The Potts & Pans Community Steelbands have three terms per year, with at least one major performance per term where they get to show off what they learned! Participants can choose to take part in any or all terms. Participation in multiple courses within the same term requires only one registration fee!

The Terms:

Spring Term: Jan 1 – Memorial Day
Major Performance: Great Lakes Steelpan Festival (second Saturday of April)

Summer Term: Memorial Day – Labor Day

Major Performance: Multiple parades and festivals

Fall Term: Labor Day – Dec 31

Major Performance: Annual benefit concert for local charity (late November – early December)

Earth: Mondays 6-7:30pm (all ages)

The Earth course is designed as an introduction to the steelpan, with no previous musical experience required. Here we focus on feeling the unique rhythms of Caribbean music, as we provide introductory lessons on music theory, written notation, and steelpan performance technique.

Wind: Tuesdays 6:30-8pm (21+)

The Wind course is an opportunity for adults of any musical background to come together for a fun and exciting musical experience. With a mix of total beginners and full-time musicians in the group, participants are exposed to Caribbean music as well as familiar American classics.

Fire: Thursdays 5-6:30 (all ages)

The Fire course provides an opportunity to challenge participants with Intermediate level music. A greater emphasis is placed on the understanding of music theory, and students are pushed to develop more advanced technique on the steelpan. Participation in at least one term of either the Earth or Wind course is required before participating in the Fire course.

Fee per term: $150/$75 students (or: $10/$5 students per rehearsal)
First term: FREE

On-Site: Stop by a rehearsal to check out the scene and register for an upcoming term at 1039 Wanda Lane, Woodstock, IL.

Online: Fill out a registration by clicking a course name below.

Contact Us: For registration over the phone or for any questions about our community bands, please contact one of our directors.

Through these groups, students of all ages are able to come together in a fun environment and learn about new instruments, cultures, and music. With a heavy emphasis on music from the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, members of our community steelbands learn all about the nation’s most popular and native instrument, the steelpan. The groups expose students to new styles of music such as calypso and soca and teaches through both notated music and by rote, just like in the Trinidadian panyards. The rhythms of these styles introduce both beginning and experienced musicians alike to new sonic concepts and grooves that they are not otherwise exposed to within the everyday life of Western music culture.

Extending beyond the borders of Trinidad and Tobago, members of the group also learn important sonic concepts from musical styles including jazz, Latin, classical, and pop. Furthermore, summer session members get the chance to participate in the Potts & Pans Brazilian Bateria – a Brazilian drumline utilizing unique instruments and rhythms not commonly found in Western music repertoire. This bateria is often combined with our steelbands and can be seen in parades throughout the greater Chicagoland area.

For more information on our ensembles, please contact one of our directors.

All community bands are run through Culture, Arts & Music by Potts & Pans. Check them out at PottsAndPans.com!