UA Steel Drum Band celebrating 30 years with April 10 concert

One of the region’s beloved music makers, The University of Akron Steel Drum Band is celebrating its 30th year with a special anniversary concert on Saturday, April 10, 8 p.m., at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall, 198 Hill St., on the UA campus.

This year’s guest artists are calypso singer Relator of Trinidad and steel drum player and composer Andy Narell of France. Relator, whose real name is Willard Harris, is a winner of the international Calypso Monarch competition — an honor to which every calypsonian aspires. He is also an accomplished interpreter of classic calypsos, with a vast knowledge of other calypsonians’ songs, especially those of Lord Kitchener.

Narell has played and recorded with artists as diverse as Chucho Valdes, Bela Fleck, Toto, Nancy Wilson, David Rudder, Tito Puente, and the Kronos String Quartet. He has recorded two albums as co-leader of the Caribbean Jazz Project and has performed on an array of movie scores by James Horner, Elmer Bernstein, Hans Zimmer, Thomas Newman and others. In 1999 he became the first foreigner to compose for Trinidad’s Panorama steel band competition, guiding the 100-player Skiffle Bunch Steel Orchestra to the finals of both the 1999 and 2000 Panoramas.

Tickets are available in advance and at the door. Regular-price tickets are $18 for reserved seating. Discount tickets are $16 for seniors, children 12 and under, and UA faculty, staff and retirees and $9 for UA students with Zip Cards. For tickets and event information call the Thomas Hall Ticket Office at 330-972-7570. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster Centers or Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000. Group discounts are available by calling 330-972-8881. Discount tickets are available only through the Thomas Hall Ticket Office.

One of the country’s oldest and largest collegiate steel bands, The University of Akron Steel Drum Band was created in 1980 by Professor Larry Snider, head of the Percussion Program at the UA School of Music.

Video documentary planned

The band is committed to showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the steel drums. In 1987 it became the only ensemble of its kind from the United States to travel to Trinidad to study performance, rehearsal techniques, and style from the original masters of the instrument. This year, in conjunction with the band's 30th anniversary, UA is creating a video documentary about the growth of steel drums in Trinidad and in Northeast Ohio.

For more information, visit The University of Akron Steel Drum Band.

Snider, a resident of Kent, continues to lead the band and the Percussion Studies Program in The University of Akron School of Music. Matt Dudack, a resident of Akron, is the band’s artistic director. Graduates of the UA Percussion Program now number more than 100 and are working as musicians and music educators around the globe.

This year’s student musicians include:
 
Clay Chabola, undergraduate student from Ashtabula, Ohio
 
Jim Curtis, undergraduate student from Wadsworth, Ohio
 
Michelle Deierlein, graduate student from SUNY Fredonia, N.Y.
 
Ryan Dulin, undergraduate student from Zanesville, Ohio
 
Scott Farkas, graduate student from SUNY Fredonia, N.Y.
 
Andy Flanagan, undergraduate student from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
 
Joseph Fox, undergraduate student from Cleveland Heights, Ohio
 
Matt Hazlett, undergraduate student from Akron, Ohio
 
Blaine Klein, undergraduate student from Canton, Ohio
 
Joe Leaman, undergraduate student from Lima, Ohio
 
Amber Mace, undergraduate student from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
 
Sam McKenzie, graduate student from the University of Montana
 
Jonathan Monacelli, undergraduate student from Mentor, Ohio
 
Kyle Morgan, undergraduate student from Zanesvile, Ohio
 
Michael Nalepka, undergraduate student from Strongsville, Ohio
 
Bobby Parker, undergraduate student from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
 
Holbrook Riles, III, undergraduate student from Mansfield, Ohio
 
Laura Runion, undergraduate student from Indianapolis, Ind.
 
Thomas Russell, undergraduate student from Hartville, Ohio
 
Chris Tarka, undergraduate student from Chesterland, Ohio
 
Matt Vitina, undergraduate student from Akron, Ohio
 
Elliot Wallace, undergraduate student from Canton, Ohio.

Media contact: Cyndee Snider, 330-972-5196 or cyndee@uakron.edu.