History of The Lydian Steel One evening in October 1994, the newly formed Solo Pan Knights Steelband was at rehearsal in their panyard. The pannists were hard at work preparing their pieces for “Pan is Beautiful V”, the Trinidad and Tobago National Steelband Music Festival. A surprise visitor was announced. Pat Bishop, doyenne of Trinidad and Tobago’s Steelband music scene and Musical Director of The Lydian Singers, was doing the round of panyards to listen to pannists in the early stages of rehearsal and had dropped in to hear the new band. A Steelband rehearsal usually consists of the pannists learning pieces by rote with each phrase repeated until learnt. Entire pieces of music with complex arrangements have to be committed to memory by each member of the band before performance. When Pat Bishop entered Solo Pan Knights panyard she was greeted with an amazing sight. She saw a group of young persons playing music while engrossed in reading score sheets under the baton of Ben Jackson. Here at last were pannists who could learn quickly, could adapt easily to change and who could have an unlimited repertoire. Here was a vision of glorious possibilities for the future of Steelband.
20
After the Festival, Pat proposed to Ben Jackson that the band accompany The Lydian Singers at their annual Christmas concert. At the time, Ben was also Musical Director of Success Stars Pan Sounds Steelband, a school-based Steelband whose players had formed the core of Solo Pan Knights for the Festival season. It was this former group along with another Steelband, The Entertainers that, in 1994, provided the first Steelband accompaniment for The Lydian Singers. The following year when the fused group had become a more cohesive body, they undertook their first major work by accompanying The Lydian Singers in Frederick Delius’ “Koanga”. This was a historic event of global musical significance as it was the first time that a steel band had accompanied a complete opera. The combination of steel and electronic instruments produced a brand new and wondrous sound which became the signature accompanying sound for The Lydian Singers. The band was now so closely identified with The Lydian Singers that it became known as The Lydian Steel. During the years 1996 to 1998, Lydian Steel played an increasingly essential role in The Lydian Singers performances. Lydian Steel accompanied The Lydian Singers at the Easter concerts, the Festival Sundays in July as well as the annual Christmas concerts. In this period Lydian Steel and The Lydian Singers undertook several major works together, including, in December 1996, their second opera, Donizetti’s “L’Elisir D’Amour”. There were also welcome opportunities for showcasing the talent of individual pannists in solo performances of works such as Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and the second movement of Rachmaninoff ’s “Second Piano Concerto”. In August 1999, the band accompanied The Lydian Singers in yet another opera – Puccini’s “Turandot” which ran for fifteen performances.
