Sion Hill, C. W. Prescod ‘steel’ pan fans hearts
The Sion Hill Euphonium and the C. W. Prescod Primary School steel pan bands left Carnival City, Victoria Park on Sunday evening in a jubilant mood,{{more}} after winning the community-based bands and school-based bands segments respectively, of this yearâs VINLEC Junior Pan Fest.
For the C.W. Prescod, this is the first time the school has won the competition which has been in existence for the past 20 years.
Playing the melody taught them by the bandâs arranger, Kesslon Jaffa Wilson, the young pan players had the fairly large crowd dancing under overcast skies to their rendition, âWe Dancingâ, by Alston Becket Cyrus.
Last yearâs winner, the Girlsâ High School, had to settle for second position with their rendition of âGo Right Up In Deyâ by well-known calypsonian Poorsah.
The St Joseph Convent Kingstown (SJCK) took the third spot with âLoving Canât Done,â by the band Touch.
The other schools competing in last Sundayâs VINLEC Junior Pan Fest were the Adelphi Secondary School and the Troumaca Primary School.
Following the completion of the schoolsâ segment, it was then the turn of the eight community bands to impress the judges.
Even though the rain, which came intermittently during this part of the competition, forced patrons to have to repeatedly seek shelter, they always returned to the front of the stage to get a close look of the youngsters in action.
For the Sion Hill Euphonium, âIt was a joyous and well-deserved victory,â according to their arranger, Rodney Small.
âWe worked hard and I credit all the team members for their effort, because now we are all winners,â Small told SEARCHLIGHT, after they were announced community band winners.
Sion Hill Euphonium, with their rendition of Winston Sosoâs âBig Bottomâ, earned the judgesâ nod and also seemed to be the crowd favourite, as the loudest of cheers were heard around Victoria Park following the bandâs performance.
Second place went to last yearâs winners, Sea Operations Starlift, playing âTribute to Andrewâ, a calypso sung by Hero.
Vita Malt Symphonix, playing âGal ah Rush Meâ by Becket, took the third position.
A surprise presentation was also made during last Sundayâs event. For his decades of contribution to the development of steel pan here, Francis âPesâ Llewellyn was presented a portrait of himself by Chairman of the Carnival Development Corporation, Dennis Ambrose.
Meanwhile, Minister of Culture McKie, in congratulating the winners and participants of this yearâs competition, told SEARCHLIGHT that he was pleased with the support displayed by Vincentians, who came out despite the cloudy weather to witness the young pan players showcase their talents.
âIt was fantastic and very encouraging to see the support shown here tonight. This is a sign that steel pan music is alive and well in St Vincent and the Grenadines,â McKie added.(AA)