WATCH -- East Region Medium Conventional Steel Orchestra Preliminaries - Panyard Judging

Here is an exclusive look at the TT$14 million panyard for the Desperadoes Steel Orchestra which has been homeless for several years, but which was gifted this piece of real estate at 25 Nelson Street in Port of Spain. When completed it will be the first steelband facility of its kind, anywhere in the world, occupying one and a half acres of land. Take a tour with me below: Under construction new Desperadoes Panyard

Dane Gulston - External Relations Officer of Pan Trinbago has resigned

- November 06, 2021

Breaking News To: All Member Bands of Pan Trinbago Members of the National Community Date: November 5, 2021 Subject: End of “TERM OF OFFICE” I am writing to officially announce that my term of office as the constitutionally elected External Relations Officer of Pan Trinbago has ended effective October 27, 2021. When I was elected as the External Relations Officer Pan Trinbago, it was for the term October 28, 2018 – October 27, 2021. The election for that term was in compliance with the constitution of the organisation, and it was expected that all executive members elected at that time would either seek re-election in 2021, or leave office on time as required by the constitution. It is my understanding that the outgoing President Beverly Ramsey Moore and six members of the outgoing executive have gone rogue and refused to leave office. This follows an earlier announcement by the Secretary Denise Hernandez dated September 20, 2021 that the executive agreed that the constitutionally du

When Steel Talks extends condolences to the family and friends of Harry Belafonte

- April 25, 2023

New York Times Harry Belafonte, 96, Dies; Barrier-Breaking Singer, Actor and Activist Harry Belafonte, who stormed the pop charts and smashed racial barriers in the 1950s with his highly personal brand of folk music, and who went on to become a major force in the civil rights movement, died on Tuesday at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was 96. The cause was congestive heart failure, said Ken Sunshine, his longtime spokesman. At a time when segregation was still widespread and Black faces were still a rarity on screens large and small, Mr. Belafonte’s ascent to the upper echelon of show business was historic. He was not the first Black entertainer to transcend racial boundaries; Louis Armstrong, Ella F s he did, and for a few years no one in music, Black or white, was bigger. itzgerald and others had achieved stardom before him. But none had made as much of a splash a Born in Harlem to West Indian immigrants, he almost single-handedly ignited a craze for Caribbean mus

Concert of a Jamaica steel band in Northern Germany - 1958

- October 20, 2021

Drumming on old oil barrels - which in Germany is child's play at best, has been professionalized in the Caribbean with steel drums. A Jamaica steel band shows their repertoire on a European tour. The band leader explains the unusual instrumentation. December 31, 1958 ∙ Nordschau ∙ NDR Related content The History of Steelband in Jamaica

Robert Greenidge - "Stardust"-- Just Listen!

- April 28, 2023

Robert Greenidge The legendary panist Robert Greenridge performing "Stardust" at Lincoln Center - 2006

Remembering Lt. Joseph Nathaniel Griffith and TASPO

- April 29, 2022

by Roger Gibbs - Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist at Shak Shak Provided by and published with the expressed permission of, the author Lt. Joseph Nathaniel Griffith Joseph Nathaniel Griffith brought a vision and musical rigor to the steelband concept. In 1951, steelbands were basically rough musical percussion collectives, fit for street Carnival but little more. The top steelbands of the day were made up of a number of lead pans or ‘ping-pongs’. These lead pans played melodies in unison with limited alto versions adding a few harmony notes. The rest of the band was made up of biscuit tin drums with 2-3 notes each adding some basic lower parts and accompanied by an assorted percussion. The sound of this early steelband music was raucous, lively, spontaneous, polyphonic, polyrhythmic – but also very uneven in tones, lacking instrumental clarity and pitch, and with inconsistent balance and blend. Add to that, steelpan protagonists had reputations as hooligans and lawbreakers and were not consi

Patron of the Arts Artistic Bursary 2023 designed to assist aspiring panists across the Caribbean and beyond

- September 13, 2023

The Artistic Bursary 2023 award is designed to assist aspiring panists across the Caribbean and beyond in pursuing studies leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Performing Arts (BFA) with specialisation in Music (Steelpan) or the Advanced Pan Fellowship Program Certificate at The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). The Award The award will provide three (3) individual grants of USD$5000 to the first prize winner, USD$3000 to the second prize winner, and USD$2000 to the third prize winner. These amounts are to assist in covering the cost of tuition, travel, accommodation and course material for their first year of study.

When Steel Talks (WST) extends Happy Birthday greetings to scholar, educator, exceptional musician, music director and champion Panorama arranger James Clarkson

- April 22, 2022

James Clarkson April 21st When Steel Talks extends Birthday Greetings to panist James Clarkson James Clarkson was born in Grenada on 21 April 1943 and has had a distinguished lifelong career in music with early exposure at the age of 12. He later joined the band of the Royal Grenada Police Force, appeared on stage with his father’s band, and by 17 was a member of the band of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force as lead arranger and first trumpet player. By 23 years of age, he was the Director of Music of the band of the Royal Grenada Police Force, and soon became the arranger for the very successful Republic Bank Angel Harps Steel Orchestra , a post he still holds today. The Officers and Ranks of the Royal, Grenada Police Force (R.G.P.F.) take this opportunity to thank Commissioner James Clarkson OBE, QPM, Lmus, F. Sci, for his invaluable contribution to to the R.G.P.F and to wish him a healthy and productive retirement. James Clarkson with daughter Ayana Panorama Championships Gr

When Steel Talks (WST) extends belated Happy Birthday greetings to veteran panist Diane Redz

- October 21, 2022

Diane Redz October 18th When Steel Talks extends Birthday Greetings to panist Diane Redz Related content : Diane Redz - Sonatas Steel Orchestra

Star Wars: The Mandalorian Theme | Epic Music

- April 12, 2023

This is the way... The Mandalorian soundtrack, which was composed by Swedish musician Ludwig Göransson. Göransson has a body of work that makes him worthy of providing music for the popular Disney+ series. Göransson won an Oscar in 2019 for the Black Panther score and has been nominated this year for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. He has also won two Emmys for The Mandalorian and several Grammys. Goransson also received much acclaim for his work with writer-actor-musician Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino. Göransson reportedly met writer-actor-musician Donald Glover while composing for the NBC show Community. Since then, the two men have worked together on a number of Childish Gambino (Glover’s stage name) projects, including the widely praised album Awaken, My Love and the popular song “This Is America.”

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