Pan Trinbago Honours Coach St. Clair
Posted on December 18, 2007
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Coach Bertille St. Clair was one of four Tobagonians honoured by Pan Trinbago for their outstanding contribution to the steelband movement last week Saturday evening (December 8th) at the Starlift Pan Theatre on Mucurapo Extension Road, St. James, Trinidad.
The four Tobagonians honoured were Pan Trinbago’s president Patrick Arnold, for being the longest serving president of the steelband body, he has served 11 years so far; Bertille St. Clair, the former national football coach for his 50 years in the steelband movement; Marie Toby, the first female to lead a conventional steelband, leading Bethel’s RBTT Redemption Sound Setters for ten years on the trot; and the late Eric Charles who was awarded posthumously. He was the former head of the Tobago Steelband Organisation and leader of Black Rock’s Katzenjammers, Tobago’s oldest steelband.
The honouring of the awardees was the highlight of the Anthony Williams Award ceremony and President’s Ball. The new Minister of State in the Culture Ministry (Donna Cox) brought greetings from her Ministry and also witnessed the honouring of former Culture Minister Joan Yuille-Williams.
Anthony Williams, the leader, pan tuner and music arranger for the former Pan Am North Stars was the toast of the evening for his outstanding contribution to the development of the steel pan instrument.
Tobago’s icon Bertille St. Clair was dapperly dressed for the occasion and he recounted his time in the steelband movement this way. “I started to play pan when I was still at school. In those days the steelpan was not as recognised or respected as it is today, so I used to hide and runaway from my home in Friendsfield to the Our Boys pan yard on Fort Street.” When Patrick Arnold, the then founder and leader of Our Boys left Tobago in the early 1960s to spread the pan culture in North America, it was St. Clair who took up the mantle of leadership of Our Boys into a well-disciplined outfit. Smoking was not allowed in the pan tent and band members had to be well dressed at practice sessions in the event of any impromptu engagements.
Under his leadership, Our Boys won a number of Panorama titles. St. Clair noted that “the sweetest of all our Panorama victories was in 1974″. St. Clair recalled what happened back then, “we played a Sparrow calypso in the preliminaries of the competition and made it to the finals, but with four days to go in the competition we heard Shadow’s ‘Bassman’ and decided to change our song and go to the finals. We practiced the song for the four days, spending long hours in the pan tent and won the competition that year”.
St. Clair who is more known for his prowess as a football (soccer) coach also served as the President of the Tobago Steelband Organisation. During his tenure as the steelband president St. Clair led a steelband boycott on carnival day to demand better payment for steelbands. He also recalled how he initiated a cultural festival on Emancipation Day (August 1). “We had a steelband queen competition and calypso and steelband contests,” he added.
Source: The Tobago News
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