Wicked Local
Steel-drum icon’s visit boosts interest
West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, USA - Born in Trinidad and later living in Tobago, Michael Gabriel had been playing reggae and calypso on steel drums with a traveling symphony for five years by the time he was 12. So it’s hardly surprising that Gabriel accepted Mattacheese Middle School music teacher Scott Graf’s in Shango Axe.
Gabriel’s visit came in the form of an early Christmas gift on Friday, Dec. 20, and was joyfully received by the Mattacheese student body.
....Last January, Graf introduced the district’s first steel-drum program. “During school hours I offered a 12-week enrichment class so students could be steeped in the culture and history of steel drums while learning to play them,” he says. “The class was open to all students, no matter their musical background.
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Wow -- nice. In my early years I spent a lot of time on the Cape..West Harwich, Dennis, Yarmouth and Mashpee. Good luck blessings to Michael Gabriel. Can't wait to hear more about him and his work.