The last night of preliminary judging for Large Bands took place on Wednesday evening in the Northern Region.
At this stage, judging occurs at each band’s respective panyard.
Band Captain at Phase II Pan Groove, Michelle Huggins-Watts, shared that their tune of choice, “Trouble,” was written by Freetown Collective, while the arrangement was composed by the legendary Len ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe.
“The arrangement is musically sound, and it captures a lot, many elements of music, the development of the motifs of the song, the melodic development and so on. A lot of reharmonisation, jazz idioms, crescendos – I mean, like, everything you can think of musically is embedded in this song.”
Over at the ProMan Starlift Steel Orchestra Pan Yard, Arranger and Musical Director for the band, Dante Pantin, shared that they selected the song “Last Train” by Mical Teja for their composition, not only for its popularity but also because of the story it tells.
“I would like to say, probably over a decade since Starlift has had an almost full contingent. And when I say almost, I mean 95%, 98%. Every night, starting on time, and that is what is needed. The most minimal requirement for a Panorama piece are rehearsals.”
Vice-captain of the band, Aliyah Low, said that while people appreciate the refined finished product, they are often unaware of the work that happens behind the scenes.
“It doesn’t matter how big you are, how old you are or anything like that. It should be about how you get the job done. And how passionate you feel about the band and the band’s success.”
After Wednesday evening’s judging, contenders are one step closer to their goal of Panorama glory.