Description: Steelband is a Caribbean art form that originated in Trinidad & Tobago, but it is also alive and well in northern Colorado.

On March 6 the Brighton Heritage "Pan Dragons" will team up with the CSU Steelband for a concert of steelband music guaranteed to end your winter doldrums. The music will include calypso and reggae, as well as pop tunes by artists ranging from Blink 182 to Ozzy Osbourne. Each band will perform separately, then combine at the end for what may be the largest steelband ever assembled in Colorado.

Both groups were founded by Don Prorak about seven years ago. The Pan Dragons are the only high school steelband in Colorado, and the CSU ensemble is the state's only university steelband.

Don provides his large collection of pans (a.k.a. steel drums) for both programs, augmented by a few instruments owned by students and the respective schools. BrightonHeritageAcademy is the alternative high/middle school in School District 27J, and is proud to offer steelband as its music curriculum.

Three steelband classes rehearse every day throughout the school year. Many of the students come into the steelband with little or no prior musical experience; others come from various backgrounds in school band or orchestra, or having played guitar, bass, or piano.

BHA is a fairly small school, and the steelband is about the only musical medium which can meld these disparate skill levels into a cohesive group. The Pan Dragons perform a concert at the end of each nine week quarter and at the school's quarterly graduation ceremonies. They have also performed for the Metro Mayors and Commissioners Youth Awards and at functions for the City of Brighton. In 2004 they performed at the Colorado Percussive Arts Society "Day of Percussion" in Fort Collins with the CSU steelband.

The CSU Steelband is comprised mostly of music majors, though most have not played steel pans prior to joining this group. They only have one rehearsal per week, but have developed into a very exciting ensemble.

They are currently preparing for an April 6 concert at CSU featuring Trinidadian pan legend Ray Holman, and several of Holman's compositions will be featured at the BHA performance. In addition to their regular concert schedule at CSU, they have been featured several times at the Colorado Percussive Arts Society "Day of Percussion".

Prorak is also the leader of Pan Jumbies, a popular professional group that he founded in 1991. He has traveled to Trinidad a number of times to perform with some of the island's top steelbands, and to study the music and culture. He holds degrees in music performance and education, and has studied and performed with some of Trinidad's top steel pan artists, including Ray Holman, Liam Teague, and Cliff Alexis. Prorak endeavors to bring the "Trinidad Experience" to his students at BHA and CSU, as well as to his concert audiences.