LOCAL T&T STEELBAND NEWS

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June 2000
eEd - tobagojo@trinidad.net

 Pan music thrills audience in Europe

© NEWSDAY - Thursday, 1st June, 2000 - Page 27
By NEWSDAY REPORTER

JENNY LEE, co-ordinator for Pan European, which successful staged the European round of the World Steelband Music Festival 2000 of the weekend of May 20th to 21st, said “All the steelbands present overwhelmed the audience and the jury by their performances.”

   A total of 14 orchestras from countries such as Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland, were on hand to celebrate this historic occasion. She related: “Spread over the rolling lawns of La Villette, it was a convivial day with pannists moving from one steelband to another with close friendly interaction among the 12,000 public in attendance.”
   “A warm exciting and passionate European exchange transpired when Calypsociation hosted for Pan European the first European Steelpan Festival at Parc de la Villette.“

   La Villette, with its 140 acres and flowing water channels, provided the perfect venue for the festival.

   It was the experience of Ebony Steelband from London that earned the band 1st place with a score of 545 points. In 2nd was France’s Calypsociation amassing 532 points which had a strong home field advantage and Steel Pan Lovers - described as the darling of the festival - from Finland slotted in 3rd place gathering 531 points. Settling for 4th was Panch 2000 from Switzerland with 523 points.

   The next stage in the competition is the participation of these orchestras in the semi-finals and final to be held at the Jean Pierre Complex, in Trinidad from October 10th to the 21st this year.

 Resignation of Daniell will not affect Pan Festival

© EXPRESS - Monday 12th June, 2000 - Page 6
By TERRY JOSEPH

THE resignation of former chairman of the World Steelband Music Festival 2000, Alvin Daniell, took Pan Trinbago by surprise last Wednesday [7th June], but the organisation’s president Patrick Arnold said it will not affect the planned programme.
   [ Back to: New boss ]

   Asked to comment on the development, Arnold said he understood the difficulty that Daniell experienced.

   "These events not only take a lot of time, but there is very detailed work involved. They are not easy to stage."
   "We had recommended Daniell for the chairmanship because we felt that, as a part-owner in his company, he would have a certain flexibility with time, but we certainly understand if the demands of the function are now cutting into his business operations."
   "We would certainly like to thank him for the time and the effort he has already put in and look forward to his handling of the areas he described in the same efficient manner," said Arnold.

   The 12-day Festival, which begins on the 10th October 2000, has enjoyed unprecedented response from steel orchestras in countries as far afield as Europe.

   It has been in the planning since 1996. Last month, Daniell headed a team that travelled to Paris; France to observe the conduct of the festival’s European qualifying round.

   Daniell said it was important that the public did not construe his resignation as walking away from the challenge. "Far from it," he said. "In fact, I will be performing other functions for the festival and remain a conduit for the people there and those coming from North America, particularly in terms of quick clarification of issues like rules, registration and the like."
   "These are the areas I propose to concentrate on and make sure that they are properly serviced," he said. "We (the committee) came to an understanding that I will continue to serve in this way. There has been no falling out. I suggested restructuring in a certain way, the committee accepted it and I thought it more prudent to effect that plan as soon as possible."

 Pannists protest festival ‘hijack’

© EXPRESS - Monday 19th June, 2000 - Page 6
By TERRY JOSEPH

PAN TRINBAGO is heightening its protest over what its members see as an attempt by the Culture Ministry to hijack next October’s World Steelband Music Festival 2000.

   On Friday night, at a meeting convened primarily to discuss budget proposals for Carnival 200[1], members became agitated when a banner, which was displayed on the previous night at the launch of the festival, was shown to them.

   The organisation is now mobilising its membership to gather outside the Culture Ministry’s Jerningham Avenue offices on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. for the symbolic burning of the banner, which credits the Culture Ministry with staging October’s World Steelband Music Festival 2000.

   Pan Trinbago vice-president Keith Byer and office manager Vernon Morancie, who represent pannists on the Cabinet-appointed festival committee, told the meeting that the banner, which was hung for the launch, was not the one approved by the committee.

   Former committee chairman Alvin Daniell later concurred that the approved design carried the Pan Trinbago logo and said he too was shocked at the switch when he arrived at the launch.

   The Ministry’s banner carries images of a sitar and the ruling party’s logo of a rising sun. The images form part of the Ministry’s standard logo.

   Pan president Patrick Arnold said, "Pan Trinbago is on record as having produced Pan Chutney for many years, so this is not any kind of comment on East Indian music. It is just that we did not conceive a programme that has any rising sun, or sitar and tassa music."

   Friday night’s meeting also approved a suggestion that the Pan Trinbago executive should no longer meet with Culture Minister Dr Daphne Phillips, who pan officials openly accused of scuttling all their initiatives over the years she has been in office.

