| Caribbean Music Community | Arts Education | Steelpan History | Caribbean Heritage | Performances |
Carnival Arts | MultiGenre Creativity | Bostons Own | Plus |
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| "The
authentic Caribbean is made up of all of the world's peoples - African,
Asian, European, Mid-Eastern and the native Amerindian. They form an
ethnic montage that has composed a distinctive cultural personality.
"... |
Guyana Cultural Association of New York
Celebrating our Guyanese heritage is an acknowledgement of its influence on our present condition. Its attributes can be discerned in the trajectory from the past.....(read more) 
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CARIBBEAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH 10TH ANNIVERSARY 2015Performing and Visual Arts Highlights for the Month
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| June 6th June 7th June 27th |
Fashion Show & Social Worship Service Caribbean Festival Day |
7pm - 11pm 10:45am 12pm - 4pm |
Lynn Museum Washington Street Baptist Church Lynn Museum |
Contact information: Muriel Clement / 617-529-8686 / nscaribbeanamerican@gmail.com
Guyana Friends Association of Massachusetts, Inc.Caribbean Cultural Arts Center at St. Mark's Episcopal |
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| June 6th | Sounds of the Caribbean Distance eLearning Steelpan Lessons |
12:30pm - 3pm | St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Dorchester |
| Contact information: Damian Huggins / 617.905.8741 / stmarksecmp@outlook.com | |||
 
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Caribbean Music and Community2015 St Mark's Episcopal Music Program for YoutheLearning Steelpan Open Session June 6th 2015
2014 Concert AnnouncementPreserving the legacy of an exemplar of excellence in music education: an evening of jazz and contemporary music.Orville Wright Memorial Benefit Concert 2014Music Programs for Youth
The Boston community crossed important thresholds in two recent Caribbean Carnival seasons. Music notation was included in a summer program in 2011. The next year a critically acclaimed history book was presented in an urban setting. St Mary’s Episcopal B-Safe program conducted a Steelpan Music education pilot in Uphams Corner. During the same 2011 summer period, music exemplars - Kendrum Youth Steel Orchestra - performed at three events. Pan Xpressions hosted a jam session in its panyard with these guests from Canada. A brief introduction to computer technology for formal music theory instruction was part of that get-together, also.
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| Steelpan History Book
In August 2012, The Trotter Institute, University of Massachusetts, Boston, sponsored a book launch at the City’s Strand Theater. It was the first time that formal education was tied to the presentation of Caribbean Carnival art forms and their history here. These activities were consistent with events at Symphony Hall and the Strand Theater over a decade earlier. | ||||||
EducationSteelpan History – August 22nd, 2012The development of the steelpan as a musical instrument began in the third decade of the 20th century. Steelpan’s birth and growth in Trinidad and Tobago is widely attributed to the African heritage of its inventors in the Trinidadian underclass. The Illustrated Story of Pan by Kim Johnson documents the oral and pictorial history of the steelband.Steelpan music has been popularized throughout the USA and in Boston it has been institutionalized in the Uphams Corner and Dorchester neighborhoods for decades. Exemplary recitals of this art form have been presented by Caribbean artists at Symphony Hall in 1997 Voices of the Caribbean show and at a PanFest in 1998. Other performances were a 2000 Caribbean Christmas Concert at the Strand Theater and the Boston Caribbean Carnival events in 2011. Illustrated Story was presented during the 2012 Carnival Week in a setting outside the celebratory norm. Berklee College of Music Associate Professor, Ron Reid made the music educator presentation of this scholarly, historical book at the Boston presentation and celebration.
