The sound of steel pan music is set to full the Kingston Parish Church this Sunday, November 14.

The event, Pan Extravaganza will mark the start of eight days of fasting, prayer and thanksgiving for the ministry of the church in the city of Kingston, is the first of its kind in a local Church.

The musical feast will begin at 4:00 pm, and will feature four steel bands playing classical, religious, as well as reggae and soca music. Three of the bands are from Churches in the Anglican Diocese — The Church of the Ascension, Church of the Transfiguration and

The Musical Apostles from the Kingston Parish Church/Christ Church, Vineyard Town. The Stella Maris Steel Band completes the line-up.

The bands will be supported by guest soloists, Carole Reid and Andrew Lawrence, who doubles as the emcee for the programme.

Noted organist, Dwight McBean, who is coordinating the performances, says that two works composed by local ‘panists’ specifically for this event will be premiered.

All four bands will open the show with a piece titled We are Gathered, written by David Aarons, a young member of the St. Andrew Parish Church and the University of the West Indies Panoriddim Steel Band. The concert will close with Song of Praise, a composition by Gay Magnus, who is the tutor of the Musical Apostles and also a member of the Panoriddim Steel Band.

Proceeds from the concert will go towards purchasing new instruments for the Musical Apostles Steel Band and repairing existing ones. McBean notes that “The acquisition of new instruments will reduce the number of students who have to share Pans at rehearsals and facilitate further development of the Music Ministry at the Church.”