Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008
The sounds of the Caribbean echoed through Paint Branch Elementary School on Feb. 21 as the county’s first elementary school steel band, Tropical Breeze, debuted to an adoring audience of parents and peers.
The 15 students, who ranged in age from second to sixth grade, wore brightly colored tropical shirts with yellow and orange flowers, while performing Luther Vandross’ ‘‘The Impossible Dream” and ‘‘The Prayer” by Yolanda Adams and Donnie McClurkin. The performance was part of the school’s celebration of Black History Month.
‘‘I thought the performance was great,” said Maria Thomas of College Park, whose daughter Kiera, 10, played in the band. ‘‘They’ve been practicing hard ... they were really amazing.”
Kiera said she enjoyed performing.
‘‘It was fun and it has a good beat to it,” she said.
Michael Figeroa, 9, said learning to play the steel drum was difficult but he had a lot of fun.
‘‘We still managed to get through and make it sound good,” he said.
Fourth-grade teacher Lydia Laidlow, a Trinidad native, was inspired to bring the band to the school after the students were exposed to the instruments at the Ottley Music School’s steel band summer camp in 2006.
‘‘The steel band originated in Trinidad, ‘‘she said. ‘‘Most elementary schools in Trinidad had steel bands. I had some very bright boys in my class who had a lot of energy. I wanted to channel that energy into doing something new, different and challenging.”
Laidlow convinced Principal Edwin Saunders of the merits of starting a steel band and it was formed in December 2007.
The parents paid about $10,000 and Laidlow’s brother, Paul, paid for the remainder for the drums, which were purchased from Trinidad.
‘‘I had a burden for young black males, and I was convinced if they could be encouraged into getting into the arts, that it would be something fun for them to do in their spare time,” Laidlow said.
Instructor Richard Wentworth teaches the students about three hours a week in the morning and afternoon.
Most of the students didn’t have any musical training before that, Laidlow said.
The biggest problem now, she said, is fitting the drums into her classroom. Laidlow said the band currently doesn’t have any plans for future performances outside the school.
E-mail Deborah Stoudt at dstoudt@gazette.net.
