All eyes on East Side in single pan semis

Reigning National Single Pan Panorama champion San Juan East Side Symphony jumped out front of this year's competition with a total of 268 points after their performance of Carlan Harewood’s arrangement of Guitar Pan in the preliminary stage.

Speaking with Newsday, manager Andre Franco said, “We were hoping this would materialise but we don’t want to be become over confident as well as we must not become complacent. We resumed practising long before the results came out.”

Arranger Harewood said, “I have plenty more to put in the song, I am going all out to retain the title. I want to elevate the music coming from Single Pan bands, we have to change the narrative and give these bands full respect.

“I wish all bands in the semifinals well but they have to come with their A game as I am coming to win.”

Two bands from Tobago are lurking close behind – Metro Stars with 264 points for their rendition of Cary Codrington’s arrangement of Um By Ya O and Royal Pan Illusion third with 261 points for their performance of This Melody Sweet as arranged by Tony "Pan Jumbie" Williams.

Under the theme Celebrate de Pan, 31 bands will compete in Sunday’s semifinal starting at 4 pm at the Basketball Court, Arima, with the hope of making the final 20.

The finals will come off at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain, on November 23 as the National Panorama Single Pan Indigenous Festival and according to Pan Trinbago’s treasurer, Gerald Mendez, “The final is about celebrating the traditional aspect of pan and calypso.”

In a Pan Trinbago release president Beverley Ramsey-Moore said, “The most far-reaching effort of the new executive so far has been the reorganisation of the Panorama competition with each category given its space.”

SEMIFINAL ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Band – Selection – Arranger

1. Stardust – Party Time – Simeon Superville

2. Nostrand Symphony – Fiery – Curtis Edwards

3. Shades in Steel – Golo – Dante Pantin

4. Gonzales Sheikers – Fantastic Friday – Keisha Codrington

5. Metro Stars – Um Ba Ya Oh – Cary Codrington

6. Platinum – Johnny – Brandon “Shoes” Johnson

7. La Famille United – Fiery – Arddin Herbert

8. San Juan All Stars – Mystery Band – Renaldo De Peiza

9. Pan Elites – No No We Ent Going Home – Sheldon Peters

10. All Aces Symphony – Bounce – Chuma Watson

11. New Age Trendsetters – Poison – Nicholas Joseph/Myles Phillips

12. La Creole Pan Groove – Say Say – Jamal Gibbs

13. Pan Angels – So Long – Ricardo Dennis

14 Chord Masters – Jump And Wave – Kyshon Faith

15. Marsicans – Johnny – Marlon White

16. San Juan East Side Symphony – Guitar Pan – Carlan Harewood

17. Pan Stereonetts – Love in the Cemetery, Akil Brown

18. Nu Pioneers Pan Groove – Unknown Band – Shaun Marcano

19. Brazil RX4 – Party Time – Anselm Campbell

20. World Wide Music – (Dingolay) – Noel “Mico” Skair

21. Arima All Stars – All Dem Tobago Gyal – Mikhail MAX Neils

22. TT Prison Services – Big Belly Man – Terrence Sealey

23 TT Fire Service – Pan In A Minor – Terrence “BJ” Marcelle

24. Royal Palm Illusion – This Melody Sweet – Tony “Pan Jumbie” Williams