Signal Hill Alumni Choir celebrates pan advances in concerts

In recognition of the recent development of the pan being designated Trinidad and Tobago's national instrument, the pan will be featured at all four shows in the Signal Hill Alumni Choir’s (SHAC) upcoming 40th anniversary concert series.

John Arnold, SHAC’s artistic director and founding member of the choir, and an accomplished musician, composer and event planner, has given a special nod to TT’s 2024 elevation of the pan.

The inclusion also celebrates the 2023 UN Declaration of August 11 as World Steelpan Day and, the more recent Geographical Indication (GI) rights of the pan, the intellectual property rights which establishes TT as pan's birthplace, a media release said.

These advancements augur well for the future of the pan and as SHAC celebrates under the theme 2064: A Musical Odyssey, Arnold seized on the connection to further drive the futuristic narrative in these upcoming collaborations, the release said.

The idea behind 2064 is a promise of the work to come using futuristic lens, projecting another 40 years of the journey, Arnold says in the release. He describes the “odyssey” as the musical expedition into the future, where creativity and forward-thinking collide. The premise and the nexus Arnold say, “is the transcending of time and imagination and the limitless possibilities of music.”

SHAC’s first concert in South Trinidad, on September 21 at Naparima Bowl, features "De Pan Man," Joshua Regrello, an artiste who boasts almost an entire lifetime of playing the instrument and doing so with a multi-genre repertoire. Regrello performs solo and will also join SHAC in a collaboration for the soca and calypso segment.

Beginning at 6.30 pm, the concert cast includes the St Hilaire Brothers, the Southernaires Choir, and Neval Chatelal.

For the second concert weekend in Trinidad, pannist and vocalist Kern Sumerville will perform on both nights at the Central Bank Auditorium. September 28, he joins SHAC, The Lydians and The Love Movement choirs. He returns the following evening, to take the stage with SHAC and the Marionettes Chorale. These shows are at 7 pm and 6 pm, respectively.

Sumerville, a police corporal, is the leader and musical director of TTPS’s Steel Orchestra and according to his bio “is the mastermind behind many of their stellar performance pieces.” An accomplished musician who plays several instruments, Sumerville has forged an alliance with SHAC over the years and has been billed on previous concerts, the release said.

When the choir returns home to Tobago for the fourth and final performance on October 6, the show will be held at the Shaw Park Complex, under the patronage of President Christine Kangaloo.

Black Rock’s son Jaime Ramsey is the pannist to be showcased that evening. Described as a multifaceted professional with a strong academic background, Ramsey has travelled extensively across North America, South America and Europe, doing promotional tours and tourism marketing. A former winner of Baker’s Scouting for Talent in 2003 (Tobago), Ramsey is known for his exceptional skill and passion for music.

The other Tobago show performers are Benjai, Stephanie Joseph, Lynette Louis and the Tobago Amateurs Choir. Showtime in Tobago is 6 pm.

SHAC cited the following pan advances as it prepares to highlight the pan in its 2064: A Musical Odyssey concerts:

Pan progress: The pan is enjoying these accolades firstly with the Senate unanimously passing the National Musical Instrument Bill 2024 last July. This followed unanimous support in the Lower House, with both Government and Opposition voting to ratify the pan as the national instrument.

Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Randall Mitchell, who piloted the bill, was reported as saying, “The designation of the steelpan as our national instrument will increase opportunities for strategic investments and intensify penetration in the highly competitive global cultural and creative market.”

UN recognition: As well, in 2023, the pan was recognised by the UN as the only acoustic instrument created in the 20th century. A UN release said the General Assembly’s proclamation of August11 as World Steelpan Day acknowledges that "The steelpan promotes inclusive societies, sustainable communities and the creative economy and can have a positive impact on mental health and well-being, gender equality and youth empowerment (www.un.org/en/observances/steelpan-day).

“It also has the potential to advance the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda (of preserving cultural diversity, deemed the driving force of change and development), through its use in sectors such as tourism, culture, education, as well as science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.”

Geographical Indication: Meanwhile, explaining the most recent honour of the Geographical Indication (GI) that was granted in August, an intellectual property authority explained that as Champagne is to France and Tequila is to Mexico, so the pan is now the absolute expression of TT, the release said.

These major accomplishments honour the work of our pan pioneers Winston Spree Simon, Ellie Mannette, Bertie Marshall, Neville Jules, and Anthony Williams for their determined foresight and revolutionary spirit, and it is that homage that SHAC expects to pay in its 40th anniversary celebration.

SHAC concerts

6.30 pm: September 21, Naparima Bowl

7 pm: September 28, Central Bank Auditorium

6 pm: September 29, Central Bank Auditorium,

6 pm: October 6, Shaw Park Complex,