17 large and small school bands vie for honours

MASHRAMANI wouldn’t be Mashramani in Guyana, and certainly not a ‘Caribbean thing’ without the enthralling and captivating presence of the steel pans, filling the air with sweet frolic and generating rhythm and rich symphony, as Guyanese gyrate and celebrate the festivity in traditional Guyanese style.

Touted as the biggest event in music during Mashramani celebrations, the Steelband Competition is growing tremendously.
And so, at this time around, there’s a hive of activities around schools and elsewhere as competing bands prepare for the National Republic Bank Pan-O-Rama 2017 competition, scheduled to take place over two nights – Saturday February 18 and Sunday 19, 2017.
On Day one (Saturday) the National Pan Jazz /Pan Duets and Pan Solo Steel will see heated competition when 24 jubilant and energetic competitors hit the stage, at the Theatre Guild Playhouse, Parade Street, Kingston. Starting time is 18:00 hrs.

Meanwhile, Day two of the Steelband Competition will see 17 large and small bands vying for the coveted title at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Carifesta Avenue. In each category there will be a first, second and third place winner.
The large school bands category caters mainly to the large established bands which have been able to expand their size from 13 members up, as against the small, having between 8 and 12 members.

The big band category or the community band caters to bands such as the Guyana Police Force Band, National School of Music Band, Pan Grove School Orchestra, Parkside Steel Orchestra, Buxton Pride Steel Orch and others.
Truly deserving of kudos, Republic Bank over the last ten years, has continued to keep steel band in Guyana alive through generous sponsorship of the art form. Testament to this was the handing over of a donation of $2.8 Million from RBL to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture to offset the 2017 Mashramani Pan-O-Rama.

In handing over the cheque to Minister within the Ministry of Education, Nicolette Henry, RBL Managing Director, Richard Sammy said that his company remained committed to the development of the art form as it engages youth and culture which serve as the bedrock of any society.
Minister Henry expressed gratitude, emphasizing that the ministry welcomed the sponsorship. She referred to it as a positive, tangible partnership from a good corporate citizen.

The money donated represents sponsorship of cash prizes for the Republic Bank-Pan-O-Rama Steelband Competition “that spans ten years of continued commitment to honouring our corporate social responsibilities that contribute to the moulding of the nation’s future tangibly, “ said Mr. Sammy.
In an invited comment, Administrator of the National School of Music AndrewTyndal, said that RBL’s sponsorship goes beyond just sponsoring competitions. “They also sponsor developmental programmes which contribute to the sustainable development and expansion of the art form through their ‘Power to make a Difference’ Programme.

Meanwhile, congratulations are in order for other entities that have, from time to time, donated or undertaken sponsorship of school bands in whatever form, since as attested to by the Administrator of the National School of Music, Andrew Tyndal and conductors and instructors of school bands, attaining and up-keeping a steel band is an ultra-expensive undertaking.

Other companies that have offered sponsorship or in any way financially supported school bands include: DIGICEL sponsoring Parkside Steel Orch; Buxton Pride by Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry; Bartica, sponsored by GUYOIL; North Ruimveldt Multilateral School by their school alumni to name a few. Mahaicony and Berbice High are expected to compete this year. And Queen’s College has re-emerged after holding off for one or two competitions.

Tyndal wants to put the community on notice that there’s a role for them to play since, “preparing for the competition is quite a challenge for some bands, because with bands, it is very expensive,” he said. There’s the expense of maintain your instruments. You have to tune them; buy new costumes and that’s quite an expensive exercise,” Tyndall reasoned.
It is to this end that the Music Administrator threw out a call to the corporate community to come on board and offer sponsorship for the many schools, eager to set up bands, but financially weak and even more crucial – for school bands which cannot afford to tune, let alone buy new instruments.

The administrator reasoned that every time that a band is sponsored and kept up and running, it’s about 30 youths who will be able to be involved and engaged constructively, so they don’t have time to focus on the negatives in society.
But time is winding down and schools are in rehearsal more. Trekking around Georgetown, it is interesting to see the hive of activities around secondary schools as the bands prepare. Some students are forgoing lunch break, while others still, practice after school in the afternoon and so around schools such as Queen’s College, President’s College, North Ruimveldt Secondary; Lodge Secondary, Bishop’s High and St. Rose’s High, there’s always sweet music on the ear around those hours.

Excited that this year there will be an increased number of school bands participating, Tyndal said that government has signaled its intention to have music brought back into the school curriculum, and for it to be an integral part of the child’s experience in school, adding that a part of that project allows for 15 new school bands to be established over a five-year period.
Tyndal said that in addition to providing the instruments through the National School of Music and the Unit of Allied Arts, provision is being made to ensure they have instructors and that they have a programme up and running.

But even as time winds down and the schools are in rehearsal mode, some, even though very promising still do not have their own instruments, or the instruments need tuning, and so they have not been getting the amount of practice hours required to make any big hit on the competition.
Commenting on the prohibitive cost of acquiring and maintaining a steelband today, Acting Head of North Ruimveldt Secondary (with a reputation for winning), Sir Kerwyn Mars said that runs into millions of dollars.

“How much you put into it, you don’t get back. To tune one pan … say a tenor tan, if you don’t have a minimum of say $40,000, you can’t tune it. Imagine having six tenor pans; so many double seconds; you got so many guitars. And now tuners are charging for individual pieces. So when you have to tune say about 100 pans, imagine what it costs,” Mars commented.
But while say, North Ruimveldt is contending that they experienced a late start at practice this year, by launching out on January 9, at least one other school has said that they have so far, had less than 10 practice sessions to date. Albeit, systems have been put into place to ensure there is no clash of academic study hours with music instruction hours for pan players.

North Ruimveldt, with a solid track record of wins in the competition, is now bracing them for stiff competition from Queen’s College which has re-emerged into the competition this year, after a short break. Both bands are expressing confidence about carting off the prizes this year.

Reiterating his call for sponsorship for bands, the Music Administrator said: “From my office I say to corporate entities, ‘It’s always good to invest in steel band. When you invest in a steel band, you are investing in the development of young persons. You’re providing an activity for young people to be involved in, and keeping them off the streets and getting involved in illegal activities or activities that will not bring any good to the community’,” Tyndal said.
The administrator reasoned that every time that a band is sponsored and kept up and running, it’s about 30 youths who will be able to be involved and engaged constructively, so they don’t have time to focus on the negatives in society.