Starlift Junior Steel Orchestra staged A Night of Champions last month at Starlift's modern new panyard on Christopher Samuel Drive (formerly Mucurapo Road Extension) St James. Still riding high on a wave of excitement after their successful tour of Canada last June, the pre-teen and teenage members of the decades-old Starlift Steel Orchestra, under the direction of coordinator Barry Mannette, played as deftly as their adult counterparts.
The junior Starlift pannists, following in the footsteps of the band's seniors, are becoming known for their ability to play a variety of styles and demonstrate the versatility of the pan. Patrons at the fund-raising concert also enjoyed musical offerings from the Marsicans Steel Orchestra, an Arima-based steelband that was originally a conventional band formed in 1968. In 1987, the band became a single-pan band and began to shine, achieving finalist and semifinalist positions in dozens of pan events.
In the last decade, the Marsicans achieved top honours in more than 20 competitive pan events, including first place in the World Steelband Music Festival in 2002, second place in the National Panorama for 2008, and first place in TSTT's Pan Down Memory Lane 2008. Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove closed the four-hour long pan concert with a medley of styles delivered smoothly by the band's skilled players.
Several members of the audience, along with players from the other bands, got up from their seats to dance, while others moved closer to the band to get a better look and the deft hand-movements of the Phase II players. Those standing closest to the band also got the opportunity to see Phase II arranger Len "Boogsie" Sharpe at work as he occupied front and centre, demonstrating his own remarkable ability to play the national instrument.