| Chord Masters Steel Orchestra at the 2023 Single Pan Finals |
...But like the name of Chord Master’s tune of choice, it was White’s ‘first experience’ working with a single pan band. “I wanted to try it, see what it was like, see what the obstacles would be,” he told Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) presenter Ruskin Mark in a brief interview after the orchestra’s performance. White shared that he actually asked band management to ‘do’ [work with] the band, not the other way around. “He [Richard “Powers” De Coteau] didn’t ask me…I wanted to try something different. I’ve never done it [arranged for single pan]. I’ve done large, I’ve done medium, I’ve done small.” White very much liked K.M.C.’s ‘First Experience’, which was ‘a pretty big song’ for him when growing up in 2005. Moreover, it happened to be an apt description of his involvement in this category, with Chord Masters. “‘First Experience’; I felt it was fitting for me to give my interpretation, of my first chance in the single pan arena, and I hope it went across well to the judges.”
It did – and Chord Masters Steel Orchestra would take home the first prize of TT $250,000.00 [circa USD $36,873.00] – after the total scores from the judging system utilized by event organizer Pan Trinbago were tallied. Co-presenter and Pan Trinbago Education Officer Marcus Ash provided insight, explaining that there were six judges - (on this night, Bernadette Roberts, Damion Philip, Lambert Phillip, Richard Pierre, Roger Sardinah and Stephanie Power) - who would draw numbers AFTER all the performances were complete, with one pulling the designation ‘alternate.’ That specific ‘alternate’ judge’s scores would be set aside. Then, the highest and lowest scores from the remaining five judges with respect to each band would also be discarded. This left in consideration points from only three judges, with three hundred the maximum possible number awarded. Arrangement and general performance counted for forty points each with ten going to rhythm and ten to tone, totaling one hundred....
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