Friday, June 23, 2006

Michael Kernohan tunes up the pans at West End
Primary

Twenty-two new steel pans have been donated by Kent Rankin and Paramount Carpets to the Cayman Brac High School (CBHS). The donation includes two sets of basses, a cello, guitar pans, a double second and four tenors.

"They're in tune and sound lovely," said CBHS Music Teacher Penny Thompson, adding, "We have lots of hugely enthusiastic pan players in the school."

There are five groups of pan players in the school - two in Year 7, one each in Years 8 and 9, and one senior group. She puts their popularity down to the type of music they play - generally Caribbean - and because it is not too difficult to reach performing standards.

"And they're fun!" said Ms Thompson, noting that, between the groups and individual musicians, they won a collection of bronze, silver and gold awards at this year's National Children's Festival of the Arts.

Mr Rankin heard one of the high school pan groups play at a function on Cayman Brac, and when he was told that they needed new ones, he jumped in with an offer to pay for them.

"This was a wonderfully generous gesture, and we're looking forward to representing Paramount Carpets when we are set up and ready to play," said Ms Thompson.

All pans were made by Trinidadian-born Michael Kernohan, who now lives in Miami, where he plays and tunes steel pans, and creates them from discarded oil and chemical barrels.

Mr Kernohan also made pans for Creek and Spot Bay Primary School. These were mostly funded by the PTA with money raised for this purpose last school year under the PTA Presidency of Alphonso Gayle.

However, the $2,655 raised was not quite enough for the pans, and the Education Department donated an extra $1,000, according to the current PTA President Zelta Sterling.

As well as creating pans for the two schools, Mr Kernohan made a trip to the Brac to fine-tune them, and also tune-up the old CBHS pans and the ones at the West End Primary School.

"He did a remarkable amount of work in a week," said Ms Thompson. "Plus, he fell in love with the Brac and wants to come back. When he returns, we're hoping he will have time to do a workshop with the pan players.

"He was very impressed with us, and said that we're all doing everything right and liked what we're doing," said Ms Thompson, who only started teaching pans when she came to Cayman Brac three years ago.

The school also has a very successful Concert Band and Rock Band.

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