in Grenada?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “The panorama experience in Grenada is one of the most exciting things for the players and the spectators that love Pan.  It’s a rush for most of us, because knowing we’ve practiced so hard (missed all of the major carnival fetes), and set up all those nights for just 10 minutes of music—on one particular night—is overwhelming. But I must say it’s not as hyped as some of the bigger countries; it’s more of a low-key competition for our small island that is now starting to get recognized.”


WST - “Who, and what are your musical influences?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “I got a chance to hear Michelle Huggins while I was playing in Trinidad; as a female and she gave me more inspiration to want to try my hands at it [arranging] in the near future. The arranger for our band is also an influence because when he gives us music I try my best to learn it to perfection so he can want to give us more challenging music.”


WST - “What is the Panorama in general like in Grenada?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “It’s rather interesting, basically, to the players of the various steel orchestras, but rather boring and of no interest to the spectators, simply because they find it not important coming and sitting in the stadium for several hours, listening to music they don’t know - hence the reason why the turn out to panorama is very poor.”


WST - “What type of support do the private sector and government of Grenada offer the country’s steel band community - and is it adequate?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “The support is very poor, they provide little or no help to the steel orchestras which is definitely not adequate to help the bands in preparations for such events. In order to gain money to source this event the steelband association and the carnival committee would have to raise funds to make Panorama in Grenada possible. And also any unsponsored band has to raise funds on their own and rely on any help they get from the community. However we are still grateful for the little help given to the steelband - but we wish it could be a little more.”


WST - “What is the most serious challenge facing Pan in Grenada? What disappoints, or is of most concern to you as it relates to the steelband art form - in general?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “The most serious challenge facing Pan in Grenada is [this] criticism; the organisers of the various carnival shows would find it OK to host an event on the same night of Panorama, which would draw more people to their event than the national panorama.

“Also ‘influence’; people would tend to talk others who are interested in playing pan out of it [playing] - because they find it not interesting, so you should find it not interesting as well. Therefore it is a challenge to the pan association on their quest to make Pan in Grenada a success.

“Furthermore some of the larger bands tend to fight down the smaller bands on their effort to improve their musical skills by bringing foreign players to assist in strengthening the bands which is rather disappointing. I think it’s unfair; we can go to other countries and play with any amount, and when the bands we go [to] play with ask you [if they can] come and return the favor, we have to tell them “no”.”


WST - “If you could change one thing about Pan in Grenada - what would that be?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “If I could change one thing about Pan in Grenada it would be the criticism of bringing foreign players to assist in the development of Pan on a whole - the reason being is that, with foreign players comes great experience and with great experience comes success. Bringing foreign players is a learning experience for both parties to learn from each other and also they get to play a different arranger’s music styling. That can be different or even more challenging, than what they are accustomed to, plus it would generate more income to the country because tourism is the country’s main source of income.”


WST - “Is there anything else relative to steelband you would like to bring forward?”

Sherry-Ann W. - “Actually everything about steel pan that I wasn’t comfortable with or didn’t like was already brought forward as questions, so basically, no, there is nothing about steel pan that I want to bring forward after this survey. Thank you for this opportunity.”


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