LAST Thursday evening, the National Steel Orchestra of Guyana transformed the Poolside of the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Paramaribo, Suriname into a platform for festivity as it faced the Antigua and Barbuda National Youth Orchestra in a steel pan challenge as part of the 11th staging of the Caribbean Festival of the Arts (CARIFESTA).

The Trinidad and Tobago Steel pan team, who also put forward the challenge to the very capable Guyanese team, was a no-show, and the battle raged between the steel orchestras of Antigua and Barbuda and Guyana, who undoubtedly won the challenge with their outstanding and diverse performances.
The National Steel Orchestra of Guyana played music from Europe, the United States, the Caribbean and Guyana, including a medley consisting of Guyanese folk songs, African songs, calypso and chutney pieces and jazz. They ended their wide repertoire with the National Anthem of Guyana.
The more than 17 members of the Guyana orchestra were robust and energetic, and were bursting with excitement as they performed to a more than pleased crowd of persons, who swayed to the sounds of the beautiful steel pan music as both Guyanese and non-Guyanese waved the Golden Arrowhead, Guyana’s national flag.
Speaking to the state media following that riveting performance, Head of the Music Development Unit in Guyana and conductor of the orchestra, Mr. Andrew Tyndall, said the challenge was a high point for their CARIFESTA journey and they had no fear about it, since they were confident in their preparations.
“As was evident tonight, it was cheese to chalk when you look at Guyana’s performance and Guyana’s repertoire compared to the other bands that participated,” he pointed out.
He also credited the Trinidad and Tobago steel pan team’s no-show to the fact that, after viewing the Guyana team’s performance at a recent concert, they recognized that they would have been putting their country’s reputation in trouble if they had turned up.
Mr. Tyndall posited that the participation of steel bands in CARIFESTA is good for the art form in general, since the persons involved would recognise that they can gain exposure as well as opportunities to travel and learn about various cultures.
He added that those persons would also take back a positive message to other persons involved in the steel pan art form back home.