Laborie Steel Pan Pays Tribute to Wilrock
Laborie Steel Pan gathered at a popular local restaurant on Saturday 8 June to celebrate its achievements and the friendship that binds its members, to recognise the contribution of each individual player to the growth and success of the band, and to pay tribute to Wilrock Ltd., the company that sponsored them consistently and generously over the past ten years.
In presenting an award and a gift to the company representative, Mr Gilbert Wilson, Laborie Steel Pan player Jainashel Gabriel thanked Wilrock for the support it provided to the band, allowing it to grow “from a small group of young children discovering steel pan to a recognised community institution with a diverse range of activities”. In presenting a photograph of the band to Mr Wilson, Ms Gabriel noted that the band is strong because it was “built on a solid Wilrock Foundation”.
Indeed, “we are more than a steel band,” said arranger and musical director Andrius Edwide in a short address to the group, “we provide quality music education to our members; we constantly enrol new, young members; we host international music workshops; we actively participate in community events; we provide welfare support to members in need; and we help all our players to become responsible and self-confident members of their community and society.”
As a family-owned business rooted in the Laborie community, Wilrock Ltd has supported the steel band over the years precisely because it saw the positive impacts the band has on its members, allowing them to discover and nurture their artistic talent, giving young people the opportunity to engage in a meaningful activity, demonstrating the value of team work and perseverance, and building a vibrant community institution.
Laborie: A Resilient Community For Everyone
The Laborie Development Foundation has secured funding from the Saint Lucia National Conservation Fund to implement a project that includes four activities that will guide the development of Laborie in the medium and long terms:
1. The preparation of a new strategic development plan, taking into account lessons learned from the implementation of the strategic plan prepared in 2001
2. The drafting of a management plan for the Rudy John Beach Park, based on the recommendations already formulated in community consultations
3. The preparation of an integrated management plan for Laborie Village Watershed and Coastal Zone, based on the guidelines already formulated
4. The development of Terms of Reference for a study of the Laborie Bay that would identify the measures and actions needed to combat coastal erosion and reduce the vulnerability to sea level rise, storms and other extreme climate events
The Foundation is currently inviting expressions of interest from qualified firms or individual consultants to provide services for one or more of these consultancies.
People interested should send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request a copy of the terms of reference.
The deadline for the submission of expressions of interest is Friday 5 April 2019.
Laborie Hosts International Music Workshop
Andy Narell directs workshop participants
Professional and amateur musicians as well as music students from the USA, Australia and France have converged on Laborie for the third edition of the annual Laborie Steel Pan and Brasilian Percussion Workshop. Hosted by Labowi Promotions and the Laborie Steel Pan, this 10-day experience offers participants steel band and Brasilian percussion rehearsals, as well as master classes that cover a range of topics such as the history of steel band music, arranging, and improvising.
The co-directors of the workshop are world-renowned pan player and composer Andy Narell, and Jason Koontz, director of percussion at Eastern Kentucky University in the US. Andy Narell has been a part-time resident of Laborie over the past eight years, and has been working with the Laborie Steel Pan, broadening their repertoire, sharpening the skills of the players, and giving them a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the steel pan and pan music.
During their stay in Saint Lucia, workshop participants learn and play music, but they also have the opportunity to meet residents, taste local cuisine, enjoy beaches, explore historic sites and go hiking. For Labowi Promotions and the Laborie Development Foundation, this workshop is one of the ways to encourage community-based tourism, and to attract people who appreciate local culture, and who have artistic skills and experience to share.
Laborie Community Takes Initiative to Protect and Manage Beach
The Rudy John Beach Park, Laborie’s very popular recreation spot, has been in the news on more than one occasion in the past, including in 2015 when residents found an official notice indicating that “the coconut trees will be removed”. It was also in the spotlight recently with the unconfirmed news that a nearby hotel would construct facilities for its clientele at the Park.
On both occasions, the community and other concerned citizens have expressed their disapproval, and online petitions have been circulating calling on relevant authorities to maintain the Beach Park as a public attraction accessible to all. “We must save this beach,” says Laborie resident Nicholas Ambrose, who has mobilised support for the protection of this site. “We must, because we have already lost too much. We need to preserve what’s left for present and future generations.”
“There are a number issues that need to be addressed on that beach,” says Augustine Dominique, President of the Laborie Development Foundation. “It’s not only about responding to what people have heard on the news. We have issues with parking and vehicular access, beach erosion, intensive use on weekends, and noise pollution. We also want to make sure that the Laborie community benefits more from the use of this beach.”
In response to these concerns, the Foundation, in close consultation with the Laborie-Augier Constituency Council, is organising a workshop to develop a management plan for the Beach Park. This will take place on Friday 21 September. National organisations such as the National Conservation Authority, community organisations and concerned citizens have been invited to attend and contribute.
“We want to start from a few basic principles,” says Foundation Board Member and General Manager of the Laborie Credit Union Lucius Ellevic, “principles such as no-privatisation, optimum community benefits, local management authority, and environmental quality. From there, we will identify all the measures that are needed to keep this beach beautiful, clean, attractive and accessible to all.”
The organisers of the workshop expect that a complete management plan will be available by mid-October, for submission to the relevant authorities, following a round of community consultation over the coming weeks.
DOWNLOAD LABORIE DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE
LABORIE PLAYERS ARE LONDON PANORAMA CHAMPIONS
London - Six members of the Laborie Steel Pan – Andrius Edwide (arranger), Joshua Muroi (captain), Shanyqua Scott (assistant band leader), Chloe Layne, Toniva Thomas and Kissana Renard – last night celebrated another remarkable milestone in their musical career, as winners of the prestigious Panorama competition in London.
The team travelled to the United Kingdom in mid August to join the Mangrove Steelband, one of the leading steel orchestras in Europe. Over a period of two weeks, the young Laborians practiced intensely to prepare for the competition, under the direction of drillmaster and drummer Leon Foster Thomas. The song selected by Mangrove was Hulk by Blaxx/Red Boys, skilfully arranged by Trinidadian Andre White.
This is the first time that the Laborie Steel Pan has participated in London Panorama, one of the main events of the world-famous Notting Hill Carnival. “This has been an incredible experience for us,” says Andrius Edwide, “winning Panorama here in London, with a band like Mangrove, that’s fantastic – but also making new contacts, connecting with the steel pan community and working with such outstanding musicians as Andre White and Foster Thomas.”
“We chose Mangrove as our partner,” says Labowi Promotions’ Yves Renard, who coordinates this UK tour, “because of its artistic excellence, but also because of its cultural significance for Caribbean people”. The band, which has been in existence since 1980, bears the name of a restaurant that was a centre of Caribbean cultural and social life in London in the 1960s, and which became the target of racially and politically motivated victimisation, but also a symbol of resistance to oppression.
The Laborie Pan Project – an initiative of Labowi Promotions – is committed to building such partnerships with like-minded organisations in other countries, as is already the case with Silver Stars and birdsong in Trinidad or with the Eastern Kentucky University in the USA, and to offer performances in other countries, as in the case of the steel band festival in Guadeloupe earlier this year.
In addition to its performing and competing steel band, the Laborie Pan Project provides quality music education to members, constantly enrols new, young members, hosts an annual international workshop, actively participates in community events, and provides welfare (health and education) support to members in need.
The work and the achievements of the Project and its steelband, established in 2006, have been possible thanks to the support of their main sponsors, Wilrock Ltd, to the leadership of Band Leader Quill Barthelemy, to the guidance and musical direction of Andy Narell, and to the dedication and hard work of all band members. Additional financial support for this UK tour was provided by the Laborie Cooperative Credit Union.
