Ellie Mannette
Encyclopedia
Elliot "Ellie" Mannette is a musical instrument maker and Steel Pan musician, also known as "father of the modern steel pan instrument".
In 1951, TASPO
(Trinidad All Steel percussion Orchestra) travelled to Great Britain
to present the new musical instrument at the Festival of Britain
. Mannette was a member and tuner for this orchestra, which consisted of leader figures of different Trinidadian steel bands.
In 1952, Mannette was formally offered a scholarship to study music in London
, which he turned down in order to be able to build more steel pans.
After having visited the United States
in the beginning of the 1960s to build up the U.S. Navy Steel Band
, he was invited to New York City
to build instruments for an inner city youth program. This invitation had been carried out by Murray Narell, a New York social worker and father of Jeff and Andy Narell
. At this time, Mannette tuned his instruments by ear. Eventually he learned about the necessity of concert pitch
A440
Hz
and the use of strobe tuners
.
Since 1967 Mannette has been building up several hundred steel bands all over the United States, mainly in colleges and universities, but also for private institutions. 1991, he was invited by West Virginia University
to show interested students how to build and play steel pans. What was meant to be a guest-semester eventually turned into a long time relationship called the University Tuning Project and later on the company Mannette Steel Drums.
Quote of Elliot Mannette:"Looking back more than half a century during my humble beginnings in this unique art form, no one during that period could have envisioned the rapid growth of this instrument. Through the years as I developed my skills, my entire mindset was sharing my knowledge with others for the betterment of this instrument."
on two resonance bodies has become a widely common standard.
Mannette has developed his own unique skills and style over many years. Within the University Tuning Project at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia
, USA, he passes on his knowledge of pan building and tuning to many students and therefore ensures that his experience is passed on to future generations of pan makers. His creations can be admired in many museums and galleries including the Smithsonian Institution
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, and the Contemporary art gallery
in New York.
In 1969, Ellie Mannette was awarded the Hummingbird Medal Silver of Trinidad and Tobago
for his innovations in pan making. For more than 30 years, Mannette has been at the forefront of the steel band movement in the United States. In recognition of his significant contribution to this thriving art form, Mannette received the 1999 NEA National Heritage Fellowship
Award, the highest honor for the traditional arts given in the United States. Also in November 2000, Mannette received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the West Indies
and returned home to Trinidad, after a 33 year absence, to receive it. Furthermore, the same year he received the Chaconia Medal Silver from his home country, for his outstanding cultural achievement.
In 2003, Ellie Mannette was admitted to the Hall of Fame of the Percussive Arts Society
of the United States.
Mannette is an honorary brother of the Omicron Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi
at West Virginia University. He was initiated into the fraternity on February 13, 1997.
Life
Very early, Mannette developed a passion for metal and tools for metalworking. He engaged himself in the evolution of the phenomenon of sounding steel. From the middle of the 1930s, percussion bands of different quarters of Port-of-Spain were in competition with each other. Legend says that Mannette was the first person to use a discarded oil barrel to build a steel pan.In 1951, TASPO
TASPO (Steelband)
The Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra was formed to participate in the Festival of Britain in 1951. The group presented the newly invented Steelpan to an international audience.-Members of TASPO:...
(Trinidad All Steel percussion Orchestra) travelled to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to present the new musical instrument at the Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
. Mannette was a member and tuner for this orchestra, which consisted of leader figures of different Trinidadian steel bands.
In 1952, Mannette was formally offered a scholarship to study music in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, which he turned down in order to be able to build more steel pans.
After having visited the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the beginning of the 1960s to build up the U.S. Navy Steel Band
U.S. Navy Steel Band
The US Navy Steel Band was the first all-American and only military steel band. It was organized in 1957 by Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery, from the band assigned to him, while he was commander of the Tenth Naval District in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The band was originally called Admiral Dan's...
, he was invited to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to build instruments for an inner city youth program. This invitation had been carried out by Murray Narell, a New York social worker and father of Jeff and Andy Narell
Andy Narell
Andy Narell is a musician and composer specialized in the steelpan.-Biography:He was born in New York City and moved to California in his teens. He took up the steelpan at a very young age in Queens, New York...
