Freelance Correspondent
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
That simple principle has guided Adam Bartholomew from a childhood piano bench in Trinidad and Tobago to the global stage of Harvard University and now, back home, as he prepares to bring Harvard’s College Steel Pan Ensemble to Trinidad for a landmark cultural exchange concert later this month.
At just 22, Bartholomew, a T&T native and joint-degree student at Harvard University and Berklee College of Music, is living out that philosophy in steel, rhythm, and purpose. Alongside British musician Elizabeth Bennett, he co-founded the Harvard College Steel Pan Ensemble in 2022, introducing the national instrument of T&T to one of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions.
Now, the journey has come full circle.
On Friday, January 23, the ensemble’s inaugural tour to Trinidad will culminate in a concert at Theatre One, University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), starting at 6 pm. The performance will feature collaborations with some of T&T’s most respected pannists, Dane Gulston, Natasha Joseph, and Charlton Alfonso, in what Bartholomew and Bennett describe as both a musical and cultural homecoming.
“This feels like completing a circle,” Bennett said. “We brought steelpan to Harvard, and now Harvard is coming to the birthplace of steelpan.”
Bennett, 22, grew up in the northeast of England, in the town of Morpeth, where she was classically trained in violin and guitar through the ABRSM system. Music was central to her life from age six, with school choirs, orchestras, and every ensemble she could join. Her introduction to steelpan came during high school, when she joined a school-affiliated steel band and learned the instrument entirely by ear, a sharp contrast to her classical background.
“I absolutely loved it,” Bennett recalled. “We learned everything orally, and that really stayed with me. I played steelpan all five years of high school, sometimes in freezing temperatures at countryside fairs.”
When Bennett arrived at Harvard, fate intervened. During the university’s First-Year International Orientation, she was grouped with Bartholomew.
“We realised very quickly we were the only two people who played steelpan,” she said. “I mentioned that I didn’t think Harvard had a steelpan ensemble, and Adam said it didn’t. So we just looked at each other and said, ‘Well, let’s start one.’”
What sounded simple proved anything but.
The pair faced administrative hurdles, limited resources, and, most critically, funding challenges. With no money in the bank, they took to busking across campus, organising paid performances, launching online fundraisers, and eventually securing support from the Harvard Office for the Arts, which provided a crucial grant toward travel expenses.
“It took a lot of determination,” Bennett admitted. “But once we decided we were doing this, we couldn’t let it go.”
Their persistence paid off. The ensemble grew to around 15 members—many of whom had never played an instrument before— united by curiosity, discipline, and a shared love for pan. Rehearsals became a passion rather than a burden, even amid intense academic workloads.
For Bartholomew, that balance is especially demanding. He is pursuing Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard while studying Film Scoring at Berklee, a path inspired by his twin passions for science and music. His musical foundation began at the age of seven under the guidance of his grandmother, a longtime music teacher at St Monica’s, before deepening at Fatima College, where he learned steelpan, arranging, and composition.
His journey also carries a deeper legacy. Bartholomew is the grandson of the late Professor Courtenay Felix Bartholomew, a pioneering Trinidadian physician and scientist whose contributions to medicine earned national and international recognition. While their disciplines differ, Bartholomew sees a shared commitment to excellence and service.
“My medium is different,” he said, “but the goal is the same, to represent Trinidad and Tobago with pride.”
That pride is at the heart of the ensemble’s Trinidad tour. Scheduled during the height of the Carnival build-up, the visit includes panyard tours, attendance at Junior Panorama finals at the Queen’s Park Savannah, cultural immersion experiences, and rehearsals with local musicians.
“For most of our members, steelpan has only existed in the Harvard context,” Bennett explained. “Coming here changes everything. This is where pan isn’t a novelty, it’s life.”
The concert itself will reflect that journey. The audience can expect a diverse programme blending American pop, reggae, calypso, soca, and three selections by Lord Kitchener. Between pieces, ensemble members will share the story of how steelpan found a home at Harvard and how Trinidad shaped everything they play.
Bartholomew hopes the performance resonates beyond the stage.
“If pan can make it to Harvard, it can make it anywhere,” he said. “And I want young people here to see that their culture has global power.”
The trip is being documented in full, with plans to release a short film capturing the ensemble’s experiences in T&T. The aim is to inspire other universities—and steelpan groups worldwide—to engage more deeply with the instrument’s cultural roots.
For Bennett, the visit is deeply personal.
“I’ve been playing steelpan since I was 13, but I’ve never experienced Panorama or panyards,” she said. “This is something I’ve dreamed about for years.”
As the ensemble prepares to take the stage at NAPA, the significance of the moment is not lost on either founder. What began as an optimistic idea between two students has grown into a powerful statement about culture, collaboration, and possibility.
“Steelpan brought us together,” Bennett said. “And now it’s bringing us home.”
And in true Bartholomew fashion, the message remains clear: be the change, and let the music carry the rest.
