| Desperadoes Steel Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Laventille, Trinidad |
| Genres | Steelpan Trinidadian Calypso |
| Years active | 1950 – present |
| Website | http://www.desperadoestt.com |
| Members | |
|
J. Hutson, Manager |
|
| Past members | |
|
Clive Bradley, Arranger |
|
The Desperadoes Steel Orchestra, also called Despers, is a Steelband from Laventille in Trinidad.
Contents |
The Desperadoes Steel Orchestra emerged from the fusion of three different Steelbands from Laventille. The name of the group was chosen from the movie Desperadoes starring Glenn Ford which was shown in Port of Spain at the time.
Despers were led by Rudolph Charles since 1961 until his death in 1985. Charles invited several pantuners like Bertie Marshall and Lincoln Noel to create the best possible orchestral effects.
The orchestra has worldwide appearances and has performed at The Royal Albert Hall in 1972, Carnegie Hall in 1987, and along with the classical singer Luciano Pavarotti in Barbados in 1996. Mr.Raymond "Artie" Shaw was the first musician to conduct Desperadoes Steel Orchestra at their performance for Queen Elizabeth at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Dr. Pat Bishop conducted their performance at Carnegie Hall in NYC. Desperadoes have also toured some of Trinidad & Tobago's motherlands, such as Africa, India and China. This Steel Orchestra has won every entered competition and has a total of 24 victories from 1965 to 2011.
Despers also make an effort to educate their community in Laventille, and has hosted Pan Camps with up to 200 children participating. Besides playing steelpan, the program includes foreign language training, life skills and field trips.[1]
Despers won the national Panorama Championship of Trinidad and Tobago ten times in their history.[2] The orchestra always takes part in the big band category with a maximum of one hundred musicians.
| Year | Song | Arranger |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Obeah Wedding | Beverly Griffith |
| 1970 | Margie | Clive Bradley |
| 1976 | Pan in Harmony | Clive Bradley |
| 1977 | Crawford | Clive Bradley |
| 1983 | Rebecca | Clive Bradley |
| 1985 | Pan Night and Day | Beverly Griffith |
| 1991 | Musical Vulcano | Robert Greenidge |
| 1994 | Fire Coming Down | Robert Greenidge |
| 1999 | In my House | Clive Bradley |
| 2000 | Picture on my Wall | Clive Bradley |
Desperadoes have won the (Pan Is Beautiful) Steel Orchestra Music Festival of Trinidad and Tobago three times. They played the Polovetsian Dances by Borodin in 1986, the Marche Slave from Tchaikovsky in 1988 and the Bartered Bride by Smetana in 1992. Their classical renditions which were all arranged and conducted by the late, Dr. Pat Bishop. Desperadoes have also won The Best Village Classical Competition for pan in 1965. They performed "The Marriage of Figaro" which was arranged By Mr. Beverly Griffith. In 1967 they won The Champ of Champs Classical Competition. Their redition of Lehar's "Palestra" was arranged and conducted by the late, Mr. Raymond "Artie" Shaw. [3]
"400 Questions and Answers on Pan from 1960 to Present" by Ian R. Franklin