Melodians Steel Orchestra UK

Last updated

Melodians Steel Orchestra UK is a band formed in Harrow in October 1987 by Terrance "Terry" Noel MBE, composed of orchestra members using the steelpan instrument. [1] They have since achieved considerable success in their musical and community endeavours, being well-recognised by various UK Governmental organisations (including the BBC), the Diplomatic Service and NGOs such as PRS for Music. [2] The band has since assumed a status of national importance to modern British culture and has become symbolic of the importance of the relationship between the UK and the Commonwealth, particularly Trinidad and Tobago. [3]

Contents

Background

Steelpan culture in Trinidad and Tobago

Steelpan Instruments at Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Steelpan Instruments at Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.jpg
Steelpan Instruments at Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

The modern steelpan is one of the newest musical instruments created during 20th-century music. It was created on the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago in the 1930s and began in the underground culture due to a ban by the British colonial government, being first popularised by players such as Elliot "Ellie" Mannette, the Oval Boys and the Woodbrook Invaders. [4] [5] There was a shift in attitudes towards steelband after the War, exemplified by the positive reception it received at the carnival of 1946 (the first allowed since the start of the war), in front of the then-governor and a series of initiatives between 1948 and 1950 to end "clashes" between rival groups. [6] [7]

Steelpan culture in the UK

Although it is uncertain at precisely which time the instrument first came to the UK or properly entered popular consciousness, there are a variety of origin stories for the growth of the movement in the UK. One such assertion is that the first UK Steel Orchestra began when Trinidadian soldiers who were stationed in London at the end of WWII (possibly in the Caribbean Regiment), joined in the celebrations by playing their instruments. [8] However, it would also certainly seem that in many places in and outside London, that it was primarily the Windrush generation of musicians such as Lord Kitchener and other migrants from the Caribbean that were responsible for the growth of this instrument. [9] [10] [11] By 1951, the government of Trinidad and Tobago had selected the Trinidad All-Steel Percussion Orchestra (containing Elliot Mannette, Sterling Betancourt and others) to represent the country at that year's Festival of Britain. [12] [13]

Formation

Early history and inspiration

Fittingly, much of the inspiration for the band in the UK stemmed from the experiences of Terry Noel MBE during his time playing at the original Melodians Steel Orchestra in Arima, Trinidad. [14] This earlier namesake was formed in 1953 and is renowned for its community work within the town and surrounding area. Terry Noel MBE then came to London in 1967 to train as a psychiatric nurse after a career in the Mounted Police. In 1975, he was instrumental in organising the first Adult Steelband Music Festival in London at the Commonwealth Institute, became a founding member and chairman of the Commonwealth Arts Association and founded an earlier Steel Orchestra "The Groovers", sponsored by British Airways. In 1976, he helped to set-up the Steelband Association of Great Britain (SAGB). [15] The Groovers were also successful and recorded a CD in 1982 for Princess Diana, which was presented to her on the birth of her son Prince William. [16]

Emergence of Melodians Steel Orchestra UK

Perhaps rediscovering an affinity for more explicitly Trinidadian and Tobagonian culture after a year's sabbatical in Trinidad, Terry Noel returned to London in 1987 and founded The Melodians Steel Orchestra UK in September–October of that year. [17] The band then increased their abilities to recruit and expand by gaining BT as a national sponsor, briefly becoming known as the BT Melodians Steel Orchestra (BTMSO). [18] [19] He further promoted the movement by founding the Steel Advisory Service in the UK in April 1988, an organisation intended to assist those that would like to create their own steelbands. [20] [21] The newer Melodians have maintained close links with the historic group, exemplified by a member of the earlier Arima band- Robert Thompson- writing the "Commonwealth Melody" which the UK band performed at the Commonwealth Day Service in Westminster Abbey on 9 March 2020. [22] [23]

