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| The band was formed in 2002 following a pan workshop by Gerald Forsythe who travelled to the |
| depths of Norfolk to impart some of the wealth of knowledge to the good folk of Norfolk! This initial |
| workshop brought together the first five members, Janet (tenor), Judi (tenor), Teresa |
| (double second) and Kevin (cellos). |
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| Janet has been playing pan for about 8 years having learned in Tobago from Selwyn Alexander. She |
| organised the workshop with the help of Anslam Samuels in an effort to fulfil her dream of being |
| able to play in an adult steel band regularly. She was the proud owner of a couple of tenor pans and |
| at the time was helping the children at a local school band to learn to play pan. Janet, a regular |
| visitor to Tobago, has twice played with a band in Trinidad and Tobago Panorama. |
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| Judi has been playing tenor for approximately twelve years. She was first introduced to pan playing |
| by a work colleague and went on to play with the Comets and be the founder members of the |
| Norfolk Police Steel Band (now disbanded). She has played pan in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Panorama and at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham. |
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| Teresa, a friend of Janet's had been introduced to the sound of pan by Janet. They had spent many |
| a cold winter evening playing Janet's pans in an attempt to capture some of that Caribbean sunshine! |
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| Lisa, one of the youngest members, had learned to play at the school with Janet. Somehow she |
| convinced her parents to buy her double seconds so she could carry on playing after she left school. |
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| Kevin, Janet's husband, having enjoyed pan in the Caribbean was now receiving regular helpings of |
| it at home and his interest grew. Having tried it out in the workshop became hooked on the cellos. |
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| At this stage you couldn't really say the band was born. There were one or two aborted efforts with |
| people coming and going but, with the help of Gerald they managed to put a few numbers together |
| and were basically playing for their own enjoyment when along came Kenny. |
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| Kenny worked in the same building as Judi and at a chance meeting at the coffee machine one |
| morning saw his dreams being realised - the existence of a steel band in Norfolk that is - not Judi's |
| indubitable charm! He had been drawn to the music whilst in the Caribbean and ever since thought |
| he would like to have a go! He took to the bass like the proverbial duck to water and by the end of |
| his first practice had learned and went away humming the bass part to Jamaica Farewell. |
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| Ian had played with the Norfolk Police Steel Band on a variety of pans. This is Ian's forte. He has the |
| ability to step into the breach when needed. He plays bass, percussion and now is learning the |
| tenor. He also brought along son Jamie who plays drums and just to really keep it in the family Ian's |
| younger son Tom has also joined us as a percussionist. |
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| Kim our most recent member plays double seconds. She had the unenviable job of having to learn |
| the whole repertoire from scratch but did it in three months - no mean feat. |
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| So that is all of us to date. During the summer of 2004 Selwyn Alexander came over from Tobago |
| and spent six months with us teaching and arranging music and playing at a variety of events |
| throughout Norfolk. This was the turning point for Mango. Under the intense instruction of Selwyn |
| the band really came to life. |
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