Dear Editor,
What were the judges looking for when deciding the winner for the Senior Panorama Competition 2018? Favouritism and a disregard for the judging rules of the competition were on full display. The judges were officials of the Department of Culture, and the rules and guidelines of the competition clearly state in Section 5 that during the process of judging the event, all officials are expected to conduct themselves in a proper manner. Judges shall not communicate with any of the competitors, and/or their sponsors, supporters, or members of the media for the entire duration of the competition.
This was not case on the night of the competition. The coordinator was supposed to be Mr Xavier, but Mr Tyndall who works for the same office as the coordinator of the Mash Committee and past leader of a band which won, was seen mingling with the judges. This brought the results into question, since there was a clear case of conflict of interest because the National School of Music Band is owned by the Department of Culture. Now if I own this band and all the judging officials come from me, what would people assume? It can also be noted that the judging outcome for the past few years has been the same. This is not acceptable, because the outcome seems always to be in favour of the National Band.
There is no way in terms of my music knowledge or on the basis of listening to steel pan music and soliciting the views of others, that the National Band could have emerged winners in front of the Guyana Police Force Band. They were definitely the crowd pleasers, playing well with a clean sound, good balance and with a proper melody and audio coming from all sections of the band. At no time did they break the rules of the competition unlike the National Band, whose members gyrated in front of the judges in a clear violation of the rules and standing orders of the competition, and yet who still emerged victorious.
Where are we going with competitions and judging in Guyana, if injustices like this keep occurring? There were other bands who were eliminated for violating competition rules, but this was not the case with the National Band. This attitude is not only bad for pan music lovers, but also for the players who try desperately to keep the art alive. If this is allowed to continue, sad to say steel band competitions are heading for a doomsday. We would like Mr Tyndall and others to recognize that fair and neutral judges are what we need, avoiding conflict of interest and keeping the art form alive and well.
Yours faithfully,
Neil Cort
Replies
What are the names of the bands and what was the results?
Hi Ian, on the ball as usual. Here’s what I can find for you (at this time). But it’s the standard lament/cringe; after some 70 odd years of Pan, who is doing the historical documentation?
Guyana Panorama:
Information gleaned from the Guyana Department of Public Information (GDPI)
Reported by Nateshia Isaacs; 19th February 2018
NEWS:
What we know about Guyana Panorama:
Event: Mashramani
Uses traditional monica: 'Pan-O-Rama'; First began in 2009 with three steelbands.
Venue: Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue, D'Urban Park, Georgetown, Guyana, WI
About venue: Arts & Entertainment - Stadium, Arena & Sports venue
Format (limited info): Informed by a mix of (carnival) TT Panorama and (formal) Colonial Biennial Music Festival
Catogaries (limited info): Large steelband, Large Youth steelband, Small Youth steelband;
[Advanced date?] Junior and Senior Solo, Pan Duet and Pan Jazz.
Guyana Panorama 2018:
Primary sponsor: Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited
Listed as: The Republic Bank Pan-O-Rama 2018
Date: 18th February 2018
(Provisional results 2018)
Large steelband:
1st - National School of Music’s Steel Orchestra - Tribute to the Greats
Large Youth steelband:
1st - North Ruimveldt Secondary School
Small Youth steelband:
1st - West Demerara Secondary School
Other participants (Category unknown):
2nd - Bishops’ High School Steel Orchestra
Dolphin Secondary School Steel Orchestra
President’s College Steel Orchestra
Guyana Police Force Steel Orchestra
Pan Wave Academy Steel Orchestra
Parkside Steel Orchestra
Queen's College Steel Orchestra
President’s College Steel Orchestra at the Guyana Panorama 2018 - 18 February 2018
Source - FB page: Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue, D'Urban Park, Georgetown, Guyana
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Date: 15th February
Junior Solo:
1st - Vijay Sharma
2nd - Darius Austin
3rd - Tirese Thomas
Senior Solo:
1st - Hanani Ben Lewi
Pan duet:
1st - Jovanka Williams & Don Johnson
Pan Jazz:
1st - The Kunjaz Ensemble
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Cheers tobagojo4sure