EBO Steel Owls Steel Pan Orchestra Takes Gold in D.C.

St. Thomas SourceThe EBO Steel Owls brought home the first-place hardware when they returned from Washington D.C. The performers are: Tashimo Scatliffe Jr., Malik Francis, Chris Rommis, Jr., Jeremy Hodge, Ali Marks, Ciara Rodney, Celina Rodney, V’kesha Adams, De’Aundre Weekes, Cyril Fahie, and J’Nisa Challenger. Shaneè King is director, and Le’Roi Simmonds is the group’s musical arranger.

St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. - A group of 11 young musicians from St. Thomas, the The EBO Steel Owls steel pan orchestra, captured gold and received highest honors from judges at the WorldStrides OnStage Music Festival, held Friday through Sunday in Washington, D.C.

The group of students from E. Benjamin Oliver Elementary School and Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School, were the youngest performers in this year’s competition, competing against high school music groups from around the country, according to a news release from the V.I. Department of Education.

Saturday the Steel Owls performed a variety of classical tunes as well as a medley of songs. They won gold in the percussion category, and took the Adjudicator Award, awarded the group with the highest overall scores from the judges. Each member of the Steel Owls also received the Maestro’s Award – traditionally given to a solo performer – because of their performance skills.

According to Shaneè King, EBO fifth grade teacher and Steel Owls director, the students were judged on the repertoire of music played, level of difficulty, dynamics, sound and overall performance. The students so impressed the judges and the audience that they became the first group in the 25-year history of the competition to be asked to give an encore.

“The judges were amazed,” King said. “The judges said that for the first time in 25 years, an audience asked for an encore performance. This was also the first time that a judge came on stage and gave a constructive critique of a group’s performance. The students definitely put the Virgin Islands on the map.”

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