UDaily
Delaware, USA - The Peace Drums Steel Band, made up of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish junior high school students from Israel, will perform from 6-8 p.m., Saturday, April 16, in the University of Delaware’s Perkins Student Center.
The evening program will include a performance by the UD Steel Pan ensemble, and in keeping with the origin of the steel drums, Trinidadian-inspired food will be provided.
Selwyn Williams, public relations officer of First Citizens Supernovas [Steel Orchestra] and former national executive with PanTrinbago, will talk about the history and development of the steel drum playing around the world.
This event is free event and open to the public and those in attendance will also be given a hands-on introduction to steel drum playing.
The UD performance, an Art Bridging Cultures event coordinated by Colin Miller, CAS director for global arts, and sponsored by the English Language Institute and the Office of the Provost, is part of a 10-day tour designed to foster commitment and reconciliation between Christian, Muslim and Jewish children in the Galilee region of Israel.
The idea for the band and its mission of peace through music began when Harvey Price, UD associate professor of percussion, decided to form a steel drum band of Jewish and Arab students in Israel as a way to get them to see each other in a different light.
With the support of clergy from the Delaware Churches for Middle East Peace, the dream became a reality. In a March 27 Delaware State of the Arts podcast, Price discussed the creation of the group and how steel drums seemed to be the perfect instrument for bonding among children and their parents.
“I love the steel drums because they are a great educational tool, and I use them for teaching non-musician students at UD all the time,” Price said. “The instrument itself was born out of conflict in Trinidad and Tobago, and by sheer force of will and creativity and luck and magic they created this beautiful instrument as a reaction to not being allowed to create their own music.”
“Steel drums work because they don’t belong to the Arab, Jewish or Christian population,” Price said. “It’s a universal instrument.”
Raising the money, around $80,000 for the drums alone, and getting the instruments from Trinidad to the U.S. and then Israel was a logistical accomplishment in its own right, Price said.
“We finally raised the $80,000 to buy the drums from Trinidad, and then we had to get them mailed up here, box them, and put them on a plane to Israel,” Price said. “Each instrument is 22.5 inches in diameter, and they’re all made from oil barrels. The luggage bill to Israel was $5,000.”
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