Steel Pan Collective Provides New Resource for U.S. Pan Players

The Steel Pan Collective, a new membership-driven organization for the U.S. Steelpan community, has officially launched as of this past June. The group was established to provide an outlet to Pan players which is centered around its core ideas to learn, connect and perform, according to its website. Membership is $60 annually and includes a host of members-only privileges, including the Engine Room blog, a calendar of events for members to post on, a member directory, the SPC Music Festival and Conference where members can perform and connect with other members, educators and vendors, a monthly newsletter, classifieds to help players find gigs, and an online forum to connect with other members. “We recognized that members of the U.S. steel pan community were kind of spread out. Communication between everyone was/is sporadic and intermittent at best. Everybody seems to be doing their own thing – which is fine I suppose. But we thought to raise the overall exposure of steel pan in the U.S., we needed to do something different,” said Waugh. “We wanted to come up with ways to share info and resources as a whole. Our desire was to tap into those pockets of knowledge. We believe the Steel Pan Collective can be an organization that facilitates networking, discussions, promotion, education, and camaraderie. We wanted to have an organization that all players, educators, and enthusiasts could join and share their passion for Pan.”
The purpose of the site is to connect players all over the U.S. to provide a resource for working Pan musicians, according to Waugh.
“We strongly believe that the exposure of steel pan in the U.S.can be helped by pooling our talents and resources. We felt we all didn’t have to reinvent the wheel anymore when it comes to 1) launching  steel pan education programs, 2) forming steel pan orchestras, 3) or just striking out as a steel pan player on your own. Chances are someone has done it and has been successful. Why not connect with them? The Steel Pan Collective is there to help facilitate that sharing. That’s purpose of our organization,” Waugh added.
To sign up for membership, visit http://steelpancollective.org and go to the Membership tab.