Georgetown : The Guyanese steel pan players of the National Steel Orchestra stole the performance at the Courtyard Marriot, Suriname where the playoff was between the locals and the Antigua and Bermuda Youth orchestra.
According to Head of the Music Development Unit, Andrew Tyndall, after Guyana’s Steel Orchestra participated in the Carifesta Jazz Night a challenge was issued by several countries including Trinidad and Tobago and Antigua and Bermuda; however only Antigua turned up for last evening’s challenge.
According to a Government Information Agency’s statement, the two bands met at the poolside of the Marriot where a crowd of listeners including patrons of the hotel and the Guyanese Carifesta contingent gathered for the session.
“We had no fears about it, we knew that we did our preparation and we were ready for the task…and it was evident that it was cheese to chalk when you looked at Guyana’s performance and repertoire compared to the other bands that participated,” Tyndall said.
The Guyanese band played classical pieces, national and folk songs such as ‘Oh beautiful Guyana’, ‘Sanko Boy’, ‘Bamboo fyah’, popular Guyanese song ‘Bangalie Baboo’ and soca tunes including ‘Mr. Fete’, ‘Baccanalist’ and ‘The vibes can’t done’.
Tyndall highlighted that participating in Carifesta X1 was good for steel pan in general since the orchestra’s members will realise that there are existing opportunities when playing the steel pan and in the cultural industry, and they are also able to learn about different cultures.
During the playoff, the audience’s appreciation for the pan music was clear since there were constant cheers and loud applauses. There were also calls for ‘more, more, more’ and this lead to the pan players discarding their jackets and bringing on an explosive session of upbeat music. Several of the patrons also joined in dancing, while those who were familiar with the tunes sang along.
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