Fête 30! Celebrating Youth, Communities & Cultures by EastoftheRiverSteel

The East of the River Steelband

Celebrating Youth, Communities & Cultures

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2023

UDC Theater of the Performing Arts

Connecticut Avenue & Windom Street, NW Washington, DC

HONOREES

CULTURAL HERITAGE AWARD

Ambassador Brigadier General (Ret’d) Anthony W. J. PhillipsSpencer is a multilingual soldier-scholar-diplomat with a 42-year combined military and diplomatic public service career. The Ambassador is being honored for bridging cultures between America and Trinidad and Tobago. The embassy has hosted our band members and facilitated the Steelband’s 2021 visit to the island nation.

IMPACT AWARD

Reggie Van Lee is the Chair of the Washington DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Chairman and Co-Founder of the Black Theatre Coalition. In addition to decades of work for the arts community, he has a long tenure in business, global management and development. Mr. Van Lee is awarded the Impact Award for enhancing the abilities of small and minority organizations to excel in the arts.

DR. GLADYS WHITWORTH BRAY LEGACY AWARD

Roger Greenidge a native of Trinidad and Tobago, has been playing the steel drums since the early 1970s. He has toured with the renowned Desperadoes, and performed for many artists such as Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Buffett, Nancy Wilson and NAS. Mr. Greenidge is the Music Director of the East of the River Boys and Girls Steelband in Washington, DC and the Pan Masters Steel Orchestra in Maryland. He has taught our youth for twenty-six years and is honored with the Legacy Award.

SUSTAINER AWARD

Matthew Shannon, Esq. is an attorney in Washington, DC who retired after decades in the legal profession. He was also the owner of Champion Trophies. Mr. Shannon is being honored with the Sustainer Award for his long-term support of the East of the River Boys and Girls Steelband

Jason Johnson, MSNBC Contributor, Host

Welcome

Steelband Performance

EOTRS Chair’s Remarks - Pamela Nelson

Remarks from Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment and The Mayor’s Office on Caribbean Community Affairs

Who Was Dr. Gladys Bray?

Dr. Gladys Whitworth Bray Legacy Award PresentationRecipient - Roger Greenidge

History of the Steelband

Steelband Performance

A Presentation from the DC Chapter of the Recording Academy

Sustainer Award PresentationRecipient - Matthew Shannon, Esq.

Alumni Remarks - Dr. Gary Fisher and Ayana Dozier

Impact Award Presentation - Recipient - Reginald Van Lee

A Special Message - Chanara Chestnut and Dennis Chestnut

Parent Remarks - Nicole Wills-Carroll

Cultural Heritage Award Presentation -

Recipient - His Excellency Anthony J. W. Phillips-Spencer

Wes Felton Performance

Acknowledgments

Dessert Reception

PROGRAM

HISTORY OF THE BAND

Dr. Gladys Whitworth Bray, a native of Winston Salem, North Carolina, was a classroom teacher at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. She established the East of the River Community Arts Program in 1984 under the auspices of the arts school. Their summer camps taught children about the African diaspora, arts and crafts, percussion music and community history in Ward 7.

Dr. Bray visited Trinidad and Tobago in 1992. She came home determined to start a steelband program. Dr. Bray recruited youth to learn and perform and garnered the support of the Ward’s civic community, churches, businesses and individuals to launch the program.

The Steelband grew out of the work of a small, dedicated team spearheaded by Clarence and Barbara James. The Village leaders included Baba Don Freeman, Emily Washington, Thomas Matombo Freeman, Carrie Turner, Melvin Deal, Bernice Oden, Edward and Linda Fisher, Dennis and Zandra Chestnut, and dozens of others.

Roger Greenidge has been the musical director since 1996. The music is taught in the traditional Trinidadian way of rote repetition. The musical repertoire ranges from Caribbean, reggae, rhythm and blues, pop, jazz, gospel and go-go.

Since its inception, East of the River Boys and Girls Steel Band has reached scores of youth. The band has traveled regionally and internationally. Highlights include several visits to Trinidad and Tobago, over 15 years at the Gullah Festival in Beaufort, South Carolina, performances in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New York and Canada.

Performance highlights include the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Folk Life Festival, Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center, the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, the Apollo Theater, the Gullah Festival and with their counterparts in Trinidad.

The Steelband recorded two albums, “Rising” in 1999 and “Pan in DC” in 2009. They have received numerous awards including First Place Mayor’s Arts Award for Emerging Artists, the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities Certificate of Excellence, and second place at the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night.

The Steelband is an intergenerational program. Dr. Bray and most of the Village members were entering their senior years. The old school standards of behavior and discipline were enforced, and family engagement a must. The band continues to cherish relationships with community elders.

Dr. Bray passed away in January 2017. The legacy and mission were conferred upon Linda Y. Fisher. Working with a few board members and volunteers, the Steelband was reborn.

After decades at the Metropolitan Police Boys and Girls Club #14, the Steelband relocated to the Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church. In 2017, with its rebirth and an invitation from the Episcopal Church of the Atonement, the band relocated to the corner of 52nd and East Capitol Streets. New members were recruited, and the program flourished. With increasing funding from several District agencies, particularly the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities the Steelband reached stability and focused on music instruction, youth development and cultural education.

Linda Fisher stepped down as Executive Director after four years, building a viable governing structure, with federal, local and philanthropic funding. Ms. Kimberly Gaines, a Ward 7 resident and creative artist was tapped to move the Steelband forward. Under her leadership the band started a six-week summer camp program in 2022. Ms. Gaines continues the diversification of funding, expanding performance venues and increasing the visibility of the District’s premier youth steelband.

Moving into its fourth decade, the Steelband will build upon the legacy of Dr. Bray, the rebuilding of Ms. Fisher and the creative leadership of Ms. Gaines to excel beyond our dreams.

EAST OF THE RIVER BOYS & GIRLS STEELBAND

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Pamela Nelson, Chair | Marsha K. Middleton, Vice-Chair

John Barnes, Secretary | James Shelby, Treasurer | Dennis Chestnut

Meka Burch | Nicole Carroll

ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Linda Y. Fisher, Chair | Nicole Carroll | Chanara Chestnut | James Shelby

Marsha Middleton | Kimberly Hodges

STAFF

Kimberly C. Gaines, Executive Director | Roger Greenidge, Musical Director

Rita Dozier, Band Manager | Paul Murphy, Percussionist

Anisha Newbill, Program Coordinator | Atiya Artis, Teaching Assistant

Quiana Johnson, Logistics Manager | Clyde Partlow, Logistics

BAND MEMBERS

Jaylen, Curtis, Tanai, LaSha, Chanel, Todd, Chanara, Tyanna, Prince, Ryanna

Shane, Makhi, Leslie, Rashon, Madison, Josiah, Naomi

THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS TO GIVE Text PLEDGE to 877-958-9623 Donate Monthly | Volunteer | Join the Board www.eotrsteelband.org 202.640.0483 5073 East Capitol Street SE Washington, DC 20019

Celebrating Youth, Communities & Cultures