Pannists visit Kazakhstan for Espana Trade Expo

Named the Caribbean Steel Pan Connexion (correct spelling), the band consisting of Andre Robbley, Kwesi Paul, Carlon Morris and Terry Guischard left the country yesterday to spend 49 days promoting TT’s national instrument in the Central Asian country. The team was the only one chosen by Caricom to represent the Caribbean at the show.

The team’s manager, Israel Mc- Leod said the men were all professional universtity-qualified musicians who have received an opportunity they have always dreamed of with hopes that more doors like this would open up to them in the future.

The team’s leader Robbley is the lead tenor with the Desperadoes Steel Orchestra for the last 30 years while Paul plays with Pandemonium Steel Orchestra and Phase II Pan Group. Morris is the lead double tenor also with Desperadoes and Guischard plays with NLCB Fonclaire.

McLeod said the group first found out about the expo through an advertisement on Facebook asking for all steel pannists to submit an audition fee and contact information.

She said this invitation came from Caricom and they had to submit a seven-minute video highlighting local music including calypso, soca, and, just to show their diversity, threw in a version of Ave Maria.

“We submitted a proposal which described each of the musicians and their experience, our repertoire and the number and types of pans that we would propose to be used for a trade show like this.

“Caricom would have identified a sponsor company in Kazakhstan to partner with and out of whatever submissions they received, we were the successful group. I don’t know how many other parties would have submitted, but I don’t think it would have been that many, maybe about two others submitted.

Israel said this was the first time that steelpan was being introduced to Kazakhstan and this was the only group in TT representing the Caricom in the trade show. However, she bemoaned the fact that TT was the last group to arrive in the country, when other reprsentative countries had arrived for over a month.

“It has been going on for a while so, we are really going to show up and show off what we have to offer,” she said during a telephone interview yesterday, while she was clearing their steelpans at the Piarco International Airport.

McLeod said she could not say what was the keep back, but was grateful that they were finally on their way.

The manager said the pannists were very excited for this opportunity to showcase their talent, and also the culture of their country.

“Besides pulling out our hair this morning they are very excited.

They are musiciians, they don’t have another option such as plumbing or going into IT or things like that. They are trained and qualified at university level as musicians, so this is the opportunity that they have been dreaming of, to be self sufficient as musicians and to have doors open up. They are also looking forward to more opportunities coming out of this arrangement,” McLeod said.