“I feel honoured to receive all this love here”

Tobagonian-born pannist and Duvone Stewart was literally brought to tears on Sunday evening, as he was honoured by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) for his outstanding contributions to the steelpan fraternity.

As a tribute, Stewart was presented with a portrait of himself by Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, Tourism and Culture Secretary Nadine Stewart PAhillips and Chairman of the Festivals Commission, George Leacock International Music Night of the 2018 Tobago Jazz Experience held at the Pigeon Point Heritage Park. Stewart’s portrait was done by artist Shonari Richardson.

Speaking with reporters following the presentation, Stewart expressed his gratitude for the tribute.

“I am very, very pleased. I am very honoured to be back home. Of all the accolades and the successes that I have had thus far, it is fulfilling for me to be recognised by the people back home. I feel honoured to receive all this love here, it was shocking but then again, I receive everything with an open heart and I will continue to make myself become the flag ship of steelpan music from Tobago to the world.

“Tobago is a small island with a gross amount of talent and for me to come from this pristine, beautiful island with such great talent, it is indeed an honour,” he said.

Stewart performed at the jazz festival on Sunday, for the first time in the ten-year-history of the event, describing the experience as “priceless.”

“Priceless... it’s hard to explain. Performing for my people back home, it is always an honour, it is always a joy for me to come back home and bless the people that made me what I am. After 34/35 years of playing the steelpan, I have received so much love from everybody back here in Tobago; my school, my peers, my family, my friends, everybody from Crown Point to Charlotteville.

“Everyone always believed in Duvone and I am very thankful for being back home to deliver high class, high performance that the young generation in steelpan can see and to believe that there is a legend, that there is an icon in the name of Duvone Stewart to make them feel comfortable and believe that there is life in steelpan music around the world,” he said.

“I am a teacher at the University of Paris, I also do master class lectures and workshops on the art of the steelpan at other universities around the world. But 2018 has been my best year ever...

“I’ve been the only arranger to win Medium, Small, Large and Single - only arranger to win two Panoramas in one night. With all these successes that came in, 2018 was blown out of proportion where I am being all over the world right now marketing steelpan, marketing the instrument, marketing Tobago and marketing Trinidad and Tobago’s culture because at the end of the day, someone must tell it from one point to a next,” he said.

Stewart leaves Tobago today to begin preparations for various jazz events including Deutsches Jazz festival in Germany and the Austrian Jazz Fest.

“I have a lot of events on my itinerary, it is intense, it big so I am just enjoying it right now, taking it one day at a time,” he said.