. At this time, Mannette tuned his instruments by ear. Eventually he learned about the necessity of concert pitch
Concert pitch
Concert pitch refers to the pitch reference to which a group of musical instruments are tuned for a performance. Concert pitch may vary from ensemble to ensemble, and has varied widely over musical history...
A440
A440 (Concert A)
A440 is the musical note A above middle C. It has a frequency of 440 Hz and serves as a general tuning standard for musical pitch.Prior to the standardization on 440 Hz, many countries and organizations followed the Austrian government's 1885 recommendation of 435 Hz...
Hz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
and the use of strobe tuners
Electronic tuner
The term electronic tuner can refer to a number of different things, depending which discipline you wish to study.In the Discipline of radio frequency electronics an electronic tuner is a device which tunes across a part of the radio frequency spectrum by the application of a voltage or appropriate...
.
Since 1967 Mannette has been building up several hundred steel bands all over the United States, mainly in colleges and universities, but also for private institutions. 1991, he was invited by West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
to show interested students how to build and play steel pans. What was meant to be a guest-semester eventually turned into a long time relationship called the University Tuning Project and later on the company Mannette Steel Drums.
Quote of Elliot Mannette:"Looking back more than half a century during my humble beginnings in this unique art form, no one during that period could have envisioned the rapid growth of this instrument. Through the years as I developed my skills, my entire mindset was sharing my knowledge with others for the betterment of this instrument."
Merits
Mannette is credited with several innovations which have proven to be essential for the evolution of steel pan. He’s been the first to use a 55-gallon oil barrel instead of biscuit tins or soap boxes. Furthermore, Mannette was the person to sink the top of the drum into a concave shape, thus having more space to place notes as well as achieving a better isolation between the different pitches. Ellie Mannette has developed many instruments of the steel pan family. His use of the whole tone scaleWhole tone scale
In music, a whole tone scale is a scale in which each note is separated from its neighbors by the interval of a whole step. There are only two complementary whole tone scales, both six-note or hexatonic scales:...
on two resonance bodies has become a widely common standard.
Mannette has developed his own unique skills and style over many years. Within the University Tuning Project at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
, USA, he passes on his knowledge of pan building and tuning to many students and therefore ensures that his experience is passed on to future generations of pan makers. His creations can be admired in many museums and galleries including the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, and the Contemporary art gallery
Contemporary art gallery
A contemporary art gallery is a place where contemporary art is shown for exhibition and/or for sale. The term "art gallery" is commonly used to mean art museum , the rooms displaying art in any museum, or in the original sense, of any large or long room.-Identity, function and locality:A...
in New York.
In 1969, Ellie Mannette was awarded the Hummingbird Medal Silver of Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
for his innovations in pan making. For more than 30 years, Mannette has been at the forefront of the steel band movement in the United States. In recognition of his significant contribution to this thriving art form, Mannette received the 1999 NEA National Heritage Fellowship
National Heritage Fellowship
The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts...
Award, the highest honor for the traditional arts given in the United States. Also in November 2000, Mannette received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
and returned home to Trinidad, after a 33 year absence, to receive it. Furthermore, the same year he received the Chaconia Medal Silver from his home country, for his outstanding cultural achievement.
In 2003, Ellie Mannette was admitted to the Hall of Fame of the Percussive Arts Society
Percussive Arts Society
The Percussive Arts Society is an international music service organization promoting percussion education, research,performance and appreciation.Established in 1961 as a non-profit, music service organization,...
of the United States.
Mannette is an honorary brother of the Omicron Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi is a fraternity for college and university band members. It was founded on November 27, 1919 at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Stillwater, Oklahoma. William Scroggs, now regarded as the "Founder," together with "Mr. Kappa Kappa Psi" A...
at West Virginia University. He was initiated into the fraternity on February 13, 1997.
Further reading
- Felix I. R. Blake: The Trinidad and Tobago Steel Pan. History and Evolution. ISBN 0-952-55280-9
- Nurse, A. Myrna: Unheard Voices: The Rise of Steelband and Calypso in the Caribbean and North America. iUniverse, Inc. ISBN 978-.-595-40153-6 (pbk)
External links
- http://www.mannettesteeldrums.com/
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccLkpFVoQ5o