National Steel Orchestra shares skills with children in Barbados

Beyond being among some of the more celebrated public steel pan players, drumming out some of the most infectious music, the Guyana contingent under the guidance of National Music Director Mr Andrew Tyndall has been imparting knowledge to keep the art-form alive on the island of Barbados. This is also part of Guyana’s offerings to CARIFESTA XIII.

On Friday students of the Belleville Grammar School, Kingston Terrace, St Michael, Barbados had a full day of Steelpan classes. The school caters for children ages 4 to adult and a large amount of the students were exposed to a ‘Fun Music Workshop that offered them practical insights and hands on experiences of how to play the steel pan.

“It’s just to offer the children further exposure to steel pan and to have them experience the splendour of music from the Guyana perspective,” Tyndall said from the Guyana side.

“It is a great opportunity to work with Guyana and we are grateful for it. We are excited and would appreciate any opportunity moving forward to work with Guyana and its National School of music via the Ministry of Education to offer this course as part of our curriculum,” said Mrs Nicole Dummett a co-director and instructor at the private institution.

Barbados had a steel orchestra but it is now defunct and it a dream of Ramon Dummett, himself a Guyanese residing in Barbados to reintroduce a national orchestra to the ‘Island in the sun’ working from the ground up.

Mr Dummett grew up in Guyana as a former resident of Atlantic Ville, East Coast Demerara, Guyana.

“We can consider this fun music workshop a new alliance between Guyana and Barbados where the sky is the limit in regards to Caribbean integration through music,” Mrs Dummett said.

All told the School has about 70 students.