NSSO delivers top music to poor turnout

GARY CARDINEZ Wednesday, May 25 2016

IT TRULY was a Black Friday for the national instrument.

If ever there was a disappointment involving our beloved pan; it came to pass on Friday 13 and Saturday14 at Exodus Pan Theatre in St Augustine.

The National Steel Symphony Orchestra (NSSO) played to an audience of about 75 patrons on Saturday and less on Friday.

If this concert was held in any other country in the world it would have been soldout yet in the country of its birth, the free pan concert literally “buss”.

The quality of music put out by the calibre of players in the NSSO warrants much better than this.

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  •  Pan is NOT serious business in the Mecca, that's the task at hand making Pan SERIOUS business.

  • A similarly titled show was held last year, hosted by Valley Harps Steel Orchestra. It featured the same cast  with calypsonians and Icewater Pan Ensemble. All performers enjoyed a full house. As far as I understand it was "bound to score" because Valley Harps and the Catholic Church situated not too far from the panyard have an excellent rapport.

    Whose shoulders did promotion of last week's show fall on ? The NSSO? The Symphonia? The Ministry of Culture? Pan Trinbago? Exodus?…

    We can sit here and blame whoever for the poor turn out. At the end of the day it comes down to marketing and an understanding of the cultural climate in Trinidad and Tobago where Pan is concerned. Putting on shows like these will always be risky business because generally the public at large are still only willing to "tolerate" Pan at Panorama time…after Carnival Saturday Night…that's it...

    Maybe if Exodus had a community relationship like Valley Harps has things would have been quite different...

    • Maybe they should ask HADCO what they did to attract wall to wall people at Phase11 yard at $300.00 per head?! ComPANions had their cricket Big 8 competition the day before at Exodus yard that attracted over 500 pan people from all over Trinidad. What was strange is that there were no advertisement in the yard about the NSSO concert to be held on the day after. Ah wonder if dey know Pan is serious business in dis place?!

  • There are many shoulders upon which to place the responsibility for successes and failures of projects such as these. To me, for pan shows, advertising and promotions targeting the many niches and groups that make up the music loving/buying market are too often nickel and dimed. The results follow.

    I wonder what plan was followed by groups and individuals: the clichéd “stakeholders”?

  • Pan Trinbago and Keith Diaz in particular would  be happy  that  the NSSO concert  flopped. Diaz  never  mentioned  the concert  on his Saturday pan show  on i 95.5FM because  he believes  that Pan Trinbago should  be  in charge  of  the NSSO so he  has  nothing  to do  with  advertising  any  show  with the NSSO. And  what  about  Ainsworth Mohammed  of Exodus?  I wonder  if  he  is  still smarting  from being  thrown out  from Panorama  semi-finals that  Exodus   refused  to advertise even by word of  mouth.  You  mean  to  say Exodus  pan players, their families  and the band's  supporters could  spit  on  the national instrument  like  that? Boy black  people  real stupid . Look how  Centre of Excellence  does be always  full up with thousands of Indians when it have shows down there with their Indian people.

    • Patrice Lumumba good post. Afro Trinis are mostly in charge of the steelband movement, maybe it's time they ask Boodram, Babolaland and Gopaulsingh  to assist.

      • Interesting view from Patrice, we often wonder WHY Pan is stuck in the role it is today. This kind of LEADERSHIP is creating divisions among the groups in order to achieve selfish gains. The pimping and prostituting of pan analogy comes to mind.

        No visionary thinking, no taking the initiative to help meet bigger goals and objectives for the Pan movement, its all about territorial thinking competing between the interest groups for government $$s.

        A true leader should be able to bring groups together in a united front to support each other goals and objectives. Cecil I agree with you, a call for assistance...

        THE largest label worldwide for soca and chutney music and the leading digital music label for the Caribbean, Fox Fuse, has signed an exclusive catalogue deal with chutney queen Drupatee Ramgoonai.

        This digital promotion company which is based in New York City has built a strong reputation working with superstar clients such as Pitbull, Lil Jon and Shaggy.

        “Fans from Asia to Africa and Europe to the Middle East will now have access to my songs and to the chutney, soca and calypso,” Ramgoonai said in an interview.

        CEO of Fox Fuse, Zack Cohen, says fans will no longer need to find a retail store or to look for a rare, limited or pirated CD – which is usually what chutney music fans often rely on to get their music fix.

        “Fox Fuse is determined to bring the chutney genre to your fingertips so that anyone with a mobile phone or computer access can log in and get the best quality of music” Cohen said.

        This digital download for chutney also allows its chutney artistes to get paid for the sales of their music, which is new to chutney music here in TT . Cohen outlines that most chutney fans rely on pirated CDs and illegal downloads and streams, as legitimate channels are not easily accessible.

        http://www.newsday.co.tt/features/0,228361.html

        • odw: Your first three paragraphs could not be more succinct and descriptive of the crisis. I have said A THOUSAND TIMES on the forum that we have an ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEM. Or rather a lack of ADMINISTRATIVE SKILLS PROBLEM.. This problem exists among the educated leadership and the uneducated leader -- so PROGRESS is IMPOSSIBLE. And they are both TOO PROUD TO BEG for HELP because of territoriality and arrogance. So don't expect any change in OUR LIFETIME.

  • You really have to blame the NSSO itself, Pan Trinbago and all the stakeholders including the Ministry of Culture or whatever they are called now.

    There was very little publicity about the two concerts. Something like this should have been given a prominent marketing strategy using print, radio, television and everything else.

    To be fair it was supposed to be a part of Pan in the Countryside promotion series, which is generally badly promoted and only the diehard few attend.

    To have a show of this stature in 'the East' was already going to be a hard sell for those from 'town' and PT is to be applauded for bringing the NSSO to the countryside, but if nobody knows about the concerts, who is going to attend.

    In addition, the NSSO is hardly ever showcased so most people don't even know about it or the quality of its members.

    So shame on the organizers, much more so than the patrons.

    • I cannot believe allyuh calling St. Augustine/Tunapuna the COUNRTYSIDE. Dat is some real TOWN BIAS!!!

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