By Carlena Knight
After being forced to remain closed for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Panache Pan Academy will be reopening its doors at the end of the month.
The pan academy, an initiative of Panache Steel Orchestra, was launched in 2011. Over the years, it has been instrumental in teaching well over 200 persons, of all ages, the fundamentals of music and steelpan playing.
Previously, classes of up to 28 students were held from September to June, but because of Covid-19, they will now be limited to a maximum of 10 per class in keeping with social distancing protocols.
“We are hoping to put on four classes with fewer people so that we can have the social distancing. We are hoping to have four facilitators, one for each of the classes,” explained Robin Margetson, one of the facilitators of the programme.
Classes will be held every Saturday at the pan yard located immediately west of the Police Recreation Grounds on Sir Sydney Walling Highway and, according to Margetson, sessions are expected to begin on October 31.
The instructional sessions are open to everyone aged six and over. Classes are free and pan sticks will be on sale.
“We don’t discriminate, but we started at six [years] because what we found with the five-year-olds, we were struggling to keep their attention for an hour and a half, so we now start with six-year-olds,” Margetson said.
Registration for the 2020/2021 school year will take place on October 24 from 12pm to 3pm. The fee is $30 per person.
For more information, call Robin Margetson on 764-5043, Maurisha Potter on 773-5494 or Malik Smith on 789-0030.