Featured Image: The UTM Steel Band recites a variety of songs in the Blankenship Recital Hall Thursday, April 9, in Martin, Tenn. (Pacer Photo / Ethan Tanner)
The UT Martin Music Department hosted a unique steel band concert including special guest Jaden Teague-Núñez on Tuesday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Blankenship Recital Hall.
The performers consisted of seven steel pannists along with a variety of other percussionists. As expected, the winner of Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition, Jaden Teague-Núñez, remained front and center as a frequent soloist throughout many of the pieces.
Within minutes, the recital hall was filled with the lively, exotic rhythms emitted from the steel pans.
Amongst the most recognizable was Baja, a traditional song that had a lively, tropical feel that spread across the room as Teague-Núñez led the group through the song.
After reciting a selection of joyful, carefree numbers with the band, Teague-Núñez went on to recite an unorthodox solo steel pan piece titled “A Visit to Hell,” written by his father, Liam Teague, director of steel pan studies at Northern Illinois University.
Accompanied by UTM’s director of keyboard studies, Professor Chan-Mi Jean, Teague-Núñez recited the eery piece with expert concentration, gently tapping the steel pan to create a creeping feeling.
The piece lasted for about 10 minutes, and Teague-Núñez would grow more intense with each beat of the steel pan, creating a chaotic and uneasy composition far different from the traditional casual steel pan pieces.
After completing that piece, he went on to showcase his masterful skill at the piano with “Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Opus 3 No. 2” by Sergei Rachmaninoff, before finishing strong with the rest of the ensemble in “Playdate” and “Squirrels,” two pieces written by his father.
Teague-Núñez had travelled to various destinations across the country to perform because of his unique expertise at playing the steel pan, and was very much pleased with his visit at UT Martin.
“I thought it was a really great experience. The students here are so great, and they’re so lovely to work with. I got a chance to even work with one of the students here, Michael. He is doing a lot more jazz stuff, and he was sounding great,” he said. “I think he has a lot of potential. It was just a really fun time to be here.”
“If you know steel band, you will know the name Teague. And he’s really living up to that. I’ve seen him play before, but getting a chance to play next to him and get to work with him has been unreal,” he said.
Jacob Hargrove, professor of percussion activities, was glad with the concert’s success and looks forward to see what the steel band’s future may hold.
“I think it would be really great if people get involved in this. We could see about bringing in people that maybe have never even played an instrument before. I think it would be really great to do that,” he said.
The UT Martin steel band class will be offered in the coming academic school year, with very few requirements for registration.
The full concert can be viewed below:
