Massy Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra has a new artistic director and she intends to keep the 86-year-old steelband—the world’s oldest—ahead of the competition.
Dr Mia Gormandy-Benjamin was recently appointed as artistic director, charged with overseeing the musical and creative elements of Trinidad All-Stars, of which the orchestra’s rehearsals are a part.
Rehearsals are an important routine for an orchestra to be at its best when the curtains are drawn at showtime. Gormandy-Benjamin recently told Sunday Guardian she plans to tighten the ship a bit.
“I aim to make rehearsals and meetings more efficient by encouraging performers to show up on time, work towards a common goal, and finish at a reasonable time. The more we get done in a timely manner the better as the outcome would be greater,” she said.
She also intends to archive the band’s music, ensuring that it is scored so that it can be properly preserved for generations “100 years from now.”
An efficient log of the orchestra’s instruments and effective training are also two other items on her list of priorities.
“I would also be ensuring that there’s proper training for the players because we want to make sure that we’re at the highest level at all times so that we can perform very high-quality shows. The goal is definitely elevating the types of performances we have and doing new things. We want to move away from the typical and move towards the new to ensure that we are innovative and staying ahead of the trends.”
Outside of Panorama season, the orchestra creates a space for the national instrument to be showcased–particularly through its biannual concert series, Classical Jewels.
Drawing from a robust local and international repertoire to deliver rousing performances, the concert is usually a treat for pan lovers.
Gormandy-Benjamin, who has had a long relationship with Trinidad All Stars stemming from her childhood days of being a member of the steelband, gradually started writing music for the orchestra and initially acted as a guest conductor for Classical Jewels. She was again invited the last time the event was held in 2019, serving as artistic director.
Dr Mia Gormandy-Benjamin
Courtesy Dr Mia Gormandy-Benjamin
“I think everyone was very happy with the show and then talks started about making my position more permanent,” she said.
Pannist, composer, arranger, ethnomusicologist, educator, performing artist— Gormandy-Benjamin has been a prolific contributor to local culture.
Attaining a full scholarship to pursue a Bachelor of Music at Northern Illinois University (NIU) in 2005 opened the door for her to become a well-known ambassador of this country’s national instrument.
While at NIU, she also completed a Master of Music and would later add another Master of Music, and a PhD in Ethnomusicology to her portfolio at Florida State University.
Currently an Assistant Professor of Music with a speciality in Pan at UTT, she has performed in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia and has directed several university steelbands at home and abroad.
Staying ahead of the game for Gormandy-Benjamin has also meant having the foresight to join with two other internationally acclaimed pannists to create Virtual Steelpan I and II—digitally connecting and featuring over 300 artistes from 11 countries as one steelband–before such online productions became popular.
It has also meant co-founding PanNotation, a company dedicated to providing an avenue for arrangers and composers to safely sell their music online, and which also acts as a virtual subscription library for academic articles, podcasts and steelband profiles.
As to her passion for music, the talented musician said she enjoys creating pieces to evoke the emotions of others and to provide audiences with an escape from their everyday routine.
“When they come to our shows they must leave feeling elevated, feeling as though they have enjoyed something and want to return, and to me, music helps people escape from the stresses of life...it’s about allowing an escape through our national instrument for our audience members so that they feel better about life. It gives them the energy to continue,” she said.
Reflecting on times when she was criticised publicly as a young up-and-coming pannist, Gormandy-Benjamin advised others out there with dreams that: “Before many victories, there will be failures or negatives, but you must maintain your focus, keep pushing and ignore the noise.”
Q&A with Dr Mia Gormandy-Benjamin
What do you think your appointment as artistic director means for women?
“I feel as though my situation isn’t particularly unique because there are other women in pan who have been very successful in leadership roles. While I am the first artistic director at All Stars, regardless of gender, the organisation has seen other female musical directors and conductors. However, I do think that representation is important and I am happy to show other women that these positions are also open to us.”
How did you become involved with Trinidad All Stars?
