Oberlin Steel

Oberlin Steel is a steel band based at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. Formed in 1981 and known as the Oberlin Can Consortium until 2001, the group plays in the tradition of the great steel bands of Trinidad, but also performs arrangements of salsa, calypso, and jazz as well as original compositions and arrangements by band members.

History

Oberlin Steel began as an Oberlin College winter term project in 1981. After receiving a grant to purchase drums, a small group of six students spent the month of January rehearsing for the first ever Can Consortium Concert. This concert, held on February 12th, 1981 was a huge success and led to the formation of a steel drum class in Oberlin's experimental college program. Development continued and one year later, a second concert was held, which featured a performance by Andy Narell and a presentation by Ellie Mannette.

Since its origin, the band has grown in size to become an ensemble of twenty musicians. A dance band in the truest sense, Oberlin Steel performs at campus events and in the Oberlin area. After months of rehearsing and performing, the band tours for the week of spring break in late march. Past destinations include Chicago, Boston, New York (the band has played at Avery-Fisher hall of New York’s Lincoln Center), Atlanta, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Miami, Montreal, Ithaca, and Washington DC, among others. Oberlin Steel performs for college and university audiences, nightclubs, restaurants, theaters, train stations, hotels, high schools, elementary schools, airplanes, weddings, stadiums, outdoor festivals and public spaces such as central park in New York City and the Lincoln memorial in DC. The band usually has twelve to sixteen members, including tenor, double-tenor, seconds, cello, quads, and bass pan players, as well as auxiliary percussionists and a set drummer.

Instrumentation

Although the instrumentation changes from year to year, this is the typical configuration:

5 Tenor pans
2 Double-Tenor pans
3 Double-Second pans
2 Cellos
1 Quadrophonic
1 Tenor-Bass pan
1 6-Bass pan
1 Drum set
Auxiliary percussion (including iron, timable, scratcher, congas)

Discography

Oberlin Steel has released seven albums to date:

Song samples

The following samples are from Oberlin Steel's most recent CD Don't Panic!

Press Releases

• Around Tappan Square - The Oberlin Alumni Magazine, Vol. 98 No. 1
• Oberlin Steel Drum Band to Perform in Centennial Park March 31 - Metro Parks News Release
• Steel Drum and Percussion Group to play at LSU - LSU News

Other External links

• Oberlin Steel Official site
• Article on Oberlin Steel at Oberwiki
• Oberlin Steel Advertisements from Oberlin College digital collections