‘Pantastic’ for Sept 29
THE Stella Maris Steel Band celebrates its 10th anniversary with the Pantastic 10 concert at Courtleigh Auditorium on September 29.
“We are hoping to give the audience a taste of what we do best,” said Margaret Rhoden, band leader and founding member.
Rhoden said the 20-member band’s repertoire covers a variety of genres.
“We start religious, then cover a wide range of music including folk, ska, reggae, and mento,” she told the Jamaica Observer.
Started in September 2002, the band was conceptualised the previous year by Monsignor Richard Albert and Ruthven Jackie, when the church received a gift of steel pans from Trinidad and Tobago.
“We had to start from scratch,” said Rhoden, who said the group still retains seven original members.
The band has also performed abroad. In 2005, they travelled to France and participated in masses and processions celebrating the 20th anniversary of the West Indies participation in the Easter Pilgrimage.
The following year, the band did a threeweek tour of the United Kingdom, playing at concerts in various towns and for mass and services in Catholic and Anglican churches, including Lancaster and Gloucester cathedrals.
In 2009, they performed in church-related functions in Kingston, Westmoreland, Trelawny, Manchester, and St Ann.
