Steel Band is now a music option that can be taken as a one credit hour class at Kirkwood Community College. The band meets Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:20 - 1:15 p.m. in 375 Cedar Hall. Joe Perea, instructor and director of instrumental music, leads the Steel Band.
According to Perea, Steel Band is, “an art form that comes from the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, based on instruments that are crafted out of 55-gallon oil barrels.”
It’s an area of personal expertise he brought to KCC and said he builds and tunes the instruments himself. Perea said, “There are some instruments that we had imported from Trinidad and Tobago and then there are others that I have built that comprise part of the ensemble that we use.”
Perea said he wanted to bring Steel Band to Kirkwood because he wanted to expand the course offerings for ensemble music. He said, “It gives us a chance to introduce the concept of world music and how it pertains to a culture.”
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