Beethoven Society Presents Pan Loco Steel Band

The Beethoven Society of Melrose, now in its 89th Season, will present a free family concert featuring Bob Lucas and Justin Petty of Pan Loco Steel Band at 3:00 pm on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at Melrose Highlands Congregational Church (355 Franklin Street, Melrose, MA). Pan Loco Steel Band has been bringing the sweet sounds of the Caribbean to New England since 1991 with a repertoire of authentic island tunes from calypso to reggae. Pan Loco will make you feel like you’re on a slow boat to Saint Thomas. Partial funding for this free concert was made possible by grants from the Melrose Cultural Council and the Melrose Messina Fund for the Arts. Good will offerings are accepted at the door to benefit the Beethoven Society’s Music Award Fund. For more information contact Regina Lucas at reginalucas48@gmail.com.

Pan Loco Steel Band was formed in 1991 by Bob Lucas and Justin Petty, two musicians hailing from the University of New Hampshire and Berklee College of Music. The band has performed at over 1,000 regional events from weddings to corporate functions and is known as one of the top steel bands in New England. Pan Loco also performs an interactive assembly program for school children, covering the origin of the steel drums and offering opportunity for the students to play along. The band’s repertoire is varied and includes all of your island favorites including Yellow Bird, Iron Man, and Island In the Sun.

About the Musicians:

· Bob Lucas (Co-Founder, Double Seconds): Bob grew up in Melrose, MA playing piano, bass, and percussion, and majored in music education at the University of New Hampshire. He started playing steel drums and drum set in 1989 with the Atlantic Clarion Steel Band and performed with the group throughout Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts. Bob traveled to Trinidad & Tobago in 1990, where he played with Phase Two Pan Groove and Jit Samaroo. He co-founded Pan Loco Steel Band in Boston with Justin Petty in 1991 and they have been playing at public and private functions all over New England ever since. Bob and Justin arrange all of the music the band plays.

· Justin Petty (Co-Founder, Soprano Pan): Justin grew up in the city of Charlotte Amalie on the Island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands where he began playing music at an early age. In 1984, he joined the Rising Stars Youth Steel Orchestra where he played the Guitar pan before switching to the Tenor or lead pan one year later. Justin earned a Bachelor Degree in Music Production and Engineering from Berklee College of Music in 1993 and has a Master of Science Degree in Broadcast Administration/Television Management from Boston University. In addition to co-founding Pan Loco Steel Band with Bob Lucas, Justin also writes for and directs several larger steel orchestras in New England including Branches Pan Groove Steel Orchestra (under his musical direction Branches won the Panorama competition in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002), and in 1999 he helped form the Crystal Panjammers Youth Steel Band on Massachusetts’ North Shore and in 2002 formed the Celestial Infernos Youth Steel Band of St. Cyprians Episcopal Church in Roxbury, MA. He has given lectures on the origin and evolution of the steel pan at Universities and Colleges throughout the Northeast and the Virgin Islands and had the distinguished opportunity to perform with Aldwyn “Lord Kitchener” Roberts on several occasions.

The Beethoven Society of Melrose was founded in October 1927 by Alice Webster Eldridge and Archibald Hume. Originally comprised of musicians who would perform in each other’s homes, the Society quickly grew and expanded its mission to further the cause of music in all of its forms. The Society now offers annual monthly concerts that are free and open to the public and feature local professional musicians presenting piano music, opera, chamber music and more. In 1986 the Society initiated its own scholarship program called the Music Award Fund that grants scholarships to local high school students. Over the years the Beethoven Society has awarded more than $25,000 to young musicians.

For more information about the Beethoven Society contact Regina Lucas at reginalucas48@gmail.com.

# # #