By Tracy Moore
BEHIND THE CULTURE SERIES
When Lowrey Leon Worrell steps into a classroom or rehearsal space, it is never quiet for long. The Christ Church Foundation School (CCFS) music teacher and Steel Orchestra director has built his career on the belief that learning and performing should be as dynamic as the music itself.
“As a teacher, your class will reproduce what you give. If you are boring, the class will be like, ‘eh,’ drawn in,” Worrell explains.
“I always tell my students my classes have to be hype. I don’t think children will learn if it’s too boring. It’s got to be fun, something they want to come and do. So my classes are like a performance.
I always jump up, I always be up and down the class, nearly hopping over tables at times. Because if you can enjoy the class, you can learn.”
That energy translates directly to rehearsal. “We practice how we can perform. We jump up, we get all the energy in the room, so when we get up on stage, it’s a natural thing.
Sometimes I don’t even have to tell them anything. We start the song, and everybody goes crazy because it’s a natural progression from rehearsal.”
Worrell’s philosophy comes from experience. At just 17 years old, he became the youngest full-time musician at the Alma Beach Resort.
“That year really excelled me and pushed me to become the performer I am. I had to learn 200 songs in two weeks, and there were no excuses. You can’t say, ‘I don’t know it.’ You’ve got to execute,” he recalls. “That discipline shaped everything I do as a director, as a music teacher, as a musician.”
He carried that discipline into a career performing worldwide, releasing albums, and eventually returning to the classroom: “What I give to the kids is what they’re portraying. Parents have told me, ‘I never thought my daughter would be this expressive.’ Now she’s out there meeting people, talking, playing. That’s what we do—we encourage children to open up.” Keeping an orchestra alive is not cheap.
“You can get a painted pan for around $2 800, but it won’t sound as good as a chrome one,” Worrell explains. “Chrome pans start around $4 000 to buy and ship to Barbados. A lot of people say, ‘That’s expensive.’ But I tell them, I have a keyboard at home that costs $9 000, and it won’t last half as long. A good pan can last 20 or 30 years.”
To bridge the gap, the group launched Pan Pon de Hill: “We’re in the process of purchasing pans, and the Ministry of Education has now allotted us a building, because we were practising outside under a tree. Rain falls, and it becomes challenging.
But they’ve invested in us because they see the work we’re doing with the kids.” And his students approve; Worrell’s leadership is transformative.
“I started playing pan in second form because my mom encouraged me,” says Alyssa Bell, deputy pan captain. “I didn’t even know there was pan at the school! But once I gave it a try, I loved it. I love having to go as a group or a family and just going on stage—it’s vibes with everybody jumping up and seeing everyone have a great time.”
Band Captain Israel Leacock agrees: “I’ve been part of the orchestra since I first joined the school.
I play the lead tenor, the single pan. Truthfully, I love just being able to play with my friends and having a good time with everyone. It’s a great experience.”
At CARIFESTA XV, Worrell’s impact stretched far beyond the CCFS. He took over as the music coordinator for the entire festival, alongside being the director for CCFS’s Steel Orchestra and the director for the Barbados National Youth Steel Orchestra.
So it’s no mistake that for Worrell, pan is inseparable from identity. Music is part of his DNA. Being behind the sound is what he knows by heart.
In fact, he’ll tell you himself: “I am Crop Over because I am Barbadian, I am cultural, I am an artist. I express myself musically and connect with people. At the end of the day, we are one people.” tracymoore@barbadostoday.bb
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