UNF Newsroom
Shaun Bennett playing the steelpanFlorida, USA - University of North Florida graduate Shaun Bennett’s passion for music started when he was a child. It has served him well throughout his studies and professional career as a musician and elementary school music teacher.
Bennett, who received a UNF master’s degree in music education earlier this month, was also honored in January with the 2023 Florida Music Education Association’s (FMEA) Exemplary Music Program Award for his work with the steel band at Otis A. Mason Elementary School in St. Augustine. The achievement marked a prestigious milestone for Bennett and the steel band community, as it’s the first time a steel band program was honored by the FMEA in a major category.
....Bennett expressed that his instrument of choice, the steel pan (commonly referred to as a steel drum), is often viewed as a novelty in some academic and professional circles.
...He earned a professional development scholarship in 2017 from the Florida Elementary Music Association, which afforded him the opportunity to meet Ellie Mannette, the father of steel pan music. at the Ellie Mannette Festival of Steel. The encounter remains a highlight of Bennett’s life and career as he recalls Mannette, encouraging him to keep the art form of the steel pan alive.
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