San Juan East Side Symphony elated over 8th single pan title

San Juan Eastside Symphony’s manager and owner Andre Franco said the band is elated with its eight single pan title.

The band won the first title for Carnival 2025 playing Barbadian band Spice and Company’s 1993 single, The Guns. The single pan finals took place on December 14 at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain.

The 2024 winner, Chord Masters Steel Orchestra came second and Metro Stars Steel Orchestra placed third among the 25 competing bands.

In a phone interview on December 16, Franco said everyone worked hard to get the band its eighth title.

The band earned 284 points with its arrangement of the song.

Ace arranger Duvone Stewart put the piece together.

“We have been working hard. Between 2010 to now, we got eight champions, three seconds and two thirds and we think we have been consistent with the Panorama and competition,” Franco said.

The band won its first five championships with Stewart, two with arranger Carlan Harewood and then returned to having Stewart as its arranger in 2024.

The band chose The Guns because it wanted to send a message about crime in Trinidad and Tobago.

“There are too many guns in the town. This one have a gun, that one have a gun and that is why we chose that song," he said, quoting the lyrics.

“It bad, it really bad. We have a group of young players in the band and we want them to understand it from that level,” he said.

Franco said Stewart would always try to arrange national-building songs and do so in a “nice” way.

The band won $275,000.

Indigenous festival

Meanwhile, Pan Trinbago president Beverley Ramsey-Moore envisions the single pan leg of Panorama becoming an indigenous festival.

She shared her hope after speaking to the recently concluded single pan leg of the competition.

Ramsey-Moore said she hoped to speak to the executive about the indigenous festival so it could materialise for the 2026 competition. The executive would look at each category and discuss possible innovations it could introduce, she said.

She suggested this as one of the possible innovations for this category after saying there were some who wanted to get rid of the category.

Ramsey-Moore repeated that the single pan was TT’s indigenous pan.

“Some people are of the view that we should finish away with this category but that will never happen under our watch because we feel we must pay homage to those who would have invented the instrument.”

She said the competition’s various elements could morph into a festival which could include indigenous foods as well as partnerships with groups like the Emancipation Support Committee of TT and the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community.

“The additions could be made to have an entire day of fun and festival.

“Just as we have the Savannah Party, a whole day of activity, then we could have a whole day of indigenous festival which includes the single pan final.”

The sold-out tickets was an indicator to Ramsey-Moore that the event was growing.

“It was one of the events we had to do a lot of work in terms of marketing as a stand-alone event.”

There was also a marked, continuous improvement in musicianship, she added.

The competition was fierce, as 2024 winners Chord Masters was going for a hat-trick and San Juan Eastside Symphony knew it had to put in a lot of hard work to regain the title, she said.

Ramsey-Moore said the next leg of Panorama will be the judging of the small conventional bands, scheduled to begin on January 4, 2025.

This was shaping up to be another exciting competition, she added.

“Based on what has happened for the single pan category, we know for a fact, we are going to have a bumper season.

“Trinidad and Tobago is in love with their steelpan once more and we look forward to the pan on the coat of arms before the Carnival period is over.”

In August, the Prime Minister announced plans to redesign the national symbol to include the pan and remove Christopher Columbus’s ships from the coat of arms.

Mitchell congratulates band

The San Juan East Side Symphony has received congratulations on its victory from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts. In a media release the ministry said, "The San Juan East Side Symphony delivered a resounding performance of The Guns."

Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell said, “This year, 2024, was an especially celebratory year for the steelpan fraternity, in light of all activities surrounding World Steel Pan Day, the passage of legislation to designate the steelpan as TT’s national musical instrument and most recently, the significant increase in Government funding, remittances and support for unsponsored steelbands and steelpan players.

"I extend heartfelt congratulations to the San Juan East Side Symphony and all exceptional performers at the National Panorama Single Pan Band Finals. Thank you for your consistent demonstration of the extraordinary talent and dedication to our steelpan and our unique cultural landscape.”

Single pan finals results

1. San Juan East Side Symphony Steel Orchestra – 284 points – The Guns

2. Chord Masters Steel Orchestra – 276 points – Swing Engine

3. Metro Stars Steel Orchestra – 272 points – Disco Daddy

4. Hope Pan Groovers – 271 points – Long Time

5. New Age Trendsetters – 268 points – This Melody Sweet

6. Platinum Steel Orchestra – 265 points – Hairy Bank

6. TT Fire Service Steel Orchestra – 265 points – Fire Coming Down

8. Belmont Hi-Larks – 264 points – Johnny

9. Trinidad Nostalgic Steel Orchestra – 262 points – Soca Train

10. Trinidad East Side Symphony – 261 points – Shaking It

10. Nostrand Symphony Steel Orchestra – 261 points – Ka Ka Lay Lay

10. La Creole Pan Groove – 261 points – Bees Melody

13. Marsicans Steel Orchestra – 260 points – Black Man Feeling to Party

13. TT Prison Service Steel Orchestra –260 points – By All Means

15. Pan Elites Steel Orchestra – 259 points – Is Thunder

16. Ice Water Pan Ensemble ­– 258 points – Teaser

16. TT Police Service Steel Orchestra – 258 points – Ah Want It

16. Uni Stars Steel Orchestra - 258 points - Carnival Baby

19. East Phonics Steel Orchestra – 256 points – My House

19. La Romaine Super Vibes ­– 256 points – Stranger

19. San Juan All Stars Steel Orchestra ­–256 points – Inventor

22. Arima All Stars Steel Orchestra – 253 points – Tiney Winey

23. Scrunters Pan Groove – 252 points – Big Belly Man

24. Gonzales Sheikers – 250 points – Ah Home

25. Pan Stereonettes Steel Orchestra – 241 points – Small Pin

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