PanWest to showcase students at Solano Stroll

PanWest students from San Rafael will showcase their talents at the 38th Annual Solano Avenue Stroll, "Step into the future", Sunday, September 9 between 11am and 1pm. Among those performing will be Glenn Bowland, Linda Fox, Albert DeLima, Maureen Delema, Megan Black, Louise Yost and Margie Wade. The students' set will be followed by Shabang Steel Drum Trio featuring Harry Best, Dexter Bruce and Ed McCarver.

Since 1974, The merchants, restaurants, and professionals, as well as the twin cities of Albany and Berkeley CA, have hosted the Solano Avenue Stroll, the east bay's largest street festival! The Solano Avenue Merchants Association invites you to come and see what makes Solano Avenue such a wonderful place.

Over five hundred vendors, non-profit organizations, food booths and entertainers!

Participants and the event guests visit from everywhere throughout California; as well as neighboring states from Nevada to Maine.

The fun begins at 10 am with the opening of Solano Avenue businesses and Stroll booths and the kick-off is the theme parade with about 100 groups.

After the parade, you can visit one of 50 entertainers, 50 food booths, 150 juried arts and crafters, state of the art mechanical rides, and 150 community non-profit and government organizations, not to mention the unique and popular professional services, restaurants, and shops already here on Solano Avenue.

You will hear the best in local music, dance and other performances and absolutely stunning costumes from all over the globe!

This is a family event! A special area set aside just for kids offers giant slides, carnival games, clowns, jugglers, stilt walkers, face painters, magicians, and maybe even wizards and elves -- come and see for yourselves...

Come join us for an afternoon in the sun.

Duvone Stewart Workshop slated for Sept. 1

 

Steelpan Workshop with Duvone Stewart is set for Saturday September 1, 10am-3pm, at PanWest CSMC 10855 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito CA 94530. Come and sharpen your improvisational skills and learn how Duvone rips it up on the pan. Call 510 222 1123 for more information.

Help Needed, Save on Registration-Tuition Fees!

Do you have any skills in the following areas? You can save on registration and tuition fees by trading your services at PanWest:

• e-commerce
• publicity/PR
• booking and managment
• steelpan mallet crafting

Call 510 222 1123

PanWest Open House a resounding success

We wish to express thanks, first and foremost to God, the I Am presence whose activity we acknowledge in all things and everyone; to

• the Best family, especially my wife Romaine, our mothers, my sons, my brother and his family, the whole Best clan.; 
• Claude Gonzalez for landing the building for us and for the numberless conversations on pan.
• Duvone Stewart for his special appearance and for lighting up the crowd.
• fellow musicians and students at the different community centers.
• everyone who turned up to celebrate the Grand Opening and those who intend to join us in activities

All of us who play a pan recognize that we enjoy a truly unique instrument and art form gifted to us through the struggles of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
We feel a sense of fraternity with all others who play the instrument, regardless of what level of proficiency.
 At PanWest, we feel pan is an instrument not just of music but also community. We truly believe that is the purpose of it's emergence. And if you take the time to track it's evolution you will see that everywhere a pan program exists you have the nucleus of a community.
  We also believe that music and the arts is where the answer to our societal woes lies. Because everyone is a creator whether in music or another art form. It's this belief that inspires our mission statement here in this venture:

PanWest is dedicated to enlightening people to their own musical potential. At PanWest we see everyone as a musician whether or not they have ever played a steel drum/pan. We recognize that in each of us is a creative spirit with a unique voice. We believe that for the sake of health that voice needs to be expressed. When that voice is a steel drum/pan, we provide products and support that help that voice come forth.
We are about more than teaching steel drum/pan music. We are about the healing power of music to meet human need for joy. That's why we encourage and support efforts of individuals and groups who work to bring steel drum/pan music to their community. It is our goal to use our mental, physical, and spiritual resources to enrich the lives of our students, teachers, and supporters through steel drum/pan music.

In this way we hope to enlighten you to your own wonderful musical potential and by doing so add harmony to this world.

