Ray Holman
Encyclopedia
Raymond Anthony Holman is an acclaimed musician
, composer
, pannist
and performer from Trinidad
.
for whom he composed his first pan piece - "Ray's Saga" recorded by Invaders in 1961. At 20, he became the youngest player to win the solo Ping Pong (an early version of the tenor pan) competition in the 1964 Trinidad and Tobago Music Festival. Later, he became arranger for Invaders Steelband, doing classical pieces such as "Dream of Olwen" and "Etude in A b."
In 1963 Holman co-founded the Steelband Starlift, with whom he achieved consistent success in the both the Panorama
competition and the informal "Bomb" played on the road at Carnival, for which two of his most renowned arrangements were "I Feel Pretty" and "Penny Lane
". During the 60s his arrangements placed Starlift in the top 3 twice (1964: "Mas in South" - Kitchener, 3rd place; 1968: "Jane" - Sparrow, 2nd place) before finally winning the coveted first prize in 1969 with his arrangement of Kitchener's "The Bull".
After placing second in 1970 with Sparrow's "Pan Man", Starlift was joint winner of the 1971 Panorama tying for first place with Harmonites ("Play Mas'"- Kitchener) with Ray's stunning arrangement of "Queen Of The Bands". He has arranged Panorama tunes for a number of top steelbands including Phase II Pan Groove, Exodus, Carib Tokyo, Hummingbirds Pan Groove, Invaders, and Pandemonium and since 2001 he has returned to the local band with which he achieved his early success - Starlift.
As an international artist he has also arranged and recorded with steel bands and artist in the US, Canada, Latin America, Japan and Europe, including televised performances with the German National Orchestra which showcased his compositions. He composed the highly acclaimed score for Black Orpheus, staged by Crossroads Theatre Company in New Jersey in 1991, and has been a featured performer in film, television and at venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Super Bowl and the St. Lucia Jazz Festival.
also known as "Boogsie" (leader and composer for Phase II Pan Groove
) who has achieved cult status for his phenomenal arranging and soloing skills, was the first person to win Panorama with an own tune, which he has now done on five occasions To date, the only other composer to win with an own tune was Pelham Goddard, whose composition "A Happy Song" performed by Exodus, won in 2001. Other composers such as Kenrick Philmore, Robert Greenidge
and American pannist Andy Narell
and others followed him and today, the Panorama "Own Tune" is becoming more commonplace.
, and by long flowing melodic arcs, supported by complex harmonic progressions,suspended harmonies and extended chords, in contrast to the more standard 16-bar frameworks and simple chord schemes used by other composers. Panyard Vibrations (1977) for example, has three major sections (as opposed to the verse/chorus form often found in calypso), and his 2007 piece "We Just Can't Go On Like This" has a similar tripartite form, with a 32-bar verse, 59-bar chorus and 32-bar "tag". "Heroes Of The Nation" (2001) starts with the highly complex chord progression G#min7 flat5/C#7aug5/C#7/Dmaj7/E7sus4, a level of harmonic sophistication few other calypso composers have reached.
, and has taught pan in many higher education institutions in the United States of America. He has conducted workshops at West Virginia University and was a Commissioned Composer in the California State University Summer Arts Program. He regularly attends the bi-annual steelband tuning and arranging workshop at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California and has done presentations at meetings of the Percussive Arts Society. During 1998-2000 he was a distinguished Visiting Artist in the Ethnomusicology Program at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Ray has won many prestigious musical awards, including the Hummingbird Silver Medal of Merit from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and a Pan Legend Award from the New York Folk Arts Institute and the U.S. Congress. He was recognized for his musical contribution by the Republic Pan Fiesta 2003, A Tribute to Ray Holman.
Holman's compositions can also be found on Sanch compilation albums of the yearly Panorama competition. Several deleted albums recorded by Starlift in the early 70s also feature his work.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, pannist
Pannist
A pannist is a person who plays the steelpan. A professional pannist can perform solo pieces, play with a steel band, or accompany one or more singers or solo instrumentalists...
and performer from Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
.
Person
In 1957, Ray Holman began playing steelpan at the age of thirteen with the Invaders Steel Orchestra, led by Ellie MannetteEllie Mannette
Elliot "Ellie" Mannette is a musical instrument maker and Steel Pan musician, also known as "father of the modern steel pan instrument".-Life:...
for whom he composed his first pan piece - "Ray's Saga" recorded by Invaders in 1961. At 20, he became the youngest player to win the solo Ping Pong (an early version of the tenor pan) competition in the 1964 Trinidad and Tobago Music Festival. Later, he became arranger for Invaders Steelband, doing classical pieces such as "Dream of Olwen" and "Etude in A b."
In 1963 Holman co-founded the Steelband Starlift, with whom he achieved consistent success in the both the Panorama
Panorama
A panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film/video, or a three-dimensional model....
competition and the informal "Bomb" played on the road at Carnival, for which two of his most renowned arrangements were "I Feel Pretty" and "Penny Lane
Penny Lane
"Penny Lane" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney. It was credited to Lennon–McCartney.Recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, "Penny Lane" was released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with "Strawberry Fields Forever". Both songs were later included...
". During the 60s his arrangements placed Starlift in the top 3 twice (1964: "Mas in South" - Kitchener, 3rd place; 1968: "Jane" - Sparrow, 2nd place) before finally winning the coveted first prize in 1969 with his arrangement of Kitchener's "The Bull".
