Schools face off in steel pan contest -- Guyana

Guyana Chronicle

Queens college Headmistress – Mrs Jackie Benn Ralph

Queen’s College has added its voice to calls by schools for donations of steel pans as they work feverishly towards preparing for participation in the Republic Bank Mashramani Pan-O-Rama. After several weeks of intense practice, the curtain will today come down on preparations for the Minor Steel Band Competition and the Small and Large school bands competition, slated for today and Sunday at the Theatre Guild Playhouse and the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall respectively.
It’s that long awaited occasion when the pick of the crop will demonstrate their mettle and masterfully display their dexterity on the pans.
So far, there appears to be a stiff fight between Queen’s College and North Ruimveldt Multilateral School, both of whom are intent on running away with the top prizes, but Queen’s College, talented as they are, and with a natural love of playing pans, have been facing a major challenge.
They do not have their own pans and have been constrained by severely limiting their practice sessions.
North Ruimveldt with a winning track record, won first prize in the Steel Band Pan-O-Rama last year, while Queen’s College, after one year of pulling out from the competition in 2015, re-emerged in 2016 to claim 2nd place for the Road March and Costume Band.
Asked whether they think they’ll be able to win again this year, given the challenge faced, Headmistress of Queen’s College, Mrs Jackie Benn Ralph impulsively replied: “Of course, that is the only reason why we’re getting back in the competition. Our reason for withdrawing was that we needed pans. We haven’t had pans in a number of years, but with the promise of a loan of pans, we are hoping to participate and to maximize our potential,” she said, with an air of confidence.
The headmistress said that Queen’s College withdrew from the steel band competition in 2015, only because they recognised that they needed new steel pans and were not getting them. That state of affairs certainly was not doing the students justice.
“Since then, the Minister of Education, through the National School of Music, loaned the schools some pans and so they were able to participate in 2016, for the 50th anniversary Children’s Road March,” she recalled.
And this year, even though they do not as yet have new pans, thankfully, systems have been put in place to alleviate the problem. The pans are very expensive, she said. They have to be sourced from Trinidad and will cost over one million dollars.
“Basically, it’s going to be more than 20 pieces and we have to source them in sets – tenor, base and the different areas…” she added. The pans they have at the school now, have long outlived their usefulness.
Centre of Excellence
But all is not lost for Queen’s College, since their Overseas Chapter is working feverishly towards the construction of a Centre of Excellence for the institution. That Centre of Excellence, Ms. Ralph said, will be for the development of Music and the Arts at Queen’s College. They hope to construct a building and to source special instruments and other pieces to enhance their arts programme. But that too, can be expected to take quite some time.
“We are hopeful that this dream will be realised by 2019 or thereabout – that is, we are hoping to have most of the money by 2019 at which time we will celebrate our 175th anniversary as an institution,” Ms. Ralph stated. She said funds raised will go towards construction and infrastructure and putting in the music equipment. The intention is that it will not only serve Queen’s College, but the community at large.

QC students during a recent practice session for Sunday’s Steel Band

Competition

The Headmistress said even though they have not been able to raise the kind of money they are looking for, they have managed to raise US $5,000 and that amount is in the control of the Canadian Chapter.
The idea of the Centre of Excellence was the brainchild of Dr. Vibert Cambridge, a past student of Queen’s College. He is hoping to foster the development of Arts with music being at the centre, because he likes music, the Head Mistress said.
Noting that the school is fostering a rounded education, the Head said that at times persons are of the view that students are only involved in academics, “But I must say to you that they are engaged in sports activities in the arts and so this year, we will be participating once more with the assistance of the National School of Music in the Republic Bank Pan-O-Rama.”
Call for donors
Meanwhile, the headmistress reiterating the importance of having their own pans, said that borrowed pans can never be theirs and will eventually have to be returned. “We really need pans. It is very important that we have access to new pans I must reiterate that. We really need those persons within the community such as DIGICEL, GT&T and those [corporate] entities that would normally support schools. We are hoping they would be able to contribute towards the purchase of pans for the school. We would be extremely happy,” she emphasized.
The Centre of Excellence will be constructed at the site on which the old Head Teacher’s building stood, to the left of the main entrance to the QC compound.

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