The Hamilton Spectator
Steeltown’s steelpan player
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada - ....Wherever he was — at home on Francis Street or in class at Bennetto Elementary School — Dejehan "Lucky" Hamilton tapped on surfaces, kept a beat, made a racket.
His mother wanted him to learn piano, but for Hamilton, now 19, drums were a singular passion.
....At the time, no one knew the banging that landed Hamilton in so much hot water would lead him to one of the most prestigious music schools in the world — Boston's Berklee College of Music.
....He found out about the school in 2011. It was the only place he knew that had a steelpan program, but the cost was an issue. Hamilton is the second-youngest of six kids. His mother raised them alone on her salary as a custodian at McMaster University. Still, Hamilton's mother encouraged him to apply. If he got in, they'd figure something out.
Fortunately, Berklee took care of that. The school was so impressed with Hamilton's audition (he played Spain, a Latin jazz tune by Chick Corea) that they offered him a full academic scholarship for four years. It made him the school's first Canadian steelpan player and one of only three in the current student body.
read more
Replies