Steel Band Concert March 22
Walla Walla University performs with Liam Teague
Liam Teague, hailed as the "Paganini of the Steel Pan," will perform with Walla Walla University's steel band. Teague has won numerous awards for his musicianship and is well-known in his field.
Andrews University welcomes the Walla Walla University (College Place, Washington) Steel Band to the Howard Performing Arts Center on Sunday, March 22, at 7 p.m. The concert will feature guest artist Liam Teague, hailed as the “Paganini of the Steel Pan,” from Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, Illinois).
Musical styles featured in this concert will include Caribbean (Calypso, Soca, 2-3 Son, Reggae), South American (Samba, Bossa Nova), jazz and classical.
WWU’s steel band, under the direction of Brandon Beck, has been in existence since 2002 and has toured the West Coast twice, the East Coast five times and has also toured to the island of Bermuda. They have performed with world-class steel pan artists Victor Provost, Gary Gibson and Tom Miller.
During their 2013 performance in Walla Walla, Washington, guest artist Gibson announced to the audience that he considered that year’s WWU Steel Band “one of the best collegiate steel bands in the nation.”
Guest artist for the March 22 concert at Andrews University, Liam Teague, currently serves as head of steel pan studies and associate professor of music at NIU. He has received many awards in his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago, including the Humming Bird Award (silver) for “loyal and devoted service.” He has also won a number of notable competitions such as the Trinidad and Tobago National Steelband Festival Solo Championship and the Saint Louis Symphony Volunteers Association Young Artist Competition.
“We are excited to perform with astounding steel pan performer Liam Teague,” says Beck. “He will not only perform solos at the concert, but he does us the honor of playing with us on several pieces. We look forward to this event very much.”
His commitment to demonstrating the great musical possibilities of the steel pan has taken Teague to Europe, Asia and Australia, as well as North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Teague has collaborated with prominent musicians such as Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Samuels, Zakir Hussain and Evelyn Glennie. In addition to commissioning a number of significant composers to write for the instrument, Teague has had many of his own compositions published, and has produced eight solo albums.
He has also served as musical arranger of the TCL Group Skiffle Bunch Steel Orchestra and Starlift Steel Orchestra for Panorama, the most prestigious steel band competition in the world.
General admission is $9; students (with ID) and seniors are $5. Tickets for this concert can be purchased at howard.andrews.edu, or by calling the Howard Center box office at 888-467-6442.
