About us
A steel band in Harvard Yard.
Founded in 2024, the Harvard College Steelpan Ensemble gives Trinidad and Tobago's national instrument a permanent home at Harvard.
What we play
The steelpan is one of the few acoustic instruments invented in the twentieth century. Developed in Trinidad from oil drums, it now features in music from traditional calypso and soca to jazz, classical, and pop.
A typical set might move from Lord Kitchener's Iron Man and Kes's Savannah Grass to Charlie Puth's Attention and Frankie Valli's Can't Take My Eyes Off You. We are unfailingly good at getting a room moving.
Who plays it
Anyone who wants to. We hold no auditions and require no prior experience. Most members arrive having never held a pan stick, and are playing in a public performance within the semester.
The ensemble draws students from across Harvard and the Cambridge and Boston area, some with conservatory training, many with none at all, and a few who grew up with pan in Trinidad and Tobago.
Leadership
Our board
Ruby Codrington
President
Luke Tan
Finance Chair
Phoebe Pan
Media Chair
TJ Dolan
Social Chair
Courtney Craig
Transportation Chair
Founders
Adam Bartholomew '26 and Elizabeth Bennett '26
Adam, from Trinidad, and Elizabeth, from the UK, bonded over their love of playing steelpan. They founded the ensemble in September 2024 and led it through its first two years, including the 2026 tour of Trinidad. From the beginning, everyone plays and no auditions are required.
Faculty advisor
Ron Reid
Associate Professor of Contemporary Writing and Production at Berklee College of Music, and founder and arranger of the Sunsteel Caribbean pan-jazz sextet.
