A 2022 Grant for Warren County High School

The goal of this program is to create a Steel Pan Band Class in order to increase the opportunities for all students who are in the high school to learn and enrich their lives in music. In high school, many of the music classes that are offered follow up on knowledge and skills already learned at the middle school in band and choir classes. Other classes are offered for students who did not take a music class early, but they are often steeped in the traditional methods of western music. This program would expand opportunities for the community’s increasingly diverse student population who may not have had those opportunities in middle school to be a part of the band. Steel Pans were originated in Trinidad and have a unique African/Latino mix of culture and music that can not only increase the opportunities for students who are looking for additional musical options in high school, but may be a place for members of minority populations to experience music of their own heritage and history.