Had a chance to catch up with Andy Narell who is back in St. Lucia after a summer of travel and work. He’s now preparing to host his seventh annual Laborie Steel Pan Workshop starting January 2025.
In the 11-day workshop, participants engage in classes and excursions organized around daily rehearsals with world-renowned panist and musician Andy Narell and social events with the Laborie Steel Pan members. It culminates in a collaborative community performance concert with the workshop participants and Laborie Steel Pan.
Narell will host 35 steel pan players and percussionists who will “explore, learn, relax, rehearse and perform” with a steel band in Laborie, a coastal village that is home to the 2017 Saint Lucia Panorama Champions, Laborie Steel Pan. The workshop package includes master classes and group lessons.
Narell says in 2025 he expects to see more high-school aged players. Many past participants have come from the community of Humboldt in northern California, where there is a university band and even a couple in the high schools, and a huge love for pan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm0zOY6hBNk
They can also visit https://www.facebook.com/laboriesteelpan to see the Laborie kids practicing.