Skinner Park, San Fernando came alive with steelpan music last Friday, as 17 bands competed in the preliminary round of the National Panorama Small and Medium conventional band categories. Organised by the Pan Trinbago South/Central region, the event–with a $60 entrance fee–generated a large crowd of pan lovers and supporters. Twelve bands competed in the small Conventional band category, while the Medium category consisted of five bands. First to play for the judges was the San City Steel Symphony with the De Fosto tune Smooth Sailing. Kalomo Kings of San Fernando and the Chaguanas-based Longdenville Claytones followed with their selections Surrender and Battle Zone respectively. Both the Old Tech Steel Orchestra and the Point Fortin Tornadoes, performing in positions six and 11, also chose Battle Zone as their test piece.
Led by Jennifer Zackerali, the Southern All Stars which was the fourth band to play for the judges, also performed Smooth Sailing. Other performances came from the Dow Village Music Makers, Panasonic Connection, Golden Hands, the Southern Marine Steelband Foundation, the Mt Moriah Pan Movement and the Antillean All Stars which ended the small band category. In the Medium category, Trinidad Valley Harps got the ball rolling with Smooth Sailing. They were followed by the Petrotrin Hatters who played Doh Meddle Wit Me, and the La Brea Nightingales with Ken 'Professor' Philmore's Surrender. Rounding off the category and bringing an end to the event were the Couva Joylanders and Pan Elders with the selections Smooth Sailing and I Come Out To Play.
