The Earl La Pierre Wears His Crown Proudly

THE EARL OF PAN WEARS HIS CROWN GRACEFULLY
“In 2004 Hurricane Ivan destroyed The Cayman Islands and evidently shattered my personal possessions including steelpans and household articles. The Canadian government hurriedly sent passenger planes to evacuate all Canadians which included me and my family” - the Lapierre Family Steelband.
These were the words of Trinidad born Earl La Pierre recently on “Pan Diaspora” during an interview on WACK Radio 90.1 FM with Hollis Clifton and Steve Sealy.



Earl speaking via telephone (from the Caymans) revealed that prior to that natural disaster he had spent 18 prolific years in the islands. It was in 1986 when he was invited for the Pirates Week Festival an opportunity to teach pan arose.
While there he opened a school called Cayman School for Pan, had a carnival steelband named
Panoramers and taught pan at the primary, middle and high schools, as well as Catholic Schools,
in Grand Cayman. As a result of Earl's efforts all the schools offer steelband as part of their educational program. Earl won every School Music Festival and every Carnival Pan Competition in Cayman Islands from 1988 - 2004. His three year old college band (PANDEMIX) is getting stronger and seems to be giving his own Panoramers, some serious competition. From 2008, to present Earl has been the arranger for Pandemix steelband which has been running 2nd to Panoramers.


As steel band teacher, and a performer, La Pierre performs at all the major hotels in the Cayman
Islands, but mainly at Treasure Island Resort. He is credited with introducing Trinidad and Tobago's national instrument to this island grouping to the extent where it has become an indelible part of that country's culture.
La Pierre took up residence in Toronto from 2004-2006 but returned to the Cayman in 2006 where he’s now domiciled. The pan aficionado however, takes a time out every summer to fulfill contractual arrangements with Afropan for Caribana.

Afropan
Formerly of St Clair, Port-of-Spain Trinidad, La Pierre is one of many Trinidadians who have
made their mark in the pan diaspora. While living in Canada he taught steel pan
music at the University of Toronto, North York Board of Education and the Toronto Board of
Education. Earl was instrumental in getting the Steel pan offered as a credit course in the North
Schools. Earl has won all Kiwanis Music Festivals in the Steel band category in Secondary, Junior and Primary School from 1979 - 1986. During that time the bands under Earl’s tutelage (most notably those from West View) received 29 wins at Secondary level (with 1 second place in 1983) and 6 wins at the Primary level. In the Jazz and Pan category the West View Steel band received 3
wins from 1984 thru 1986. At West View Earl was instrumental in getting no less than 8 steel bands
started; at the Secondary level there was Pangroove, Pantario, the Senior Band, the Junior Band
and the Open Band, and at the Primary Level there was Topcliffe, Day Strome, and Firgrove.

When asked by Clifton about where he honed his skills La Pierre revealed that he was a former member of Metronomes where he place 3rd as a soloist in the Trinidad Music Festival. He arranged for Invaders steelband where he placed 2nd in the bomb competition: placed 5th in Panorama Final, he was also a member of Starlift Steel Orchestra and for the past 26 years has played as a member of Phase II Pan Groove.
In 1999, he arranged the panorama tune for Southern Marines Steelband Foundation and for the past several years he has
been arranging for Harmonites Steelband garnering several accolades. In 2002 he placed
1st in the East and 4th in the finals of the Pan in the 21st Century competition.
In the Panorama competition with Earl as their arranger,
Harmonites were the People’s Choice in 2006, and received 7th place in 2007 and 10th place in 2008.

In the ‘Bomb’ competition, Earl and the Harmonites have also garnered several notable awards. In 2006 they achieved 2 firsts, 3 seconds, and 1 third place. In 2009, they placed 12th, Panorama. Pan In The 21st Century: In 2007, Harmonites garnered 3rd place; in 2008, 5th place; In 2009, 6th place. In 2007 they received 1 first, 2 second, and 2 third place; and in 2008 they received 2 first and 1 second place.

The La Pierre Family
Back in North America Earl has distinguished himself as Canada's Top arranger, by being adjudged the Best Playing Steelband at Toronto's annual Caribana celebrations for the unprecedented 30th time.
Earl La Pierre Sr. has garnered 31 wins out of 40 times with 8 seconds and 1 third.

In 2002 in recognition of his contribution to the steelband movement at the annual Snowflakes of Steel show, the Pan Arts Network made Earl La Pierre their first ambassador of the Pioneer In Pan Award. This was followed by the Counsel General Diaspora Award for excellence in 2008
and then the 2010 Caribana Tribute Award.
Currently the Lapierre Family Steelband consists of three boys and one girl. Earl La Pierre jr is a pan tutor in Toronto while Olujimi teaches in Grand Cayman and Noel teaches in Trinidad.
During the discourse Clifton questioned the purpose of a set of PHI instruments on location at Afropan’s Pan Theatre near Lamport Stadium in Toronto during the bands rehearsal prior to Pan Alive competition 2010. In response Earl quipped that they were simply for display purposes. Again Clifton asked La Pierre if, in his view the PHI could ever be incorporated into the traditional steelband. La Pierre appeared to have eluded the question and threw it back at Clifton.
Clifton then drew reference to the Pan/Jazz fest held the previous evening atop the San Fernando Hill. He cited the use of the PHI by two of the bards – Darren Shepherd and Earl Brooks of the Kenny Phillips led 90.1 Degrees Band. Shepherd played three instruments – the traditional ping pong (1940s), the modern tenor/soprano and the PHI which he referred to as the futuristic pan but, he would rather stick to his “Betsy” – conventional tenor.
In elaboration Clifton referred to a chat he had with Professor Brian Copeland of UWI the same evening with respect to Sheppard’s reference to the PHI as part of the pan family. The Professor lamented the assertion positing that the PHI – Percussive Harmonic Instrument - in the strictest sense is not a pan. It is the marriage of pan and modern technology. Its DNA link to pan is its shape and note layout. The goodly Doctor recons that one can call it a PHI Pan if one thinks of Pan as its surname. For those who are still working hard to get it to a level of product of which our nation could be proud, it’s just PHI. The inventors, apart from Copeland include Keith Maynard, Marcel Byron and Earl Phillips.
Pan Diaspora brings to bear individuals who promote the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago in the Pan Diaspora. It could be heard on the final Sunday of each month on WACK Radio.

Hollis J. Clifton
Pan Diaspora Visionary