Going on tour is a rite of passage for nearly every musical group, and CYSO’s Steel Orchestras are no exception. Hitting the road on February 16 and 17, students from CYSO’s Junior Steel and Kaiso Steel Orchestras showed off their musical chops at a series of concerts at CPS elementary schools.
The performances dotted Chicago’s west and south sides, including Westcott Elementary in Chatham, Suder Elementary in United Center Park, Lionel Hampton Elementary in Ashburn, Kershaw Elementary in Englewood, and Fort Dearborn Elementary in Brainerd.
Many CPS students don’t have opportunities to experience music being made live, let alone being performed by other young people. Seeing a performance by youth who could be their peers makes music seem more accessible for these students, and can inspire them to seek out an instrument for themselves.
Steelpan performances in particular are unique as well because it’s nearly impossible to watch without moving! “It is rare that schools get a free concert,” Malika Green, CYSO’s Director of Steel Ensembles, said. “Especially one where the music is meant to be participatory.” In the video below, students at Lionel Hampton Elementary even burst into spontaneous song to accompany the steelpan performance.
As part of the performances, students learned a little about the history of the steelpan itself. It’s no coincidence that the tour coincided with Black History Month; As Malika explained, “Steelpan is an instrument that grew out of the black diaspora, and was created by descendants of freed slaves. This is an instrument that’s now played all over the world, and it’s a great message for the kids that a simple and unique idea can grow to create a world-wide phenomenon.”
The student musicians who participated in the Steel Tour were middle and high schoolers, many of whom have been members of CYSO for multiple years. As part of the concert, each player answered student’s questions about their experience in CYSO, and also performed a short solo to demonstrate the individual voices of each drum within the ensemble.
As Malika explained, “One of the struggles we have with recruitment is that people don’t always know what steelpan is.” Even when audience members see the drums being played, she said, “sometimes they don’t understand that these metal objects are producing the sound that they hear.” Students who got to see the instrument up close and personal came away with a much better understanding, and appreciation, for the steelpan’s unique sound.
Performing in front of other young people can be nerve-wracking, but Malika said that many students “surprised themselves at how quickly they overcame it and got the job done.” She added that “what students take away from these performances is priceless, and also very personal. I can see the enjoyment and confidence that grows with each performance.”
The Steel Tour allowed CYSO students to show off their skills, and were enthusiastically received by the students in the schools where they performed. One teacher reported that students were still talking about the performance weeks later, and Malika shared that, “My favorite question of the day was one of the students at Kershaw who asked ‘When are you coming back?'”