“My parents brought me into the panyard when I was nine years old. This was in August of 1998. I was the only child on the stageside. A youth orchestra didn’t yet exist. At the time, I was doing a lot of solo performances and entering competitions, my parents found that it was time to join a steel orchestra and Trinidad All Stars was one of their favourites, so they brought me to the panyard. I’ve been a member ever since.”
Is there anything you wish to reflect on about winning the scholarship to NIU in 2005 and the “One of NIU’s Most Outstanding Women of the Year 2011” award while you were there?
It’s amazing how that whole scholarship came about. If I had won the Hal Jackson Talented Teens International competition, I would have been on tour in Europe and I would not have had the opportunity to perform at an awards ceremony where Liam Teague, who is a professor of Music at NIU, attended. Placing second in the Talented Teens competition ensured that I was back home to participate in the awards ceremony and I was later offered the scholarship to NIU. That’s why when things don’t go your way and you think things are disappointing you have to just trust God because He has a plan and clearly, that was His plan. At NIU I did my best as a student. For my Master’s degree in Steel Pan Performance, I graduated with a 4.0 GPA, so I was nominated as one of NIU’s most outstanding women based on the work I was doing.”
Any high points or adversities you faced along your journey that you can share?
“Yes, I’ve definitely had a lot of high points and adversities. I think my high points are projects like PanNotation, the Virtual Steelband, Pan in Unity, international performances, etc. My highest point was earning a PhD in Ethnomusicology that focussed on research based heavily on the steelpan. I was very proud, especially since this was the result of really hard work. On the other hand, I’ve run into some health issues over the years due to ignoring my body and getting caught up in my work. I’ve also gotten a lot of noes in my life. People see this girl with four degrees, they don’t realise how many denials I received. (Laughter) Even when we had the first Virtual Steelband, there weren’t many Trinidadians in it because some people were sceptical. Once we did the first one, we had a lot more Trinidadians involved the second time around. For every three or four noes there’s a yes in there somewhere. It’s just a matter of crossing those obstacles as best as you can.”
Please share a memorable moment of performing abroad. What was the audience was like and why was it special?
“I’ve actually performed in a lot of different countries. I think probably the most memorable was Japan just because it wasn’t just one performance. Because I was in Japan for such a lengthy period of time I was able to perform in different ways. I did a duet show with Yuki Nakano, performed with steel orchestras–the Panorama Steel Orchestra, the Sonics-Tokyo Steel Orchestra. It was magnificent! I think it’s very different playing in a Japanese steelband and the audience loved it. It was very memorable because it was something that I wasn’t used to. People from around the world come to Trinidad to perform for Panorama because it’s not normal to them...but the other way around, it’s a different energy, it’s a different audience, just how they set up rehearsals and do things behind the scenes was very different and very intriguing for me because that was indeed part of my research.”
What is it about music that fascinates you?
“I like the idea of creating an experience for someone. I like the idea of changing someone’s emotions because I feel as though that’s a very powerful thing to do on a stage. When someone walks into a show they must feel something and it’s that sense of happiness or feeling that makes you human. It’s about the emotion that it can evoke because music is something that can have different meanings for different people. For example, a patient with Alzheimer’s tends to remember the music he or she listened to as a kid, whereas for that same music, a five-year-old might say it’s boring...I like the idea of shaping music and shaping an experience for a wide audience.
Dr, what else is on your bucket list?
“My bucket list ever since I was young always had to do with travel. I’m always very fascinated about meeting people, understanding different cultures, and how pan exists within different cultures, so I just want to continue on that path, checking off more countries, getting to know more pannists around the world, showcasing our music. So far I’ve been to 18 countries. I’m very passionate about spending time with my family because I work very hard, so I look forward and when we take vacations we go all out.”
Please talk briefly about any interesting hobbies or other interests you have.
“I’m a movie buff and a foodie, so I love to eat. I love trying new foods. I pretty much tried everything in Japan when I was there, and I tend to do that when I travel to the point where my husband gets nervous for me. Because I tell stories on the stage, I’m fascinated with movies; how stories are told and how characters are revealed...we used to really enjoy going to the movies before the pandemic. “