Music is a big part of the Canada-Caribbean connection.
As part of our effort to highlight interesting stories in the context of Black History Month, here is a really interesting article from Foyer, the online magazine of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in the context of their Black Futures month, profiling Suzette Vidale and steel pan.
FEB 15, 2024
The legacy of steel pan with Suzette Vidale
The renowned Toronto pannist shares her thoughts on an enduring tradition.
Black Futures month at the AGO kicked off with a bang, welcoming Sharon Marley for a live performance in Walker Court, then hosting a screening of RasTa: Soul’s Journey (featuring Donisha Prendergast). Next, on the evenings of Friday February 16 and 23, visitors will enjoy the musical stylings of one of Toronto’s most well-known steel pannists. Live from Walker Court, accomplished musician, educator and a leader in Toronto’s steel pan community, Suzette Vidale will be sharing the joy of pan in two exclusive performances.
This isn’t the first time that AGO visitors have encountered the sweet sounds of Vidale’s pan. In 2021, she performed live in Walker court in celebration of the AGO exhibition Fragments of Epic Memory. At the time, she sat down with Foyer for a chat, and we’re revisiting that conversation now.
The steel pan was born out of resistance in 1930s Trinidad and Tobago; many believing its exact birthplace is the capital city of Port of Spain. When French planters arrived in Trinidad in the 1700s, they brought with them enslaved people from West Africa. It is said that these enslaved people, barred from participating in Carnival with their enslavers, used sticks and bamboo to make percussion instruments (like the tamboo bamboo) to play during their own version of Carnival, only to have these instruments banned by their enslavers quickly thereafter. Eventually, in the post-emancipation years, formerly enslaved people continued to invent musical instruments. Discarded metal objects like dust bins and car parts were turned into instruments by street musicians. Enter the oil drum in 1934; hammered, polished and tuned to play. “Oil drums,” explains Vidale, “had a greater surface area to accommodate more [music] notes and produce more sounds.” The steel pan has endured in years since then, expanding well beyond the shores of Caribbean islands. To learn more about her career and the steel pan in Toronto, we spoke with Vidale.
Source: Foyer, February 15, 2024