PAN-JUMBIE

T&T - The national instrument continues to hold the spotlight nationwide as far as live entertainment goes. After hosting last Tuesday evening’s birthday reception for pan icon Neville Jules, Trinidad All Stars steel orchestra will hold a Pan Jam at its Duke Street panyard in Port-of-Spain this evening. Joining All Stars will be Desperadoes, Renegades, and Phase II Pan Groove.

[Guardian]

T&T - Blue blood music lovers of T&T are in for a special treat when Pamberi takes the stage at Studio 66, 66 Sixth Street, Barataria, on June 2 in a show entitled Take Five. Jazz in De Studio, features Pamberi, the San Juan steelband that has been winning over audiences in Europe, North America and the Caribbean, and especially in Japan, where they have made 19 tours thus far. One of the most musically innovative steelbands in the world, Pamberi is long associated with originality, cutting its teeth with composer Godwin Bowen, then nurturing its own homegrown composers and arrangers, such as musical director, Brian Villafana, arranger Cheo Cato, and Reon Patterson.

[Guardian]

T&T - At the world famous, prestigious Chelsea Flower Show that took place between the 21st and the 25th of May in the UK, the Horticultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago won a gold medal – again. In fact this is the 14th time a Gold Medal has been awarded to our horticulturalists and flower-arranging group in the premier flower show in the world. This year’s medal was won for and exhibit of tropical and subtropical flowers and foliage.

[Newsday]

USA - Trinidad and Tobago may be a long way from Byron-Bergen, but the sounds of the islands were heard in the halls of Byron-Bergen Elementary School recently. Eighty-nine fifth-graders learned the history of steel drum music and even got lessons on how to play thanks to a grant administrated by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

[The Daily News Online]

T&T - Robert Greenidge took Caribbean Night to another level last Thursday night. Initiated over two decades ago at Upper Level Club in West Mall, the weekly Thursday night special is being reprised at Woodbrook’s popular De Nu Pub, featuring Pelham Goddard and Roots, with handpicked guest artistes.

[Guardian]

CA - The Toronto Carnival kicked off today with music and dancing at the Ontario Science Centre. MPP Laura Albanese, (York South-Weston) Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport helped unveil the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival 2013 campaign this morning. The Toronto Carnival will run from July 9, 2013 to August 4, 2013, and once again bring the culture of the Caribbean to over a million spectators in downtown Toronto. The public launch will take place on July 9, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. at Toronto's Nathan Phillip's Square, where dancers, musicians, and calypso singers will get the city into the Carnival spirit.

[Newswire]

T&T - At age 11, Ishmael Williams is one of the youngest participants to be selected as Most Outstanding Student in the annual series of pan construction and tuning courses offered by Pan Development Unlimited (PDU) since the training workshops started some four decades ago. An elated Williams, a student of St Margaret’s Boys’ AC School in Belmont, received his award for emerging as the top student in the first cycle of the 2013 Introductory Pan Construction Course. Making the presentation was Ronda Francis, manager, Corporate Responsibility, BP Trinidad and Tobago, longstanding sponsors of the PDU training workshops, at the company’s head-office in Port-of-Spain recently.

[Guardian]

UK - Twenty-six children from Year 7, Year 8 and the senior school gathered together to bring the sounds of the Caribbean to Boyton Hall in Roxwell. From traditional Caribbean tunes such as Lazy Coconut, Yellow Bird and Steel Calypso, to TV themes like Hawaii 5-O, through to popular songs such as Tragedy and Paint it Black and alongside Jazz numbers Rock around the clock, Watermelon Man, St Thomas, Tequila and In the Mood, the Steel Bands proved how versatile they are in repertoire. Their enthusiastic playing amazed the crowds and showed just how talented a group of children they are.

[Dunmow Broadcast]

UK - To the musical ear, life has a rhythm comparable to grand opera or simple folk tunes. Our ability to understand that rhythm and synchronise with each other is at the core of every human interaction. That's why researchers in San Diego believe that learning to play musical instruments can help us focus attention and improve our ability to interact with the world around us. For more than a year, children at the city's Museum School have been taking part in an experiment involving Gamelan, a percussion style of ensemble music from Indonesia that emphasizes synchronicity. Sensors attached to the instruments monitor the children's ability to hit the beat precisely. The data is analyzed and a mathematical algorithm is used to determine a base measurement of their accuracy. That measurement is then compared to the results of behavioural and cognitive tests, and assessments by teachers and parents.

[BBC News]