JULIE WILLIAMS: I love pan, I love Exodus

Julie Williams has devoted 38 years of her life to the Republic Bank Exodus steel orchestra, setting foot on the St Augustine compound for the first time as a member when she was a form two student at St George’s College in Barataria.

“I played pan at school, but it wasn’t enough and I wanted more, so my mother took me to Exodus,” she told WMN. She plays the cello pan and tenor bass.

“But I’m always a cello player,” she said with a laugh.

Almost four decades have seen Williams spending countless hours in the panyard while also completing her secondary and tertiary education, and starting a career and family. She is the mother of three, and a manager at Republic Bank’s credit card centre.

Almost four years ago she was elected captain of the orchestra – a role she takes as seriously as her maternal and professional duties.

“I am the longest-serving female member of Exodus, and as a woman, this means a lot, especially when you know that some men have their own views of women giving them instructions.”

When she joined the band she met foundation member Sharon Mc Liesh and a number of other women, who eventually moved on. Williams stayed.

“It feels great to be captain of something in which you grew up. It’s very close to my heart because I love pan and I love Exodus. Captain or not, though, it just feels good to grow up in and belong to a band that has achieved so many things.”

Williams said as captain it is her duty to motivate players, do administrative work, make sure the band has a good showing, keep the players as happy as possible because “happy players give a good outcome, and to make sure we keep that family-like environment.” She said the ultimate goal is to always work towards the greater good of Exodus.

The job is not all wine and roses, but Williams prefers to focus on the triumphs rather than the challenges. For her, among the most memorable of Exodus’s accomplishments was preparing the children’s band, Exocubs, for a trip to Argentina in 2012 and seeing them perform there.

Another, she said, was the firm stand the band took in 2019, when Pan Trinbago tried to prevent it from changing its it tune from SuperBlue’s Rag Storm to Kees Dieffenthaller’s Savannah Grass in the Panorama finals.

“We went to court and we won.”

Her personal mission is to lead the orchestra to winning the national Panorama title again. Exodus has won the title four times – in 1992, 2001, 2003 and 2004.

“One of the major goals of any steelband is to win Panorama. Since I’ve been captain we have not been able to achieve that. But I want us to lift that trophy a fifth, sixth and seventh time, and the sooner the better.”

But the covid19 pandemic has put that mission on hold temporarily. The restrictions resulted in limited rehearsals, which eventually came to a complete stop, and the cancellation of Carnival 2021.

Band members now communicate via a WhatsApp chat group and Williams said, as captain, she periodically calls people to see how they’re doing.

“I try not to call too often, because people need their space.

“It is what it is. We have to respect the laws of the land and hope that one day it will get better. Accepting is the best way to cope with it. Safety comes first.”

On the possibility of a Carnival 2022, Williams said, “That is a million-dollar question. If the current trend continues, I will say no. If there are drastic improvements and more people become vaccinated, there is a possibility.

“But from where I sit, I wouldn’t rush to have a Carnival and Panorama until the country is in a comfortable state.”

In the meantime, she has the time to put more focus on her other roles in life. Williams said generally, she tries her best to live her life according to Psalm 1:1, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”

“I am just a simple person who loves my family, loves people, and I try to do my best to live a good life.”

Even though her children are young adults, Williams said her Curepe home will always be a safe haven for them. Her daughter is in sixth form and preparing for CAPE exams. Her second is studying and working, and her first son is a chef.

“He was affected the worst by the pandemic, but we are a family and we stick together. We will just continue praising God and keeping ourselves healthy. We are coping by whatever means is presented to us.”

And when covid19 and its variants eventually lose their sting, Williams said she is really looking forward to the return to physical pan.

“To go to a performance and hear the live music and to dance – oh my God, I can’t wait.” She is also anxious to get back to organising the Companions Among Steelband event, a sports and family day for members of the pan fraternity.

“After Panorama, where we would have competed fiercely, and we just look forward to that camaraderie at that event.”

But, she said, with excitement in her voice, “What I look forward to most is Panoroma, when Exodus can once again lift that trophy five, six and seven times, under my watch.”