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Welcome Remarks
Welcome
to the Strand and to this celebration of Trinidadian musical
culture. It is exciting to be part of this year’s event. My
name is Barbara Lewis, and I am Director of the Trotter Institute at
UMass Boston, one of tonight’s co-sponsors. It has been my
privilege to work with Ronald Lammy, the brains and brawn behind this
event. Ron is passionate about history, culture, and business,
and that is an interest that we both share. In addition, I am
especially pleased to see that Orville Wright, with whom I worked
closely at the university closest to the Strand, is being
remembered. Orville was a jaunty presence on campus, always
dressed to the nines and doing everything he could to make the
Department of Performing Arts, where he was Chair for several years, a
better place for students, faculty, and community. |
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| The Carnival Tradition
Let me say a few words about the Carnival tradition and how it brings people together and also the social function it serves, a role that Pan shares. Actually, the history of Pan as I understand it, says something significant about Carnival and about the re-creation and continuance of culture. Pan is a unifier and an amplifier. It is also an art of resistance, a reaction to repression. That is how it started. There was a crackdown, years ago in the last century, about 75 years ago, counting from today. It was back in the late 1930s when stick fighting, a cousin of the Brazilian martial art of capoeira, was banned in Trinidad. When one door closes, it’s time to open a window. That’s what I learned in my childhood, and that is a mantra that the Trinidadian people, who refused to be denied what they knew and loved, decided was the way around repressive law. They would not forsake their traditions, so they decided to sublimate their energies through music. They took what they had at hand and transformed the everyday into something everlasting. That’s how Pan was born. A few years later, the American military came to the island because of World War II and Pan drummed a wonderful new, percussive sound in their ears. It ignited their feelings and quickened their step, adding liveliness and zeal to the rhythms they knew. So soldiers and sailors from America helped to spread a desire for Pan around the world. Now, we are in the era of the social network. But Pan was a communicating system, bringing people together globally before the invention of the net. Pan is creative and innovative, a cultural resource of enormous power and reach. | ||||||
| Music has a Diplomatic Mission
We don’t often think of music as a weapon, but it has a diplomatic mission to bring people together despite differences. In Boston, we often cleave to the people and customs that remind us of home and heritage. That is fabulous and necessary but sometimes it can also stop us from coming together as a far-flung family with many branches, some reaching into the Caribbean, others into Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and into all parts of the Americas. Carnival brings people together and unites us into a distinctive blend, making us one while it mixes chaos and order in manageable proportion. Pan, the music of Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago, has wide, far-reaching meaning and resonance. If we look at the roots and origins of human language, we discover that pan means all. That is a lesson to contemplate as we revisit and celebrate our togetherness and our collective force this evening. Thank You. |
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A View for the Future: Mariah Ramdial of Pan Xpressions"My name is Mariah Ramdial, and I have been playing the steel pan for about 12 years. I started playing when I was 8 years old in Trinidad and joined Branches Steelpan Orchestra when I moved to Boston. Pan is a major part of my life and has always been a constant love of mine. I love pan, everything about it. It has the ability to stand alone, and also the ability to blend in perfectly with a large band. People are always amazed by the big sound that comes from such a simple looking instrument and that always brings a smile to my face. My hope for the future is that the instrument continues to stay like it is and as the years go by the culture and history of the instrument lives on! | ||||||
Steelpan History
The Illustrated Story of Pan
“It
began with a single photograph” Kim Johnson states in published remarks
about his book. Then he explains how the picture of an ancestor took
him on a sojourn relating to identity and creativity. The image
connected him to a distant land and it propelled him to learning more
of the history of his Trinidad birth place. | ||||||
Performances2014 Concert AnnouncementPreserving the legacy of an exemplar of excellence in music education: an evening of jazz and contemporary music.eCaribbeanArts, managing partner of the St Mark’s Episcopal Music Program, lends its support to the Wright family and UMass-Boston for the Orville Wright Scholarship Concert at the University of Massachusetts Boston on October 20, 2014. This performance is a tribute to Orville and his gifts to us. |
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Best of Panazz - Boston ConnectionTwenty years ago, when I was searching throughout Trinidad for quality oil drums to have our bass pans made, I could never have imagined that I would now be producing a "BEST OF PANAZZ" compilation. Wow!
