PAN-demic: Sending the Music Everywhere If there was ever a year when the world needed music, it’s definitely 2020. To say that the last few months have been difficult, for everyone, in almost every possible way imaginable, would certainly be an understatement. And, quite frankly, in an environment such as this some might wonder, “why bother to have a concert at all?” However, in the midst of the uncertainty of the present times it is telling that one of the most poignant and resonant moments of the year came f rom the instinct to share music publicly. In Italy—a country whose musical heritage has contributed extensively to The Lydians repertoire—while the pandemic rampaged through the population and the citizens were on strict lockdown, videos circulated worldwide of Italians sitting on their balconies and leaning out of windows singing and playing instruments together across the chasms between their apartment buildings. These actions not only brought solace and a sense of connection to the “performers” themselves but quickly, also, to anyone else who viewed them. Powerful examples such as these, coupled with a strong desire to act upon the guidance of our Mission Statement—to share the gift of music to bring comfort and encouragement--helped to sway our initial discussions about our approach to Christmas 2020. We knew that this season we would have to be especially creative and innovative to produce a concert experience that would stand up to the constantly shifting local and international pandemic landscape. From one week to another, we, along with the rest of the nation, would listen to the official government press conferences to help guide our planning. Would venues be open? Would audience be allowed? How many people can be on the stage? What health and safety protocols would we have to introduce?
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It soon became clear that this year, Christmas would have to be CHROME. A show featuring the Lydian Steel was decided upon as the natural choice for maximum impact while still being able to observe the social distancing and other rules that have now become part of our everyday lives. As a happy coincidence, this year, Lydian Steel celebrates its Silver Anniversary—25 years of dedication to the national musical instrument of Trinidad and Tobago and to the vision of our founder, the venerable and unshakeable Pat Bishop. Her simple belief was that young (and young at heart) pannists with excellent technical skill and dedication, buoyed by the ability to read music, could not just play more complex orchestral works but could also finally accompany large scale choral repertoire with precision. The rehearsal process for Christmas in Chrome saw us meeting over several weekends at the Sound Forge performance facility on Christopher Samuel Drive, Port of Spain. The band this year is mix of our current standard crew as well as some returning seasonal players. We are always happy when they come to perform with us as they bring great technical skill as well as much need levity and energy. Interestingly as well, with the contribution of the choir en masse with several “virtual choir” arrangements, the recording of which was handled very early on in the production process, our Steel rehearsal time benefitted f rom the presence and focused attention of our newly appointed Musical Director, Carl-Anthony Hines. He was able to have that time to really shape the music with us and create the synergy required to put on an excellent performance.
