Trinidad All-Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra

The Trinidad All-Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) was formed to participate in the Festival of Britain in 1951. The group was the first steelband to travel abroad from Trinidad and Tobago, presenting the newly invented steelpan to an international audience.[1]

Members

Lieutenant Joseph Nathaniel Griffith was the conductor of the band. Griffith was originally part of the Trinidad Police Band.[2]

PlayerBand DOB DOD
Cecil “Coye” Forde Invaders 1928/09/14 2012/12/25
Orman "Patsy" HaynesCasablanca 1930/02/22 1985/10/29
Elliot "Ellie" MannetteInvaders 1927/11/05 2018/08/29
Belgrave BonaparteSouthern Symphony 1932
Anthony "Tony" WilliamsNorth Stars 1931/06/24 2021/12/21
Carlton "Sonny" RoachSun Valley 1924/08/06 1986
Philmore "Boots" DavidsonCity Syncopators 1928 1993
Sterling BetancourtCrossfire 1924/03/01
Andrew "Pan" de la BastideChicago 1927/12/01 2002/11/17
Dudley SmithRising Sun
Winston "Spree" SimonFascinators (Tokyo) 1930 1976/11/18
Theophilus "Black James" StephensFree French 1933/11/04 2001/11/06

On 6 July 1951, TASPO left Trinidad for England on the SS San Mateo.[3] Carlton "Sonny" Roach fell ill and was left behind in Martinique.[4] The steelband performed at the South Bank, London, on 26 July 1951, as well as elsewhere in Britain and in Paris.[5] TASPO returned to Trinidad on 12 December 1951, the only exception being Sterling Betancourt, who stayed in London. Betancourt had been vitally involved in building up Notting Hill Carnival.[6]

Further reading
  • Blake, Felix I. R. The Trinidad and Tobago Steel Pan. History and Evolution. ISBN 9780952552802.
  • Goddard, George (1991). Forty Years in the Steelbands: 1939-1979. London: Karia Press. ISBN 1-85465-034-3.
  • Stuempfle, Stephen (1995). The Steelband Movement: The Forging of a National Art in Trinidad and Tobago. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812233292.

References
  1. Nathaniel, Daina (2006). Finding an "Equal" Place: How the Designation of the Steelpan as the National Instrument Heightened Identity Relations in Trinidad and Tobego (PhD thesis). Florida State University. p. 85.
  2. Johnson, Kim. "Pan: the instrument that built a nation" (PDF). Trinidad & Tobago: 50 years of independence: 82–84.
  3. "TASPO Given Rousing Send Off; Promise to Justify Appreciation of Public". Port of Spain Gazette. 7 July 1951. p. 1.
  4. Johnson, Kim (1998). "Sonny Roach from St James". Trinbago Pan. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  5. Johnson, Kim (2012-01-01). "When steelband took London by storm". Caribbean Beat Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  6. Historic England (2018-08-24). "6 Historic Sites To Look Out For During Notting Hill Carnival". The Historic England Blog. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
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