We invite you to come join our musical community and enjoy a most unique art form that validates you as the creator you are. Bring your children and family members. Make it a family activity. We promise you will gain more benefits and improve the quality of life for you and your family better than any other activity we can think of.
We welcome you and assure you that whether you take our classes or not this will always be a haven for you when you need to enjoy the soothing sounds of pan to relieve the stresses of the day.
Once again, thanks to all of you.

PanWest CSMC Announcement and FAQs

Announcement:

We are waiving the registration fee for the first 20 students who enroll 

before Aug. 20. See Registration Form below.

 

Some FAQs

Q: Are pans provided for the class or do students have to bring 

their own?

A: We provide all the pans for the classes but students are welcome to 

bring their own.

Q: Does anyone rent pans(so I could practice and/or have them for class 

if needed)?

A: We don't know of anyone else who rents pans and all our pans will be 

in use at the Center. But if there is enough interest in renting we will 

look into bringing in more pans.

Q: Is a double seconds spot in the class still open?

A: Yes, Double seconds are open.

Q: Will the classes run for a certain # of weeks then finish with a  

performance, or will the class just run open-ended? If a performance, do  

you know that date?

A: The classes will run open-ended and we plan to have quarterly 

performances but no date has been chosen until we know what the full 

enrollment will be.

Q: I'd love to do the Thursday class but couldn't because I already have 

a commitment that night of the week. 

A: For now the classes are set tentatively. If more members in the 

Intermediate class would rather meet on Thursdays or vice versa we would 

consider switching them. 

Q: Is the Adults reading/rhythm class included in the tuition or is that 

a separate fee? Should I do that, too?

A:Right now, the reading/rhythm is offered as part of the tuition and 

is optional, as needed.

The Pandamentals class is also free to all registered students. It's 

intensive and is really aimed at mastering the instrument.

Please send your questions and/or suggestions to panwestcsmc@gmail.com, 

or call 510 222 1123.

 

REGISTRATION FORM

Student Name:

Last__________________________ First______________________

Address:

Number & Street__________________________________________

City________________State_____ Zip____________________

Telephone:

Day__________________________ Evening________________

Email:________________________

Date of Birth:___________

Father's Name (Youth)___________________________

Mother's Name (Youth)___________________________

Previous Study: Instrument/Number of Years:

_______________________________________________________

Registration Fee: $35.00 individual/$50.00 family per year________

Class Tuition: $100/month (10% discount to former students of Harry Best and one referral of their choice; 20% Discount for additional family members)

Make check payable to: PanWest CSMC Amount Enclosed: _____________

(Please circle one)

MC, Visa, Disc,# __________________________

Exp Date: ____________ Zip Code ________________________

Signature: ______________________________________________

Mail Form to: PanWest CSMC 10855 San Pablo Ave. El Cerrito CA 94530

PanWest CSMC Open House

You are invited to the Grand Opening of the PanWest Caribbean Steelpan Music Center. Open House August 18, 3-7pm. Bring a friend. 10855 San Pablo Ave El Cerrito CA 94530. 510 222 1123. Meet and greet other Bay Area pan musicians and learn about PanWest plans and programs for the future. Classes begin Monday August 20.
Join PanWest Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/323445861080320/

Sharon Baird, Val Serrant at Calypso Rose Film

Sharon Baird with the 'Bang Band

Sharon Baird with Ed McCarver (L) and Dexter Bruce (R) of Shabang at Sam's Chowder House in Half Moon Bay June 16, 2012. Trio did a repeat performance July 7.

Val Serrant KAISO Fundraiser

PanWest CSMC program set to launch in August

10855 San Pablo Ave. El Cerrito CA 94530 - 510 222 1123

We have finalized terms with our landlord and classes are set to begin the week of August 19. Here is what the monthly program looks like right now. Things could change as we progress:

Mondays

Kids/Jumbies (Beginners) – Reading and Rhythm (4-5pm)

Kids/Jumbies (Beginners) – Jumbie Jam Tunes (5-6pm)

Adults/Beginners – Rhythm and Reading (6-7pm)

Adults/Beginners Pan Tunes (7-8pm)

Tuesdays* (Pickleweed Community Center, San Rafael)

