20 single pan bands move on to finals

There will be 20 single-pan bands moving on to the finals of that category on December 3 at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain.

The semifinals were held on Saturday at the Arima Velodrome, Vignale Street, Arima.

Pan Trinbago’s unofficial results showed 2023’s single pan winners San Juan’s Chord Masters again topping the semifinals’ list.

The pan body’s president, Beverley Ramsey-Moore, described the semifinals as “fantastic.”

She said, “It was really pleasing to see so many of our single-pan-band performers having a great time on stage. I really want to commend our events committee for a great job in terms of rolling out the event, ensuring that after 30 bands, we were finished before midnight.”

She also thanked Arima mayor Balliram Maharaj and the borough’s councillors for their support.

Pan Trinbago plans on keeping the semifinals in the eastern region, given its success there.

While there was a greater turnout than last year and there was an increase in gate receipts, she said the body was expecting more people but understood there was a culture of people not wanting to pay for pan.

This is a culture the organisation is trying to change, she said.

“They believe that, ‘Pan is we thing. Pan is we own and that type of thing.’”

“So, of course, when we have the free shows, it is maxed out. But we are trying to break that culture … We want people to support our steelbands.”

She said it was very expensive to put a band on stage.

A tenor pan cost between $7000-$8000, and a large band contained over $2 million worth of instruments, she said.

“To maintain the instruments and to pay for tuners and all of the other services that must be provided is why we are asking TT and corporate TT, in particular, to support pan in communities.

“When you support pan in communities, you support the people of TT because it is over $6,000 pannists that we have performing from the single pan category to the large.”

She called on TT to be willing to pay for pan events.

However, she was “extremely grateful” for what she described as a rejuvenation of pan in communities and thanked all of the supporters of youth in pan.

Ramsey-Moore also promised that the single-pan finals will be a “story to unfold.”

She added there will be a “really dramatic presentation which will bring back the old-time days.

“The single pan is the nucleus of the steelpan movement, the foundation upon which we stand. So, we are always going to cherish that aspect of our culture because it is the beginning. The alpha.”

Ramsey-Moore said there will be $2.2 million in prize monies for single pan bands, with the winner receiving $275,000.

SUBHEADING:

The 20 bands moving on to the finals from Pan Trinbago’s unofficial results are: -

Chord Masters San Juan East Side Symphony Nostrand Symphony Newtown Playboys Trinidad and Tobago Police Steel Orchestra Metro Stars Trinidad Nostalgic Woodbrook Playboyz Arima All Stars Trinidad East Side Symphony D’ Brimblers Marsicans Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service Steel Orchestra Platinum Steel Orchestra La Famille United New Age Trendsetters Uni Stars San Juan All Stars Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service Steel Orchestra Ice Water Pan Ensemble