Tag Archives: steelpan

The phrase “mother of all Carnivals” is overworked. Its use will eventually become as stale as “the greatest show on earth”. Moreover, whatever its short-term marketing benefits, it also has cynical political value when it is used to pump up the illusion of joy in these unrelentingly murderous and (with …

Last Sunday’s Junior Panorama was a scintillating competition. The crowds were so large that, as the Primary Schools category was completed, their supporters were politely asked to leave and make space for the next category, Secondary Schools. The quality of the musical performances of the participants in each of the …

“Pan is in good hands,” they said—after experiencing the energy and exuberance of the Junior Panorama finals at the Queen’s Park Savannah. But is it? The Presbyterian schools dominated the 2023 competition. Guaico Presbyterian Steel Orchestra scored a hattrick by winning its third National Primary Schools Trophy. NAPs Combined (students of Naparima …

The small band semi-finals at Victoria Square, driven by youthful players as described in last week’s column, was a tasty appetizer for Panorama 2023. What is disappointing is the Government’s failure to use pan music and other performing arts as a year round component of youth development. This disappointment is …

Sadly, the wonderful atmosphere of last Wednesday’s celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Independence may be merely a transient feel good moment given the sorry state of our country. The work week began on Monday with remarkable chaos as a result of the confluence of continued protests, ostensibly about the …

Nestor Sullivan was modestly described as manager of Pamberi Steel Orchestra when we lost him at the beginning of this month. My few precious interactions with him and his cool, dry witticisms caused me to become aware that he was a tireless presenter of scholarly but practical papers on the …

The words of Kahlil Gibran in The Prophet inspire generations of readers all over the world. In the words of an Oxford University lecturer, the book ‘serves various occasions or big moments in one’s life’. I have so far escaped the worst of the deprivations of the pandemic. My pandemic …

A couple months ago, Yvette Rennie, the president of J’Ouvert City International in New York City, hired me to do a video documentary with some prominent people involved in the NYC steel pan movement. She wanted to focus on the economic development of steel pan in NYC.  The interviewees included …

It appears from their television interviews, that the Community Recovery Committee headed by Anthony Watkins is proceeding with the task given to it by the Prime Minister, namely ‘to find solutions to address some chronic problems in urban and semi urban communities’. The appointment of the committee was stimulated by …

“[…] Etched on its surface are vodka bottle-shapes that separate the notes on the instrument. The words ‘ABSOLUT PAN’ are boldly depicted at its base. “It is an insult to our national musical instrument! Will it stand for as long as Columbus’s statue? Shouldn’t voices be raised nationally for the …

Author Kim Johnson is on a mission to reprint his 2011 work, The Illustrated Story of Pan. Drawn from more than 600 interviews with pan pioneers, and filled with historical photos, the book documents the history of the steelband movement. Wired868 spoke with author Kim Johnson about his crowdfunding campaign …

Desperadoes Steel Orchestra is in no position to refuse the generosity of the prime minister, but the population can. We can tell Dr Keith Rowley that the reasons Despers left the ‘Hill’ are still with us and may even be more deeply entrenched as we count the daily shootings, killings …