Membership

Players

Due to the pans within the Steel Orchestra needing to act as guitars, cellos and bass, sometimes along with instruments like maracas, cowbells and tambourines in the rhythm section, a broad array of players, specialities and skills are required. [24] Although the band was understandably initially composed mainly of British Afro-Caribbeans, particularly those with strong links to Trinidad and Tobago, the band has always been welcoming and contained a diverse spectrum of people. [25] Indeed, the scope of ages (from 12–60), races and backgrounds of players associated with the band today are unprecedented and the band has managed to retain its loyal British Trinidadian and Tobagonian membership, whilst attracting ensemble members united in their appreciation for Trinidadian culture. [26]

Location

Although the band did, does and will contain participants throughout the London area and beyond, it does maintain especially strong ties to South London and areas predominantly within the boroughs of Wandsworth and Lambeth. [27] [28] Michael Fuller, the first Black Chief constable, Commander and Deputy assistant commissioner within the UK, wrote about his encounter with the Melodians by Clapham Junction during his tenure at Battersea Police Station in the late 1990s. He asserted that they had a particularly strong link to the Winstanley and York Road Estates area, as many of the members "lived on the estate". [29] The band also practices at Henry Cavendish School in the area of Balham that falls into the London Borough of Lambeth. [30]

Community initiatives

The Melodians have been a registered charity (number 1036904) since 1994, responsible for a wide range of cultural, ambassadorial, educational and social programs to try and benefit a wide involvement of communities. [31] [32] One of the most notable and long-standing partnerships that the band has is with the Henry Cavendish Primary School, where the band has agreed to provide music lessons for the pupils due to practising at the site. [33] Michael Fuller wrote of his admiration for their community outreach work in the Winstanley and York Road Estates in the late 1990s, which inspired him to direct increased municipal funding towards them and convincing him that "its rising star .... coincided and perhaps contributed something to the area's change". [34] The Melodians also introduced steelpans to Northern Ireland at Harpurs Hill Junior School in Coleraine and organised for a Catholic and Protestant Junior School to play together at a junior festival in Barbados in October 2000 to encourage unity during the Peace Process. [35] Terry was also awarded the Community Centre and Culture award from the Royal Chartered Borough of Arima in 2008 due to his promotion of steelband participation around the world. [36] However, probably the highest honour that the leader of the group has received was his MBE for services to Music and Community Involvement from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2015. [37] [38]

Recognition and awards

As previously mentioned, the group's pre-eminent status within the UK steelpan community has meant that it has enjoyed considerable success over the years, not least with the award of an MBE for its leader in 2015. [37] Due to the entrepreneurial spirit and resilience of the group it is also vital to recognise some of the group accolades that have been bestowed upon it. These include: Two Performing Rights Society Enterprise Awards, Her Majesty the Queens's 40th anniversary Royal Anniversary Challenge Award and a BT Innovation Award. [39] [40]

Projects and performances

Although the number of performances that the band has participated in since their inception would be impossible to fully record, they have a long and proud history of ambassadorial and ceremonial performances. Domestic examples are their performances: for 15 years consecutively in the Royal Variety Show at the Albert Hall, at the Queen's 40th Anniversary, the BBC's first-ever virtual Orchestra in 2016 and the Commonwealth Melody during Commonwealth Day Service on 9 March 2020 at Westminster Abbey. [41] [42] [43] The band have been described as ambassadors for modern British Culture by envoys and have played in over 30 countries around the world in the service of the British Government's cultural outreach programmes. [3] [44] They have also performed at London Art Night in both 2018 and 2019. [45] [46] Terry Noel also has a long-standing association with Clayground Collective as "a champion bearer of clay to London", a company awarded for “Engaging new and diverse audiences and passing on Craft Skills” by Creative and Cultural Skills in 2013. [47] [48]

Features in film and media

The Melodians have produced many CDs since their formation, all available for purchase on their website and the internet in general. [49] Terry Noel's precursor to the Melodians, "the Groovers", also recorded a CD for Princess Diana, which was presented to her on the birth of her son Prince William in 1982. [16] One of their most ground-breaking recent collaborations was with 2004 Turner Prize Winner Jeremy Deller for the soundtrack of his film "English Magic" in 2013. The film was recorded for a British Council exhibition and represented Britain's entry during the competition of the 55th Venice Biennale. [50] [51]

