A new cultural production is marking the 75th anniversary of Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra’s (TASPO) historic voyage to the Festival of Britain, retracing the journey that transformed the steelpan from a banned and stigmatized instrument into Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument and a globally celebrated musical innovation.
Seventy-five years after Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra’s (TASPO) historic journey to the Festival of Britain, a new cultural production is celebrating the orchestra that introduced the steelpan to the world. Writer Dr. Josephine Torrel-Brown says it revisits the events that led to Trinidad and Tobago into representing its national instrument on the international stage.
“Trinidad and Tobago heard that Hellgate Steel Band from Antigua was going to represent at the Festival of Britain, then they said that can never be. because here the PAN was born. Here is where steel band would have come from and therefore they decided that is the steel band association at the time decided we have to let Trinidad go and represent our instrument.”
The production also captures the transformation of public attitudes towards the steelpan. Once dismissed and stigmatized, the instrument gained national pride after TASPO’s historic overseas performance.
“When the locals heard that then they started to accept the steel band and they thought over then this has got to be a good thing. So in the production, you would have realized some of the um actors took out umbrellas. It was a very rainy day on the 6th of July 1951. And in spite of the rain, our large crowd came out to see the men off and to support them. So that is what that part of the story would have represented.”
The commemorative project grew out of UTT’s Master’s in Carnival Studies programme, giving students the opportunity to research, produce and perform the story of TASPO while developing their creative and artistic skills.
“Opportunities for them to learn, opportunities for them to shine, opportunities for them to express themselves and to show their talent. So each person, each student had a specific role to play. So we had a creative director, one of the students. We have a talent manager, we have well many of them are actors, um doing the music and and all of that. So our the students not only did the research along with me, along with the notes they got from class, but they also expressed it in the best way that they know how.”
Director Marvin Ishmael says the production also demonstrates the steelpan’s versatility, showing that the national instrument continues to evolve.
“I think steel pan has endless possibilities. There are no end of the possibilities to the use of steel pan in terms of telling a story, in terms of instrumentation for films, soundtracks et cetera.”
The TASPO commemoration now moves beyond Trinidad and Tobago. Following the local production, the project continues in London through partnerships with the Southbank Centre, the University of West London and Nostalgia Steelband, where conferences, performances and a major open-air concert will further celebrate the orchestra that helped launch the global journey of the steelpan.