The Caribbees Steel Band from
Alexandra Park Junior School, Oldham
 
"The Caribbees" steel band was formed in 1971.  At that time it was known as the "Alexandra Park School Steel and Percussion Group" and consisted of three discarded bass pans, a borrowed tenor and various pitched and unpitched school percussion instruments.  The school eventually bought their own set of pans but the quality wasn't very good and we really struggled.  It didn't help, either, that I was trying to teach an instrument about which I knew virtually nothing!  After a few years, however, the school bought a better set of instruments and the band started to improve and even gave a few outside performances.
 
It was not until the local education authority bought us a good set of pans by Michael ‘Natsy’ Contant that real progress was made.  Immediately, both the children and I gained more inspiration and by 1979 we had the confidence to enter the National Steelband Music Festival in London.  We had no idea what standards to expect as we had never heard any other school steel bands, so we were delighted when we came second in our section.  At that time we had some exceptionally talented children in the band and the next few years were very exciting ones, the band winning the junior section of the Steelband Music Festival three consecutive years and also making it to the final of Thames Television's "Fanfare for Young Musicians", a competition for children's music groups.
 
Our ‘Natsy’ pans served us very well but after almost twenty years they were showing signs of wear and tear and so in 1998, with the help of a lottery grant, we bought new instruments and doubled the size of the band.  We now have fourteen members in the Caribbees, between the ages of eight and eleven.
 
These days the band gives around twenty outside performances each year, for such events as summer fairs, festivals and workshops where members teach the art of playing pan to children from other schools.  Most performances are local, bur every now and then something out of the ordinary arises, for example, being invited to play at the Millennium Dome as part of Oldham's "Day at the Dome", or appearing on television as part of a news item about our town.  The band always looks forward to their performances which I feel are so valuable in widening their experiences and enabling them to meet different people.  I also think the band carries out an important role in presenting a positive image of their community and I've been very proud of the way that they always try to give a good performance and to show friendship and respect to their audiences, whatever their race, age or ability.

By Susan Morgan
Teacher/Manage/Arranger