Caribbean, jazz and classical mix for April 2 concert by UA Steel Drum Band

Caribbean, jazz and classical music will mix this spring when The University of Akron Steel Drum Band performs Saturday, April 2, at 8 p.m., at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall, 198 Hill St., on the UA campus. A big-screen “pan cam” — a popular feature of the band’s annual spring concerts — will put the audience in the middle of the vibrant sights and sounds.

Tickets are available in advance and at the door. Regular-price tickets are $18 for reserved seating. Discount tickets are $16 for seniors, children 12 and under, and UA faculty, staff and retirees and $9 for UA students with Zip Cards.

For tickets and event information, call the Thomas Hall Ticket Office at 330-972-7570. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster at all Ticketmaster Centers, Ticketmaster.com, or 1-800-745-3000. Discount tickets are available only through the Thomas Hall Ticket Office. For more information visit UAEVENTS.com.

Lifelong history with the 'pans'

This year’s guest artist is Liam Teague, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, the country where the steel drums originated. Teague won his first national steel pan competition at age 13, and has since performed in Europe, Asia, North and Central America, Australia and throughout the Caribbean.

A strong advocate for original steel pan compositions, Teague has commissioned significant composers to write for the instrument, including Pulitzer winner Michael Colgrass, Grammy winner Libby Larsen, and Pulitzer nominee Jan Bach. Teague, with the Chicago Sinfonietta, gave the world premiere of Bach’s “Concerto for Steelpan and Orchestra” at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.

Teague also performed with the Czech National Symphony, Panama National Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Vermeer String Quartet, Dartmouth Wind Ensemble, and TCL Group Skiffle Bunch and BP Renegades steel bands. He has collaborated with such prominent musicians as Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Samuels, Zakir Hussain, Evelyn Glennie, Nexus, and multi-instrumentalist Robert Chappell.

The University of Akron Steel Drum Band is celebrating its 31st year. The band was one of the first collegiate steel bands in the United States when it was created in 1980 by Professor Larry Snider of the UA School of Music.

Regional popularity

Since then the band has grown in size to feature more than two dozen student musicians and has become a favorite at Akron’s First Night and throughout the region.

Snider, a resident of Twin Lakes, continues to lead the band and the Percussion Studies Program in The University of Akron School of Music. Matt Dudack, a resident of Akron, is the band’s artistic director. This year’s student musicians include:

Clay Chabola, undergraduate student from Ashtabula

Jim Curtis, undergraduate student from Wadsworth

Ryan Dulin, undergraduate student from Zanesville

Matt Edick, undergraduate student from Akron

Doug Feig, graduate student from SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, N.Y.

Andy Flanagan, undergraduate student from Cuyahoga Falls

Joseph Fox, undergraduate student from Cleveland Heights

Alex Fragiskatos, graduate student from the University of Cincinnati

Matthew Hunsaker, graduate student from Baldwin Wallace College

Blaine Klein, undergraduate student from Canton

Joe Leaman, undergraduate student from Lima

Tyler Mashek, undergraduate student from Tallmadge

Sam McKenzie, graduate student from the University of Montana

Jonathan Monacelli, undergraduate student from Mentor

Kyle Morgan, undergraduate student from Zanesvile

Michael Nalepka, undergraduate student from Strongsville

Stephen Neal, undergraduate student from North Canton

Robert Parker, undergraduate student from Cuyahoga Falls

Laura Runion, undergraduate student from Indianapolis, Ind.,

Thomas Russell, undergraduate student from Hartville

David Singhaus, undergraduate student from Dover

Matt Vitina, undergraduate student from Akron

Elliot Wallace, undergraduate student from Canton

Media contact: Cyndee Snider, 330-972-5196 or cyndee@.uakron.edu.