|
|
General
Press Releases
Press
Release April
26, 2002CENTRAL
BANK OF BARBADOS ANNOUNCES STEELPAN PROJECT FOR
30th ANNIVERSARY
The
Central Bank of Barbados announces plans to invest further in
the development of the arts. The Bank is sponsoring a steelpan
project as one of the public events for the 30th
Anniversary Celebrations.
The
project is in two phases: The first phase - "Pan in the
Plaza" – will feature five schools on stage in the
Cathedral Plaza during the month of May. On May 8, St.
Mary's Primary and the Christ Church All Girls' Steel Orchestra,
which comprises students from the Christ Church Girls' Primary
and Vauxhall Primary Schools, will perform. On Saturday, May 25
three others - St. George Secondary, Coleridge and Parry and the
Garrison Secondary - will be showcased.
In
July and August, the Bank, in collaboration with the Barbados
Association of Steelpan Teachers and their music consultant,
Kentley Gill, will sponsor four one–week steelpan workshops at
schools across the island.
Project
coordinator, the Bank's Human Resources Director, Mr. Hensley
Sobers, noted that the summer workshops would climax with weekly
free public presentations in the Plaza.
Mr.
Sobers explained that the Bank was particularly proud of the
resurgence in interest in the steelpan among professional and
amateur musicians and school children in particular.
"Moreover, this investment reflects the Bank's recognition
of the importance of the arts to a country's social,
intellectual and economic development," Mr. Sobers
elaborated.
Chief
Education Officer, Mrs. Wendy Griffith-Watson, has endorsed the
project. According to her, the Bank's involvement in promoting
steelpan music in schools will most definitely contribute to the
development and further acceptance of the art form at the
national level.
|
|