Cayman’s brightest pannists headed to Toronto, Canada, last month to participate in the Pan Alive Steel Band Competition.
The competition is part of the annual Caribana festival, North America’s largest cultural festival featuring hundreds of Caribbean-inspired events over four action-packed days.
The contingent, led by popular local pannist Earl La Pierre and sponsored by the Ministry of Education, included 17 steel pan players from UCCI’s steel pan band Pandemix, along with local steel bands Panoramers and Pantastic.
This is the eighth year of Caymanian participation, with a larger contingent being sent each year.
“It started out with two students and then six and last year it was up to 30 students and about eight parents,” La Pierre explained.
Cayman’s pannists teamed up with Toronto’s leading steel band “Afropan – the People’s Band” in order to compete, forming a 73-strong steel pan band, placing second out of 13 bands.
“These pan players have made Cayman proud,” La Pierre said.
Adam Stoner, one of the Cayman pan contingency, said the band practiced hard in the months running up to the competition, often up to four hours a day.
“We all practiced as one band in Cayman. We then joined the much larger Afropan steel band when we went to Toronto on July 24 and practiced about six hours every night up till the competition,” Stoner said.
Following the competition, the pannists performed at two street dance festivals and in the Caribana parade.
“Performing in the parade the next day was a chance for them to soak in the atmosphere – one million people lined the streets to watch – and play for the joy of it,” said Iris Stoner, who chaperoned the group for the third year running. “It was a great experience for everyone.”
Glen Inanga, senior music lecturer at UCCI and a renowned musician, was involved in planning the Toronto trip. He said events such as these are important to the development of local talent in an international forum.
“It is a unique opportunity for the students to be exposed to playing the instrument in a different context as Afropan are at least three times bigger than the ones in Cayman,” Inanga said.
La Pierre has a long history with the Toronto steel pan community, forming Afropan more than 40 years ago while living in Toronto, and winning the steel band competition 30 times, placing second 10 times and third once.
Indeed, his efforts have not gone unnoticed. After the Caribana festivities, he traveled to the nearby city of Barrie, where he was bestowed an award and banner by Mayor Jeff Lehman, and had the fifth annual Rhythmfest dedicated in his honor.
His influence here is also evident. “Mr. La Pierre is the reason why steel pan is on Cayman’s cultural map,” Inanga said. “Since the late 1980s, he has made an incredible contribution to the understanding and appreciation of the steel pan in the Cayman Islands.”
This recognition is also shared by the next generation of panners, with Adam Stoner describing him as a dedicated teacher.
“He basically lives and breathes pan,” he said. “His passion for the pan has instilled in me a love for the instrument.”
The future of pan playing in Cayman is bright, with Inanga noting the value that Ontario steel pan players feel that Cayman players bring to their overall standard of performance. “They now consider them on par technically,” he said.
Thanks to La Pierre’s ongoing efforts, increasing numbers are taking up the instrument, from primary school to adult classes at UCCI. La Pierre is hopeful that one day there will be more opportunity for steel pan enthusiasts to showcase their skills throughout the year on-island, in addition to a national steel band being formed.
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