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.
The steelpan is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists.
Lennox "Boogsie" Sharpe is a successful and popular composer and arranger of steelpan music.
Elliott Anthony "Ellie" Mannette was a Trinidadian musical instrument maker and steel pan musician, also known as the "father of the modern steel drum".
George "Sonny" Goddard was a steelpan enthusiast and President of the Steelband Association. George Goddard is still recognised for his work with the steelpan.
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.
Panorama is an annual music competition of steelbands from Trinidad and Tobago, taking place since 1963. It is usually held around Carnival time.
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.
Clive Bradley was a known arranger of steelpan music.
Anthony Williams, ORTT, CM, also known as "Muffman", was an inventor, pioneer and musician of the steel pan.
The Desperadoes Steel Orchestra, also called Despers, are a steelband from Laventille in Trinidad, formed in 1945.
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.
The UK National Panorama Competition, a Saturday evening event that immediately precedes the Notting Hill Carnival, is a major showcase for Trinidad and Tobago Steel Pan, or, music. Held at Emslie Horniman's Pleasance park in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea it typically involves approximately 1,000 performers, and attracts almost 5,000 spectators. Steel Bands from around the UK prepare a music performance, arranged to last for up to 10 minutes, and compete for the Panorama Championship.
Selwyn Baptiste was a Trinidad and Tobago-born pioneer of the introduction of the steel drum into Britain, forming the country's second steel band in 1967, and early organizer of London's Notting Hill Carnival. An educator as well as a pannist, a percussionist and drummer, he is credited with bringing about the teaching of steelpan playing throughout the UK.
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.
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.
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. They have since achieved considerable success in their musical and community endeavours, being well-recognised by various UK Governmental organisations, the Diplomatic Service and NGOs such as PRS for Music. 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.
Alexander's Ragtime Band was one of the first all-steel percussion bands in Trinidad and Tobago and is considered a forerunner of the steelband. The band was organised at the Big Yard in Newtown in western Port of Spain, and first emerged on Carnival Monday morning in 1939. Named for the film Alexander's Ragtime Band, the band was louder and more mobile than tamboo bamboo bands that were popular at the time, and represented a change in musicality. They inspired the rapid adoption of steel percussion by bands in Port of Spain, leading to the development of the steelpan.
References
- ↑ Nathaniel, Daina (2006). Finding an "Equal" Place: How the Designation of the Steelpan as the National Instrument Heightened Identity Relations in Trinidad and Tobego (PhD thesis). Florida State University. p. 85.
- ↑ Johnson, Kim. "Pan: the instrument that built a nation" (PDF). Trinidad & Tobago: 50 years of independence: 82–84.
- ↑ "TASPO Given Rousing Send Off; Promise to Justify Appreciation of Public". Port of Spain Gazette . 7 July 1951. p. 1.
- ↑ Johnson, Kim (1998). "Sonny Roach from St James". Trinbago Pan. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
- ↑ Johnson, Kim (2012-01-01). "When steelband took London by storm". Caribbean Beat Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
- ↑ Historic England (2018-08-24). "6 Historic Sites To Look Out For During Notting Hill Carnival". The Historic England Blog. Retrieved 2023-10-11.