New York - Steelband arranger and guitarist Scipio Sargeant passed away earlier today. SCIPIO “Skip” or “Sarge” Sargeant was born in Trinidad. At an early age he distinguished himself as one of the top musicians in his home country. As co-arranger fo
In recognition of "Earth Week 2009" When Steel Talks is pleased to feature a live performance of the song 'Mother Earth Crying' by Trinidadian calypsonian Timothy Watkins aka "The Baron." Baron has penned and recorded some of the most popular and mem
Read more…Why are we complaining about the Judging for Panorama! I have been told by associates of Pantrinbago, that many Steel Orchestras do not attend the meetings that are scheduled by Pantrinbago. We blame Patrick Arnold and Pantrinbago for everything, whe
Read more…Illinois, USA - Clifford Alexis, a Trinidadian born, employed at Northern Illinois University, was selected to receive an Outstanding Service Award for Staff for the year 2009. He has been employed with NIU for the past 22 years and at present he is
Read more…Did anyone attend the summit events? If so, how was it? Were there any major steelpan performances?
Read more…Massachusetts, USA - This past weekend the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) held its annual 'Campus Preview Weekend (CPW). This is the annual 4-day weekend when high school seniors who have been admitted to MIT come to campus t
Read more…Trinidad - Skiffle Bunch Steel Orchestra did the Southland in Trinidad proud on a beautiful April 15 evening when they performed Georgia On My Mind as their tune of choice for the ‘Pan In The 21st Century’ competition. The band retained the lead posi
Read more…Pan In The 21st Century Listen to, and chat about - Pan In The 21st Century as it happens tonight Wednesday April 15 in Trinidad! https://whensteeltalks.ning.com/page/i955fm-in-trinidad. Show begins 8:00 p.m. EST Full review
Read more…http://www.tntreview.com/?p=427 JUDGING THE JUDGES Trinidad and Tobago Review Posted on 10 April 2009 One of the practices that really irked me was the awarding of .5 of a point by some judges. As you will see, there are a few judges who, for no a
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Lebanon - Double second steelpan musician Shawn Thwaites and his wife vocalist Sabreen Thwaites have been away from US shores since December 2008. The talented duo has been delighting audiences as they already have back home, but this time around whi
With the preliminary round of judging completed, representatives of the participating bands witnessed the opening of the score sheets and the tallying of points by Pan Trinbago officials earlier today. Codrington Pan Family of East Dry River playing
Read more…Mia Gormandy in Concert - Northern Illinois Panist Shines
Illinois, USA - “The thing that has impressed me the most about Mia has been her personality. In addition to her talent and work ethic, she is a wonderful person to be around. When Mia first
Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form Keva Margetson Antigua & Barbuda- The late Keva Margetson of Antigua was an avid supporter of all the historical and cultural things that make people of the Caribbean both unique and great. There are th
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Many can talk the talk - but few can walk the walk. Panist Jonathan Scales without a doubt is ‘walking the walk.’ On his sophomore release called Plot/Scheme, Scales takes the listener not only into unexpected territory, but clearly uncharted real-es
Here is a simple question or NOT - "When is it OK and NOT OK to use bits and pieces, or 'quotes' from a previously arranged piece of music?" At what point can this be considered plagiarism?? if at all? For many musicians, they can easily replicate a
Read more…The Calypso and its derivatives remain that intrinsic, artistic thread that weaves the creative cloth of history, documenting and storytelling through live performances for the masses. The late Lord Blakie was one of the true great masters of this cr
Read more…A British Pan Woman
Rachel Hayward
United Kingdom - This March marks the 25th anniversary of my involvement with pan. Forty years ago pans were introduced into British schools through the efforts of renowned pan pioneers such as Gerald Forsyth and
