The Edgar Connor National Youth Steelpan Academy
On account of our tenth anniversary, the Caribbean University Community College will starts its operations in the year 2010 as a comprehensive college, providing holistic general education for the youth, adolescents and adults on the island.
The founding of ‘the Edgar Connor National Youth Steelpan Academy’ is a pilot project of the profile ‘Culture, Creativity and Leisure Activities’. Some research has been made (F. Zaandam, 2007) aimed at the cultural restoration of this special part of Aruba’s cultural heritage. It is remarkable how the island of Aruba abandoned and neglected one of its cultural and musical treasures, for years now: in this case the steelpan music. In the carnival’s beginning of the island, music during this period was almost exclusively provided by the steelbands.
According to V. Oduber (1996), since 1945 the steelbands played their ‘pretty and highly melodic music’ in the first parade in San Nicolas led by Calvin Assang. Not only did the first musicians like Lennard ‘Shu Shu Baby’ Turner and later on Edgar Connor demonstrate their musical virtuosity on the drums, but also showed an incredible kind of craftsmanship by producing musical instruments out of oil drums from the refinery.
Some steelbands and excellent steelpan musicians still exist on the island, who during carnival time and at special occasions, display their talents, but the influence is almost gone.
The Edgar Connor National Steelpan Academy is a serious justification effort to restore one of Aruba’s forgotten musical and cultural treasures. Through this systematic training and schooling initiative for the Aruban youth and adolescent, it is the expectation that this art will take center stage once again.
The founding of ‘the Edgar Connor National Youth Steelpan Academy’ is a pilot project of the profile ‘Culture, Creativity and Leisure Activities’. Some research has been made (F. Zaandam, 2007) aimed at the cultural restoration of this special part of Aruba’s cultural heritage. It is remarkable how the island of Aruba abandoned and neglected one of its cultural and musical treasures, for years now: in this case the steelpan music. In the carnival’s beginning of the island, music during this period was almost exclusively provided by the steelbands.
According to V. Oduber (1996), since 1945 the steelbands played their ‘pretty and highly melodic music’ in the first parade in San Nicolas led by Calvin Assang. Not only did the first musicians like Lennard ‘Shu Shu Baby’ Turner and later on Edgar Connor demonstrate their musical virtuosity on the drums, but also showed an incredible kind of craftsmanship by producing musical instruments out of oil drums from the refinery.
Some steelbands and excellent steelpan musicians still exist on the island, who during carnival time and at special occasions, display their talents, but the influence is almost gone.
The Edgar Connor National Steelpan Academy is a serious justification effort to restore one of Aruba’s forgotten musical and cultural treasures. Through this systematic training and schooling initiative for the Aruban youth and adolescent, it is the expectation that this art will take center stage once again.