As a kid growing up, I remember hearing many 'Jazz standards' played from my father's vinyl collection when he had his friends over. Errol Garner, Ramsey Lewis and Carlos Jobim were a few names that had a big influence on our early repertoire. Mixing their music with other genres, including Calypso (of course), Latin and even some RnB and Soul was a lot of FUN! After winning four consecutive Ramajay competitions, it was off to spread the word internationally. We travelled throughout the United States, to the UK, Japan and the Caribbean, including two consecutive appearances at the St Lucia Jazz Festival. We performed in some amazing venues. But what stands out in my mind were our two sold out performances at the prestigious Boston Symphony Hall. There, along with our talented guest saxophonist Arturo Tappin, we had no less than three standing ovations! We were on FIRE!! On behalf of the Panazz family I'd like to sincerely thank all our loyal supporters, friends and fans for the many exciting memories. This compilation has arguably some of the best selections from our four albums, which have been brilliantly remixed and remastered with enhanced sound quality. ENJOY Barry Bartholomew Musical Director | ||||||
Best of Panazz CD / DVDTo commemorate the 20th Anniversary of their founding they released the Best of Panazz, a CD and DVD set in November, 2012. The fourteen re-mastered selections, and the video recorded for BET Jazz, present the performing excellence and sophisticated style that remains unsurpassed today. Listen to samples:Best of Panazz CD - Track List
You can order your copy at $19.95 here:
http://www.panontheweb.com/to_order.htm
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Carnival ArtsBoston Carnival Mas
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 Boston Arts Festival |
 Boston Arts Festival |
 Boston Arts Festival |
Carnival in Pink, Boston Carnival (Globe Staff Photo / Dominic Chavez) courtesy Boston Globe Online |
National Caribbean American Heritage Month - June
In
June 2005, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted H. Con.
Res. 71, sponsored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, recognizing the
significance of Caribbean people and their descendants in the history
and culture of the United States. On February 14, 2006, the
resolution similarly passed the Senate, culminating a two-year,
bipartisan and bicameral effort. Since the declaration, the White House has issued an annual proclamation recognizing June as Caribbean-American Heritage Month.
The campaign to designate June as National Caribbean American Heritage Month was spearheaded by Dr. Claire Nelson, Founder and President of the Institute of Caribbean Studies. Through the commemoration of this month, we hope to ensure that America is reminded that its greatness lies in its diversity with Caribbean immigrants.
Massachusetts Caribbean Anniversary - August
Senator Bill Owens, in November, 1991, joined with the Massachusetts Black Legislative Caucus, the Caribbean Ad-Hoc Committee and Ambassadors from Caribbean nations to celebrate the passage of legislation sponsored by the Senate. The bill, Senate 1108, proclaimed that the governor declare the last week of August be celebrated as Caribbean Week in Massachusetts.Noting that there are more than 300,000 Caribbean nationals residing in the Commonwealth, Senator Owens' legislation cited people of the Caribbean as, "distinguished residents of the state who have made significant contributions to life in Massachusetts."
Multi Genre Creativity
Boston-based artists and productions - Steelband, Comedy and Folk
BostonsOwn
"The authentic Caribbean is made up of all of the world's peoples - African, Asian, European, Mid-Eastern and the native Amerindian. They form an ethnic montage that has composed a distinctive cultural personality. Their rhythms are unique as seen in their performing arts - music and dance; they stimulate your sensibilities with the writings of their writers and the paintings of their painters; and they nourish you with their cosmopolitan food.These characteristics and an early socialization in multicultural, multiracial countries have allowed West Indian immigrants, for example, to assimilate seamlessly into Boston. They have an almost instinctual knowledge of how to live in a city such as contemporary Boston." eCaroh 2003©
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eCaroh Caribbean Emporium
eCaroh Boston Steel Pan Institute PanOnTheWeb.com BostonCarnival.com ©2013 eCaroh Caribbean Emporium. All rights reserved. |