Greetings everyone,
Within the last decade and a half, a group of pan enthusiasts opted for a call in the pursuit of higher education. The steelpan movement in many ways has lacked the scholarly approach towards its development. Simply put, there are not enough scholars in pan when compared to the other forms of art. These pan enthusiasts, which heeded that call, were based in Toronto one from Montreal. The destination was York University in Toronto. At least eleven pan people began and successfully completed their academic journeys in their respective disciplines. The results were graduates in bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and PhD. My congratulations to these scholars in pan.
- Kwesi Karmani................................................... bachelor’s degree
- Taurean Clarke .................................................. bachelor’s degree
- Winston “Pappy” Fredericks ............................. BFA in music
- Hameed Shaaq ................................................... bachelor’s degree - anthropology
- Andre Rouse ...................................................... MA in composition
- Joy Lapps Lewis ................................................ MA in composition
- Henry “King Cosmos” Gomez .......................... MA
- Michael “Skel” Redhead ................................... MA in composition
- Michael Joseph ...................................................MA in environmental studies
- Ed Peters ............................................................ MA ethnomusicology
- Salah Wilson ...................................................... MA musicology / PhD ethnomusicology
A wealth of academic research and scholarly information is already collected from these participants. In addition, all of the theses, compositions and dissertations are pan related. A noteworthy observation is that the majority of these participants are senior citizens (Hameed Shaaq, Winston Pappy Fredericks, Henry Cosmos Gomez, Michael Skel Redhead, Michael Joseph, Ed Peters, Salah Wilson). It is hopeful, that this successful academic journey will be an inspiration for all, the young and the not so young. This is an acknowledgement that it is never too late for education, especially if it is also for a cause. All of these graduates from York University have already gotten together and are working on establishing an academic steelpan centre, a platform for the advancement of pan from an academic perspective. Again, my congratulations to the pan scholars of Toronto and Montreal. Let’s get to work.
Regards
Dr. Salah Wilson PhD
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Wonderful...Best Pan-related news I've read in a long time...