Contact: Nigel Chase, PO Box 73, Brooksville, ME 04617
207-326-4025 npkchase@Prexar.com
Additional information, programs, are available at www.peninsulapan.org.
Peninsula Pan invites the public to join us for the 18th Pan New England Steeband
Festival on May 2, 3 and 4. Well over a dozen steelbands composed of people
of all ages from across New England will be joining local favorites FLASH!
in the Pans, Planet Pan and Rhythm Rockets for a weekend of festivities; performances,
workshops and dance..
Friday, May 2nd STEEL SENSATION IN CONCERT
7:30 PM at the Reach Performing Arts Center in Deer Isle, ME with a highly
anticipated performance by Steel Sensation, a greatly respected professional
ensemble from New York City with roots in Trinidad. This performance has a
suggested donation of $12 adults / $6 children under 12. More about Steel
Sensation is included below.
Saturday, May 3rd WORKSHOPS
From 1:00 to 5:00 PM at the Blue Hill Consolidated School, Blue Hill,
ME a series of workshops taught by members of Steel Sensation, Carl and Nigel
Chase, and others will be offered and open to the public. The workshop entrance
fee is $10 for all workshops for adults and $5 for children.
Workshops include:
PAN DANCE
From 7:30 to 10:30 PM at the Blue Hill Consolidated School featuring Steel
Sensation in party mode playing fast calypsos and soca music for everyone
to dance the night away under a simulated Caribbean sky.. Admission is $5
adults / $2 children.
Sunday, May 4th FESTIVAL PANORAMA CONCERT from 11:00 AM 4:00
PM
Steelbands with as many as 25 players and smaller bands made up of young
children, teens, or adults will each play three selections: a calypso song,
a classical piece, and a tune of choice. At the end of the day all the bands
will combine to create one large band of over 200 players and together perform
a group piece! The Festival is a noncompetitive event. Admission for the Panorama
Concert is $5 adults / $2 children.
Locally prepared food and Festival T-Shirts will be on sale Saturday and Sunday.
The Festival is hosted by Peninsula Pan, Inc. of Blue Hill. Information and
festival updates will be posted to www.peninsulapan.org,
or you can contact Nigel Chase at npkchase@prexar.com
Steel Sensation
Steel Sensation, led by Amrit Samaroo, son of legendary Trinidad and Tobago
pan arranger and composer Jit Samaroo, was founded in 1996 and is one of New
York City's most respected steel bands. Over the past two years, Steel Sensation
has appeared on various television programs including The Today Show and Fox
& Friends. They are also one of the only bands to perform inside the United
Nations. Steel Sensation is currently playing at the Tavern on the Green?s
famous Sunday brunch as well as other venues. During the school year, Steel
Sensation performs and teaches at school and college programs. In warmer months,
Steel Sensation performs all over the US, sometimes reaching as many as 3,000
people per week.
Very Brief Histories of Pans, Pans In New England, Pan New England Steel Band
Festival, and Flash! in the Pans
Pans
The only acoustic instrument invented in the 20th century, the steel drum --
or pan -- originated on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, which was settled
by Amerindians and named by Columbus. Trinidadian culture has been shaped by
Spanish, French, Indian and British influences while African slaves brought
their traditions of dance, music, and drums to the French celebrations, including
Carnival. The subsequent banning of African drums from these lively revelries
by the ruling class led to the substitution of various lengths of bamboo. The
parade marchers eventually added biscuit tins, dustbin lids, and other bits
of metal and changed the sound of Carnival forever. The search for more numerous
pitches and louder volume was answered by the serendipitous availability of
55 gallon oil drums left behind after WW II. Who could have guessed the first
crude notes pounded out on an inverted oil drum would result in today?s finely
tuned family of steel drum instruments?
The Steel Band comes to New England
A classically trained musician, Brooksville, Maine?s Carl Chase was sailing
in the Caribbean when he heard a small local steel band and was bowled over
by the sound. A friend gave him a copy of folk singer Peter Seeger?s book Steel
Drums: How to Make Them and Play Them, and Chase set his mind to teaching himself.
His fascination with the music and the instrument led him to Trinidad where
he refined his skills in the art of pan making and tuning. Once he had enough
drums to form a band, Chase taught some friends how to play. In the summer of
1975, on the wooden steps of the Brooksville post office, The Atlantic Clarion
Steel Band (named after a band member?s old kitchen stove) sent the sleepy town
dancing into the night. Since then, Monday night street dances have become a
summer staple on the Blue Hill Peninsula.
The New England Pan Festival
In May 1989, two New England Schools with steel band programs arranged a get-together
concert as a way to bring pan players, teachers, and listeners together to share
their music and ideas. This initial concert grew into a yearly festival with
between 15 to 20 bands -- sometimes more -- coming together to celebrate the
instrument, the music, and each other. The bands vary in size from four to 40
players ranging in age from 7 to 75.
Blue Hill, Maine is the birthplace of a good deal of New England?s steel band
activity and is the home base for the professional group, Atlantic Clarion Steel
Band; the adult community steel band FLASH! In the Pans; the high school-age
Planet Pan; and the youth group Rhythm Rockets. Thanks to their performances
and workshops in communities around New England, pan playing is recognized as
an activity that unifies people regardless of race, culture, or age.
FLASH! In the Pans
In 1990, Carl Chase put an ad in the local paper inviting people to come to
an adult education class at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill to learn to
play the steel drum. A few semesters and several outdoor gigs later, FLASH In
the Pans (FLASH!) was born.
Under the musical direction of Carl Chase and his son Nigel, FLASH has grown
to become one of the largest community-based steel bands in the country. Its
repertoire is an eclectic mix of traditional calypso, swing, blues, pop and
classical pieces.
FLASH's approximately 45 members, many of whom have little or no musical background,
range in age from 20 to 70 and in their "other" lives are students,
teachers, farmers, carpenters, store and business owners, and professionals.
Band members donate their time and energy for the sheer fun of spreading the
joy of the instrument and the music. During the winter, they meet weekly to
learn new songs, practice old ones, and occasionally perform concerts. Several
years ago, FLASH created and continues to host the successful, family friendly
Blue Hill New Years Eve celebration "Last Night." In the summer, FLASH?s
enormously popular Monday night street dances are fund-raisers that benefit
local charitable organizations and contribute to the sense of community spirit
found in many rural areas
In 2001, Peninsula Pan, Inc. was created to manage the business affairs of FLASH.
The 501(c)3 non-profit status of the organization allows us to accept donations
and grants to offset internal costs, provide special funding for special events
such as the Steel band Festival in May, and award scholarships to local students.
For more information, visit www.peninsulapan.org