Liam Teague Performs with Chris Wabich and University of Arizona Massive Band

Featuring over 80 players on stage at once, the University of Arizona Steel Band, led by Chris Wabich, was joined by local high schools to create a massive band that dazzled a packed audience on April 30. The group performed a variety of musical styles and was joined by pan virtuoso, Liam Teague.
Aside from the UA Steel Band, the group consisted of a gathering of local steel bands, which included Catalina Foothills High School (led by Tina Walton), Empire High School (led by Gabe Walton) and Tuscon High (led by Khris Dodge). The campus concert hall was filled   with over 300 people, making the event a continued success after being in existence for over seven years.
“The event came together quite nicely. The UA program I run is one of the oldest steel bands in the country,” said Wabich. “The thing I was most impressed by was the level of musicality each band displayed. It was much higher than I’ve seen in past events.”
In addition to the traditional pieces written specifically for pan, the night turned to another style with an all jazz set, featuring Wabich on drums and Teague on lead pan.
Although events like this have been around at different programs for some time, Wabich believes they are a great way to grow the popularity of the instrument for new generations, both for players and listeners alike. But the difficulty lies in bringing awareness to the masses, which is harder given the lack of support some programs have from their administrations.
“The UNLV program has no funding and no class but they were able to put together a successful program playing very difficult arrangements. They played a Narell panorama this year,” said Wabich. “This was one of the first years Liam had to recruit players for his very successful program at NIU [Northern Illinois University]. Programs at the college level need  high school bands feeding into them to continue to thrive. The Waltons and Khris Dodge have done an outstanding job with these groups and I can’t wait to see what we can do next time.”