St. Luke’s Steel Band Pans Together, With Caution

Jokes and laughter filled the rehearsal room, before everyone slowly fell to a hush. Masks and hand sanitizer dotted the space. Director Kenneth Joseph counted members in, lifting his hands into the air for the first time in months. The room erupted with the tinny, full sound of the steel pans hammering out “Imagine” by John Lennon.

The recent rehearsal, the first since the beginning of March, came in preparation for St. Luke Steel Band’s upcoming participation in Pan in Unity, an international initiative from steel pan players Tracy Thornton, Dr. Mia Gormandy-Benjamin, and Yuko Asada. The group, in collaboration with 1000 other steel pan artists worldwide, will be performing a virtual medley of Bob Marley’s “One Love,” John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and Trinidad and Tobago’s “Now is The Time.”

The medley will be arranged by Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, who has become legendary in the steel pan world. It comes in a year when COVID-19 has meant that that world, usually a joyful cacophony of sound around this time of year, has remained largely silent or been forced online. 

Members practice in the old Music Haven space on Whalley Avenue, beside People Get Ready Bookspace and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Submissions to Pan In Unity are due Sept. 8—a newly extended deadline—but the band is planning to submit by the end of this week.

The decision to restart rehearsals for the project was one that Joseph, who has led the group for a number of years, did not make lightly. Normally, the band would be having performances, holding summer camps, and meeting regularly this time of the year.

Five months ago, Joseph decided to stop rehearsals completely, as businesses, organizations, and religious institutions all closed due to COVID-19. Other than a single event in early July, held in the parking lot of People Get Ready. the group has not met in person.

“Back in March, when everything began to pan out, we decided to take a step back.” Joseph said. “As researchers were beginning to say, older individuals and those with preexisting conditions were the most susceptible to the virus. So we took a big step back, just to see what was happening. We just pulled all the way back to let everything die down first.”

As quarantine lifts and Connecticut moves to reopen its economy this summer, he is still extremely cautious about bringing the band back into a physical space. He worries about putting members, many of whom are elderly, in danger of contracting COVID-19. He noted that the risk is high for the band because there is such a wide age range, from very young to very old.

He now takes extra safety precautions to minimize the amount of contact members have with each other. Hand sanitizer, cleaning spray, and paper towels stand at the ready when members walk through the doors. Masks are now mandatory in order to enter the space. Thursday, members greeted each other with elbow bumps and air hugs.

Joseph has also divided rehearsals into two groups. One group has an hour of rehearsal practice, then the next comes in and has the following hour. Joseph mandates cleaning of both the steel pans and mallets before and after anyone touches them. He called it a necessary measure: band members do not own personal pans, meaning multiple people use the same pan during the coming week of rehearsal.

Through its final rehearsal this week, the band is planning to continue practicing in small divided groups. This Saturday, the full band will come together in order to record the full piece for the virtual performance for Pan in Unity. The final virtual performance will premiere online later in the fall.

As rehearsals continue for the performance, plans for upcoming classes and performances hang in the balance. Joseph hopes to continue his other classes in-person this coming fall, but is unsure what that will look like. He plans to continue using the safety precautions that have been implemented at current rehearsals once all classes return.

Since the band’s current rehearsal space is relatively small, coordinating practice times will have to be planned out in detail to ensure the safety of those in the space.

Because the future of COVID-19 is uncertain, the band is also unsure on how it will continue future events and performances. Joseph joked that one thing is certain, however: whether it’s in-person or virtually, the band will still be getting people moving and dancing to the sound of the steel pans.

Kaatje Welsh is a 2019 graduate of the Youth Arts Journalism Intensive and returned during a 2020 summer session. She will be a junior at New Haven Academy this year. To find out more information on the band’s performances, and classes visit their website. Visit Pan in Unity’s website to learn more about the virtual project.