Beginning Caribbean Steelpans 6-7pm

Intermediate Caribbean Steelpans 7-8pm

Wednesdays

Kids/Pandaleros (Intermediates) – Reading and Rhythm (5-6pm)

Kids/Pandaleros Steelband – (6-7pm)

Adults - Rhythm and Reading (7-8pm)

Adults – Cerritos Intermediate Steelband (8-9pm)

Thursdays

Adults – Panchant Advanced Steelband (7-9pm)

Fridays

Caribbean Film Festival (8-10pm)

Saturdays

Pandaleros Pandamentals 10-11am

Adults Pandamentals 11-12noon

Private Lessons 12-5pm

Small Ensemble Performances (Fourth Saturday) – 7:30-9:30pm

Sundays

Pan in the Park Jam sessions (check for schedule) (3-6pm)

*El Cerrito CSMC closed.

PanWest Caribbean Steelpan Music Center

 

This is our proposed headquarters for the new Caribbean Steelpan Music Center. It is located at 10855 San Pablo Ave in El Cerrito. We have an agreement in principle with the owners of the building. The details will be ironed out soon and we plan to begin classes in August. We will be releasing more information on the program and classes as we progress. Thanks for the great show of support!

Bellstars in action

Bellstars New Pete Engelhart creation

Bellstars

Configured by Harry Best

Designed and created by Pete Englehart

2012©

• Fully Chromatic – C#
• Wholetone inverted images on each side
• Geometrical symmetry
• Played with hands or rubber tipped mallets
•  

Pete Engelhart

Pete Engelhart began crafting metal percussion instruments after spending time in Brazil in the 1950's. He combined his life long love of jazz, knowledge of Latin rhythms and sounds, and his ability as an artist to produce complicated resonant tuned bells.
Pete has now been handcrafting metal percussion for nearly 43 years. He has designed a large variety of highly creative instruments that are now used worldwide by many professional musicians.
This current line of 9 instruments has been designed to fill the basic needs of the working drummer / percussionist. It represents the essential toolkit for the modern drummer. The metal instruments are all hand made with care by Pete Engelhart. The bells are made of heavy gauge metal and are individually tuned.

Harry Best

Harry Best is a professional steelpan player and innovator and enjoys exploring the correspondences between music and geometry especially as it relates to the steelpan.

This configuration was inspired by the Ellie Manette standard pattern for the double second steelpans. The right side of the Bellstars is an exact image of the right side of the Manette double seconds. Harry simply created an inverted symmetry on the left side.

Guppy lead for sale

 

Former Bay Area panman Fitzroy Balfour, now residing in Seattle has a Guppy Brown lead for sale. Built in 1996, the pan was recently tuned by Ancil Joseph in Arizona. Fitzroy is asking $700 for the pan. He can be reached at 425 -773 -6488.

Mr. FixIt readies pan float for T&T Steel at SF Carnaval

 

Carlyle, Mr. Fixit! the hardest working man in the Bay Area built the float in the eastbay, towed it to SF at 5am, made all the secure adjustments then joined the rhythm section for a hot jam down the road.

Dexter Bruce of Shabang solos on Samba de Orfeo

Pan on the road in SF Carnaval

 

Sharon Baird and LaMantia on the Trinidad and Tobago Our Boys Steel Orchestra float in the San Francisco Carnival Memorial Day weekend.

Pan rep at Black History Celebration

 
PanWoman Sharon Baird and Harry Best share a moment with Rev. Richard A. Roberts of the San Francisco Community Fellowship at a Black History celebration in Daly City.

New Steelpan Program to Launch in East Bay

I am recruiting 15 people for a new Caribbean Steelpan Music Program to be launched late summer or early fall in the East Bay. Please contact me if you are interested or pass the word to those who might be. I can be reached by email, harrybest@shabang.us, or by calling 510 222 1123. All are welcome, beginners to advanced. Beat Pan! Harry Best 510 222 1123

Stanford's Cardinal Calypso in Blue Panic

Stanford's Cardinal Calypso in 'blue' (we won't tell CAL)playing Adam Genecov's Beat Panic at a May 11 spring concert in Toyon Hall.