PVYSO at SSTCi Wonderful Wednesdays
Wed, Oct 12
|El Golfo Restaurant
Final Wonderful Wednesdays Event of the Season & we have great weather! Hosted by Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. Caribbean Steel Drum Music with Positive Vibrations Wednesday, October 12th 6pm-8pm on El Golfo's Patio (or indoors depending on weather). FREE & Everyone Welcome!
Time & Location
Oct 12, 2022, 6:00 PM
El Golfo Restaurant, 8739 Flower Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20901, USA
About the event
Enjoy an evening of Steel Drum Music from the Caribbean with Positive Vibrations Wednesday, October 12th 6pm-8pm.
The Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra (PVYSO) directed by Khandeya Sheppard, has been sharing its melodies nationally and internationally since 1996. The orchestra was started in the suburban basement of founder Lorna Green with 14 students and some steelpans. At the end of two weeks the group had completed the "Star Spangled Banner" and performed the piece for the Olympic torch ceremony passing through Largo, MD. Within a year the group relocated to Hyattsville, MD and the rest is history.
This group of energetic young performers has toured nationally and internationally, including performances in Trinidad & Tobago; Dakar, Senegal; Ontario, Canada; Chicago, IL, New Haven, CT. Notable venues include the Kennedy Center, the Zora Neale Hurston Festival, the Virginia Beach Panorama Festival (grand champions 2006 and 2007) and countless other public and private performances. The young entertainers have performed with world-renowned musicians including steelpan virtuosos Liam Teague, Robert Greenidge, Andy Narell, saxophonist Arturo Tappin, and Grammy nominated trumpeter, Ettiene Charles. The full orchestra is comprised of 20-25 students, ranging in age from 8-27, who attend the Saturday Academy hosted by the Cultural Academy for Excellence. At the academy students study music theory and practical steelpan pieces, as well as learn a wide variety of music arranged by the academy's highly credentialed instructors.
Over the years PVYSO has had the pleasure of having over 500 students grace its instruments. Arguably one of the best steel orchestra's in the Mid-Atlantic region, they also proudly state that their parent organization, CAFE is "one of the best charities of the Greater Washington region" - Catalogue for Philanthropy 2007-2008.
The Cultural Academy for Excellence ("CAFE") is an award-winning music-based academic and life-skills enrichment program. CAFE was started in 1996 with the goal of encouraging young people to value learning and to perform well academically. For more info, visit cafeyouth.org.