   Arnold told the meeting he had already protested to Prime Minister Basdeo Panday about the Minister’s attitude to pan and that Panday had said Pan Trinbago should deal with Public Administration Minister Wade Mark instead.

   The pannists also said they would not recognise Amral Khan as the new chairman of the World Steelband Music Festival 2000. During her address at Thursday night’s launch, Phillips’ repeated reference to Khan as the festival committee chairman also angered members of the pan fraternity, who have nominated Arnold for the post.

 Panmen will pay for burning banner

© EXPRESS - Thursday 23rd June, 2000 - Page 3
By TERRY JOSEPH

THE Culture Ministry has slammed Pan Trinbago for yesterday’s [22nd June] burning of a banner which was its property, saying the organisation will be called to account for what it called "the act of vandalism".
   [ Back to: New boss ]

   And a difference of opinion at executive level, over the effect of publicly burning the banner - [the banner] that last week upset the pan fraternity - led to a poor turnout and one devoid of Pan Trinbago officials when the ritual was performed yesterday morning.

   The banner, which was used as a backdrop to last Thursday’s launch [15th June] of the World Steelband Music Festival, carried a headline implying that the event was being produced by the Culture Ministry. Pan Trinbago officials present at the launch were openly furious.

   At a meeting held the following night and chaired by Pan Trinbago president, Patrick Arnold, the members overwhelmingly voted to burn the banner outside the Culture Ministry yesterday morning at 10 a.m.

   But on Tuesday, after a meeting of the Cabinet-appointed festival committee, certain executive members of Pan Trinbago had a change of heart about burning the banner, while other executive members felt that "the wishes of the membership should be carried out".

   A late bid to call off the protest was clearly unsuccessful.

   A few pannists, armed with a cigarette lighter and highly flammable puncheon rum [100 Proof], took the banner to the eastern side of the Queen’s Park Savannah, directly opposite the Culture Minister’s Jerningham Avenue office and proceeded to burn the backdrop.

   After the smoke cleared, a strongly worded release from the Culture Ministry cited "a group of individuals, including certain known members of Pan Trinbago" as the culprits who set fire to the banner, "in full view of the public. Pan Trinbago will be called upon to account for the seizure and destruction of the Ministry’s property," the release said.

 Setbacks for steelpan

© SATURDAY EXPRESS - 24th June, 2000 - Page 16
Our Opinion

THE escalating row between Pan Trinbago and the Culture Ministry over the World Steelband Music Festival 2000 can only hurt Trinidad and Tobago’s image.

   The festival, scheduled for October 10th to 21st, is not just another Sunday evening blockorama. In fact, if the contest believes its promotional material: "We are in for an event of global import and impact, which will establish Trinidad and Tobago firmly as the centre of the Universe, in terms of the playing of the steelpan."

   During the festival period, international scholars will also convene here to discuss research and development of the instrument at the First International Conference on the Science and Technology of the Steelpan.

   To date, the festival is the only major component of Trinidad and Tobago’s millennium celebration activities that Government has agreed to fund.

   This must signify a conviction, at the level of the State, that hosting the event will reinforce and highlight the role of this country in the production and development of the steelpan as a musical instrument of international validity.

   Parallel to these initiatives, the festival is also designed to help market this country in a more than merely subliminal way to the thousands of visitors expected and by so doing, offer piggyback opportunities for resulting trade and industry - especially tourism.

   Top local bands participating in the festival finals are equally eager to hear the quality of the foreign fare.

   The World Steelband Music Festival 2000 is therefore of unique national significance, in that it pits one of the things about which we in this country feel most secure, against attempts by the rest of the world to emulate our native skills and talents. The outcome of the contest should therefore be of interest to us all.

   But since the festival’s formal launch on June 15th, the biggest news coming out of the event has been a public and acrimonious exchange between its two high profile stakeholders, Pan Trinbago, the organisation that conceived the event, and the Culture Ministry, which is acting as its facilitator.

   And given the speed of today’s global communication systems, the world of pan must already be fully aware of the hardening confrontation between the parties, information that could create anxiety in the minds of particularly the foreign contingents, which will undoubtedly include persons interested in matters other than pure pan.

   In light of the accusations, counter-charges and outright threats flying between Pan Trinbago and the Culture Ministry over the festival management and staging, the event (and by extension, the nation) needs to be put back on track.

   That is a job for Pan Trinbago and the Ministry who must decide whether they want to waste their energies squabbling over trivia instead of combining their efforts the better to deal with the complexities involved in organising an event of such importance.

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© 2000: tobagojo@trinidad.net - 20000703 Last Update: 13 July 2000 00:00:00 Processed by: Jeremy G de Barry

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