Can Steel Pan Programs Last?

                                                      Members of the Miami University Steel Band

The recent April Steel Pan Collective newsletter struck a nerve. After reading through the two Profiles in Pan (Jerry Lopatin and Chris Tanner), we realized that a common theme kept coming up - lack of resources. Could that be the problem in the troubled marriage between pan programs and schools?

We know for a fact that when a pan program gets up and running it is usually successful. Chris Tanner said that a new program was cropping up in southwest Ohio alone every 15 months. There are some very dedicated pan leaders and champions out there pushing to keep pan in the forefront.

But what happens when that instructor or champion moves on or retires? Are they leaving behind pan programs too vulnerable to budget cuts and a lack of pan educators to continue the program? We are starting to wonder if U.S. programs are centered too much around the instructor and not on the instrument.

Jerry Lopatin's story was one that got us thinking. He built what was and still is considered one of the more sustainable pan programs in the country. But when Jerry finally retired from teaching elementary students for 30 years, his replacement was not pan trained or familiar with running a pan program. Jerry even offered himself up to others in the district. No takers stepped up. So the kids' pan program died from neglect. The pan world lost another generation of future pan players.

So what are some possibilities to reducing the risk to pan programs?

1) More Pan Instructors - Clearly, there are not enough instructors trained in pan, running pan programs, or who understand the versatility of the instrument. More exposure to the instrument might help. We do our part by playing concerts/festivals in our local communities. Education and certification in pan is one such option for those with an interest in teaching pan. Who does it and where that happens still has to be figured out?

2) Music Education - Scanning the web will provide a listing of various music education programs. Few offer pan as a principal instrument. If steel pan is offered at all, it is likely lumped under percussion instruments. It might make sense on the surface. But consider this. A whole orchestra of sound can be formed with steel pans. Can the same be said for drum sets or congas? Maybe its time for pan to step out of that catch-all category of percussion and take its rightful place alongside piano as a special kind of "percussion" instrument.

There is still hope for pan in the U.S. The pan community can either work through the existing traditional university system or come up with an education alternative. Being the rebels we are at the Steel Pan Collective, we lean towards the latter.

There is no reason why pan can't live on in programs around the country. We don't have to rely completely on one person or champion to carry that burden. That may be too big of a risk to pan's future in the U.S. It is a solution we all need to solve together.