Related Research Articles

The music of Trinidad and Tobago is best known for its calypso music, soca music, chutney music, and steelpan. Calypso's internationally noted performances in the 1950s from native artists such as Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. The art form was most popularised at that time by Harry Belafonte. Along with folk songs and African- and Indian-based classical forms, cross-cultural interactions have produced other indigenous forms of music including soca, rapso, parang, chutney, and other derivative and fusion styles. There are also local communities which practice and experiment with international classical and pop music, often fusing them with local steelpan instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steelpan</span> Musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago

The steelpan is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lennox Sharpe</span> Trinidad and Tobago musician (born 1953)

Lennox "Boogsie" Sharpe is a successful and popular composer and arranger of steelpan music.

Jit Sukha Samaroo was a Trinidadian composer and steelpan musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellie Mannette</span> Trinidadian musician and instrument maker (1927–2018)

Elliott Anthony "Ellie" Mannette[a] was a Trinidadian musical instrument maker and steel pan musician, also known as the "father of the modern steel drum".

Raymond Anthony Holman is a musician, composer, pannist and performer from Trinidad and Tobago.

Trinidadian and Tobagonian British people are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in Trinidad and Tobago.

Bertram Lloyd Marshall ORTT, known as Bertie Marshall, was a pioneer, musician and music instrument maker of the steelpan.

Winston "Spree" Simon was a Trinidadian inventor, pioneer and musician of the steelpan.

The Trinidad All-Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) was formed to participate in the Festival of Britain in 1951. The group was the first steelband to travel abroad from Trinidad and Tobago, presenting the newly invented steelpan to an international audience.

Panorama is an annual music competition of steelbands from Trinidad and Tobago, taking place since 1963. It is usually held around Carnival time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterling Betancourt</span> Musical artist

Sterling Betancourt MBE, FRSA is a Trinidad-born pioneer, arranger and musician on the steelpan, a major figure in pioneering the Pan in Europe and the UK (1951).

Russell Audley Ferdinand "Russ" Henderson was a jazz musician on the piano and the steelpan. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, he settled in England in the 1950s. He is most widely recognised as one of the founding figures of the Notting Hill Carnival in London, United Kingdom.

Anthony Williams, ORTT, CM, also known as "Muffman", was an inventor, pioneer and musician of the steel pan.

Rudolph Charles was a musician and instrument maker of the steelpan, but most notably, he was a pioneer and leader of the steelband movement in Trinidad and Tobago. Also known as Charlo, The Hammer and Trail, among other names, he led Desperadoes Steel Orchestra to 10 various victories from 1965 to 1985, including six Panoramas, two Classical Music Festivals, one Best Bomb and one Best Playing Steel Orchestra.

<i>Heavenly Drum</i> 2009 studio album by Machel Montano

Heavenly Drum is an album released by popular Soca artist Machel Montano from Trinidad and Tobago in 2009. It was first launched at J&R Music World in New York City on June 19, 2009. The album marks Machel Montano's third solo release after rebranding to Machel Montano HD in 2007.

Tamboo bamboo is a Trinidadian percussion instrument (idiophone) created in Trinidad BWI, and is a notable precursor to the creation of steelpan. Its name derives from the French word for drum (tambour) and the material from which the instrument is predominantly made from. It is still played by carnival-goers in Trinidad today, although it was the dominant instrument at carnival at the turn of the twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Bishop</span> Trinidadian educator, music director and artist (1940–2011)

Patricia Alison "Pat" Bishop TC was a Trinidadian educator, music director, artist and cultural icon. She was one of the first women to arrange for steelbands and was the recipient of the Trinity Cross, the highest of the National Awards of Trinidad and Tobago.

Liam Teague is a Trinidadian composer, arranger, and steelpan performer.

The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Band is a Caribbean police musical unit in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, located in the capital of the Port of Spain. It was founded in 1866 to provide support to local militia and police units, in absence of an active military band. In 1964, Guillermo Antonio Prospect formed the first police steel band. A notable member of the band was Lieutenant Joseph Nathaniel Griffith, who later served as bandmaster of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Band and was previously with the Antiguan Police Band. Another member was Superintendent Enrique Moore, who was present with the band when it went to a tattoo in Berlin in 2003.

