With the numbers in the National Youth Steel Orchestra increasing, a home is needed says musical director Lowrey Worrell.
Worrell appealed for private sector assistance during a press conference at the National Cultural Foundation’s (NCF) West Terrace, St Michael headquarters on Wednesday.
The musical director reported the orchestra now has over 90 members, with an upsurge in applicants for the beginner’s programme and the orchestra following their stellar performances during the Crop Over Festival.
“We need the investment of private Barbados – the private sector – because pans are not cheap and as the programme is growing. We do need more pans, we do need more infrastructure. We are going to run out of space shortly. I mean St Leonard’s is a school, [but] we want to have our own home and it aids in better tutorship. We need to increase the tutors as the group is growing,” Worrell disclosed.
He acknowledged that the NCF was a major contributor to the orchestra’s success [the NCF invested $250, 000 in developmental programmes during this year’s Crop Over season] but stressed that private sector investment was also necessary.
“NCF has shown their support, [we] just need other persons to show their support.”
“We are being seen and being heard. after Pandemonium I was contacted by CEO of Republic Bank Exodus who said he watched the [Republic Bank Pandemonium]. He was amazed by the youngsters, and that is Trinidad the mecca of pan….If they can see the value, if Canada can see the value, it means the rest of the world can see the value in what we are doing,” Worrell insisted.
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The musical director expressed that he was shocked by the overwhelming response to the orchestra at the National Botanical Gardens for Pandemonium. He pointed out that was an increased interest in the instrument in schools and concluded that the NCF’s developmental programme has thus been successful.
“The NCF has given us the task of developing pan through our students or through the community….[Through] the Pans In The School Programme which was initiated this year by the NCF and the music officer Kevin Moore, we have been able to draw from the school to include those members in the National Steel Orchestra, which does show that development of pan through the schools can work and it can aid wider country.”
“I am very pleased to say that the pan program is growing. From out of [Republic Bank] Pandemonium, we have had persons that have called and started in the beginner’s programme and also joined the orchestra because they liked what they saw,” Worrell added.
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