Pan in the 21st Century
Curtis Jones & Ronald Brereton of Tropical Angel Harps
Staff Article
Interview Recorded: April 23, 2006
For the preliminary round of the Pan in the 21st Century 2K6 Competition, bands were judged as in previous years, in their communities. We interviewed some of the key people within the bands about the competition, their history and other activities in the steelband arena. We spoke with Mr. Curtis Jones, Trustee, and Mr. Ronald Brereton PRO of Tropical Angel Harps.
TRINBAGOPAN: Mr. Jones, what song is the band performing today?
CURTIS: The band will be performing "A Lovely Day" by Bill Withers.
TRINBAGOPAN: Who is the arranger?
CURTIS: The arranger is Clarence Morris and the band is lead by Phillip Morris.
TRINBAGOPAN: How has Tropical Angel Harps been this year?
CURTIS: Well, it was more successful than in previous years. For the past couple of years we haven't been making it in the Panorama. This year we had a chance to finally come out of the yard. It was a bit refreshing and a relief to know that we could still make it out there. We weren't too successful in the semi-finals. Hopefully next year we will knock off all those bridges.
TRINBAGOPAN: Do you have any final words?
CURTIS: Everybody practiced hard in a lot of the bands and I just want to give my support to everyone.
TRINBAGOPAN: Thank you.
TRINBAGOPAN: Mr. Brereton, can you give us a short history about your band?
RONALD: The band is close to twenty-three years old now. It was a merger between two bands Tropical Melody and Angel Harps. They were kind of like in sister villages, Glencoe Village and Enterprise. They re-merged and formed Tropical Angel Harps and we have been together ever since. We have won South Panorama on three occasions and we have been to the National Finals, last time being the year with Pandora when we were fifth place in the National Finals. Since then the best we have done is win the semi-finals this year. We didn't make the finals. We have been at the Senior and Junior Musical Festival. Our concentration now is on the development of a junior band. We are teaching music theory and of course developing young players to keep the band going. We also do a homework evening twice a week with those youngsters. Not necessarily teaching but more remedial work. We bring in tutors to help them with their homework.
TRINBAGOPAN: What else do you all have planned for this year, and for Tropical Angel Harps?
RONALD: Tropical Angel Harps is in the center of this so called high risk area. We see ourselves as a beacon for people who want to do positive things with their lives. We could attract them and we have been very successful so far. The major thing is not merely to keep the band going, but to develop a cadre of positive youngsters that would come out of Enterprise and its environs.
TRINBAGOPAN: Do you have any final words?
RONALD: People generally should see the positive side of the Steelband and I am speaking from my own experiences. My two sons had difficulties concentrating for long hours and I brought both of them to the pan yard. When they had to learn ten minutes of music by air, their concentration levels rose tremendously. So much so that my first son has graduated from University and my second son is in his first year at the University. That is what the Steelband can do. It is a tremendous instrument and we kind of downplay it and see it as a seasonal thing. The quicker the public can grasp the full extent of the instrument then we can do more positive things.
TRINBAGOPAN: Thank you.
Tropical Angel Harps in Pictures
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