References

  1. ↑ "Date and Details of Formation".
  2. ↑ "Melodians Recognition and Awards".
  3. 1 2 "UK envoy in Vienna: Steelpan part of British culture".
  4. ↑ "Steelpan Creation". 27 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "Ellie Mannette Biography".
  6. ↑ Brown, Ernest D. (1990). "Carnival, Calypso, and Steelband in Trinidad". The Black Perspective in Music. 18 (1/2): 94. doi:10.2307/1214859. JSTOR   1214859.
  7. ↑ "Steelpan 1950 Rival Groups Non-violence Meeting".
  8. ↑ ""First" UK Steel Band, VE Day 1945". 3 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Mackrell, Judith (6 February 2018). "Do the limbo! How the Windrush brought a dance revolution to Britain". The Guardian.
  10. ↑ "Leeds Steel Orchestra Windrush Generation". 18 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Ipswich Steel Orchestra Windrush Generation". 4 August 2018.
  12. ↑ "Elliot Mannette 1951 Festival of Britain".
  13. ↑ "Sterling Betancourt 1951 Festival of Britain". BBC News. 24 July 2012.
  14. ↑ "Arima Melodians Steel Orchestra".
  15. ↑ "Terry Noel UK Early History".
  16. 1 2 "Terry Noel Groovers Princess Diana CD".
  17. ↑ "Terry Noel Melodians Origin". YouTube .
  18. ↑ "BT Melodians Steel Orchestra Name".
  19. ↑ "Terry Noel Melodians Formation".
  20. ↑ "Terry Noel LinkedIn Steel Advisory Service".
  21. ↑ "Terry Noel Timeline Steel Advisory Service".
  22. ↑ "Robert Thompson Commonwealth Melody". 10 March 2020.
  23. ↑ "UK and Trinidad Steel Orchestras Links".
  24. ↑ "Melodians Instruments". 5 January 2013.
  25. ↑ "Melodians Initial Membership". YouTube .
  26. ↑ "Modern Melodians Players". 6 July 2014.
  27. ↑ "Melodians Wandsworth Links".
  28. ↑ "Melodians Lambeth Links". 3 September 2015.
  29. ↑ Fuller, Michael (2019). "Kill The Black One First": The most moving story you'll read this year. p. Chapter 33 pp1-4.
  30. ↑ London, H.E. Orville (2018). "Melodians in the Spotlight". London Mission Newsletter. 72: 28–29.
  31. ↑ "Melodians Charity Trustees". 12 April 2016.
  32. ↑ "Melodians Charity Date".
  33. ↑ "Melodians Henry Cav. Partnership". YouTube .
  34. ↑ Fuller, Michael (2019). "Kill The Black One First": The most moving story you'll read this year. p. Chapter 33 p4.
  35. ↑ Joseph, Robbie (2003). "Terrance Noel JP". Pan Podium (7): 10.
  36. ↑ "Terry Noel Arima Community Award".
  37. 1 2 Funk, Ray (2015). "Pan icon Terry Noel honoured by Queen". The Trinidad Guardian.
  38. ↑ "Terry Noel MBE".
  39. ↑ "Melodians Group Awards".
  40. ↑ "Melodians Awards Certificates".
  41. ↑ Fuller, Michael (2019). "Kill The Black One First": The most moving story you'll read this year. p. Chapter 33 pp4-5.
  42. ↑ "Melodians BBC Orchestra Performance".
  43. ↑ "Commonwealth Melody". 10 March 2020.
  44. ↑ "Melodians Cultural Ambassadors".
  45. ↑ "London Art Night 2018". 5 July 2018.
  46. ↑ "London Art Night 2019".
  47. ↑ "Terry Noel Clayground".
  48. ↑ "Clayground Collective".
  49. ↑ "Melodians CDs". 14 May 2015.
  50. ↑ "Melodians British Council Exhibition".
  51. ↑ "Melodians English Magic Track Listing".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.