After placing second in 1970 with Sparrow's "Pan Man", Starlift was joint winner of the 1971 Panorama tying for first place with Harmonites ("Play Mas'"- Kitchener) with Ray's stunning arrangement of "Queen Of The Bands". He has arranged Panorama tunes for a number of top steelbands including Phase II Pan Groove, Exodus, Carib Tokyo, Hummingbirds Pan Groove, Invaders, and Pandemonium and since 2001 he has returned to the local band with which he achieved his early success - Starlift.
As an international artist he has also arranged and recorded with steel bands and artist in the US, Canada, Latin America, Japan and Europe, including televised performances with the German National Orchestra which showcased his compositions. He composed the highly acclaimed score for Black Orpheus, staged by Crossroads Theatre Company in New Jersey in 1991, and has been a featured performer in film, television and at venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Super Bowl and the St. Lucia Jazz Festival.
"Own Tunes"
1971 would prove to be a historical turning point for the Panorama competition, as for the first time Ray took Starlift to Panorama with a composition of his own - "Pan On the Move". Previously, only vocal compositions by a popular local calypsonian had been arranged for performance in Panorama, and members of other bands even threatened violence if Ray's so-called "Own Tune" won the competition, as they did not consider it to be a "proper" calypso. As the popuarity of a particular piece enhances its chances in Panorama, Ray's decision was particularly bold, as the audience was unfamiliar with the song, so the resulting award of third place is even more surprising, and further proof of Ray's outstanding skills than it may at first seem. Since the 1980s many other composers have followed Ray's lead in writing so-called "Own Tunes" (i.e. a piece composed especially for pan, rather than an arrangement of a vocal calypso) for Panorama. Most notably, former Starlift player Lennox SharpeLennox Sharpe
Lennox "Boogsie" Sharpe is a successful and popular composer and arranger of Steelpan music.-Person:Sharpe began his career with Starlift where he worked as a co-arranger with Ray Holman...
also known as "Boogsie" (leader and composer for Phase II Pan Groove
Phase II Pan Groove
-Band:Based in Woodbrook, Port of Spain, Phase II is one of the leading steelbands in Trinidad and Tobago. Most closely associated with arranger and composer Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Phase II was the first band to win a Panorama title playing an original composition. In 2005 they won the Panorama...
) who has achieved cult status for his phenomenal arranging and soloing skills, was the first person to win Panorama with an own tune, which he has now done on five occasions To date, the only other composer to win with an own tune was Pelham Goddard, whose composition "A Happy Song" performed by Exodus, won in 2001. Other composers such as Kenrick Philmore, Robert Greenidge
Robert Greenidge
Robert Greenidge is a steelpan player in the United States and a member of popular music singer Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and the instrumental group Club Trini.-Career:...
and American pannist 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...
and others followed him and today, the Panorama "Own Tune" is becoming more commonplace.
Compositional Style
Since 1971 Ray has produced a string of beautiful calypsos, which are characterised use of five against four hemiolaHemiola
In modern musical parlance, a hemiola is a metrical pattern in which two bars in simple triple time are articulated as if they were three bars in simple duple time...
, and by long flowing melodic arcs, supported by complex harmonic progressions,suspended harmonies and extended chords, in contrast to the more standard 16-bar frameworks and simple chord schemes used by other composers. Panyard Vibrations (1977) for example, has three major sections (as opposed to the verse/chorus form often found in calypso), and his 2007 piece "We Just Can't Go On Like This" has a similar tripartite form, with a 32-bar verse, 59-bar chorus and 32-bar "tag". "Heroes Of The Nation" (2001) starts with the highly complex chord progression G#min7 flat5/C#7aug5/C#7/Dmaj7/E7sus4, a level of harmonic sophistication few other calypso composers have reached.
Pedagogy and Awards
A University of the West Indies graduate, and alumnus of Queens Royal College, Ray Holman was a teacher of Spanish and History at Fatima CollegeFatima College
Fatima College is a government-assisted, highly-selective Roman Catholic boys' secondary school in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It was established in 1945 and had an enrollment of 895 students . The school was established and is run by the Holy Ghost Fathers, an international Roman Catholic...
, and has taught pan in many higher education institutions in the United States of America. He has conducted workshops at West Virginia University and was a Commissioned Composer in the California State University Summer Arts Program. He regularly attends the bi-annual steelband tuning and arranging workshop at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California and has done presentations at meetings of the Percussive Arts Society. During 1998-2000 he was a distinguished Visiting Artist in the Ethnomusicology Program at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Ray has won many prestigious musical awards, including the Hummingbird Silver Medal of Merit from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and a Pan Legend Award from the New York Folk Arts Institute and the U.S. Congress. He was recognized for his musical contribution by the Republic Pan Fiesta 2003, A Tribute to Ray Holman.
Discography
- "Steelband Paradise - A Tribute To Ray Holman" Delos DE 4025, 1994
- "In Touch" Ramajay Records, RR70009-2, 2003
- "Steelband Paradise - A Tribute To Ray Holman - SPECIAL EDITION" double CD, Sanch DE 0402-2, 2003
- "Changing Time - original compositions" (Includes printable sheet music files) double CD, Woodbrook Music Inc/UWI, 2006
Holman's compositions can also be found on Sanch compilation albums of the yearly Panorama competition. Several deleted albums recorded by Starlift in the early 70s also feature his work.