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The History of the New Philadelphia Steel Band
The New Philadelphia High School Steel Band was started in the fall of 1987 by Joan Wenzel. The ensemble consisted of 17 steelpan instruments, built and maintained by Master Builder Cliff Alexis and was played by percussionists in grades 9-12, eventually expanding to include younger percussionists. The steel band performed in various community and civic functions as well as the 1989 OMEA/MENC Regional Conference in Columbus, Ohio and at the 1990 Bands of America Summer Workshop in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
In the fall of 1990, Ms. Wenzel took a position with Dover City Schools and the steel band remained dormant until the fall of 1997 when Sallie Stroup and JoAnn McConnell created a smaller version of the Steel Band program in the middle school until the spring of 2000.
In the fall of 2006, Jeff Phillips began teaching 4 Semester-long Steel Band classes at Welty Middle School that included 6 instruments and 10 students per semester. Due to the amount of interest, in the fall of 2008 an auditioned group of 11 middle school students was formed during after-school hours. In the spring of 2010, a steel band festival entitled “Panstock” was formed as a way to showcase the work of our steel bands for the community. During the summer of 2010, with support from New Philadelphia City Schools, the community of New Philadelphia and a generous grant from the Reeve’s Foundation, 17 additional instruments were purchased, and enrollment was increased to 24 members and the steel band program expanded to include the New Philadelphia High School Steel Band. We currently own 55 steelpan instruments and sport two of the largest public school steel bands in the United States. Since 2010, Artist in Residence Tracy Thronton has worked exclusively with our Steel Band Program, incorporating his high-energy compositions as well as his brainchild, “Pans Rocks”.
The New Philadelphia Steel Band has performed with various rock artists including Jonathon “Sugarfoot” Moffett (Drummer for Michael Jackson), Robert Sledge (Bassist-Ben Folds Five), Tracii Guns (Guitarist-LA Guns), Jim Donovan (Drummer/Percussionist-Rusted Root) as well as Steelpannists Jaden Teague-Nunez, Tyler Swick and Bryan Garbe. The New Philadelphia Steel Band has also been privileged to perform for both Cliff Alexis and Ellie Mannette with additional Performance opportunities at the Panorama Music Festival in Virginia Beach, Kennywood Amusement Park, Garden Center Stage in Epcot, Walt Disney World and on-board Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Pride.
Steel Band Staff
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Meet Tracy Thornton, steelpannist, recording artist, performer, composer, clinician, producer, and drummer/percussionist. With a career spanning over 30 years, Tracy has established himself as an innovator and creator in the world of steelpan.
Tracy's contributions extend far beyond the stage, as he is known for sharing his wealth of steelpan knowledge at universities, colleges, public schools, and communities around the globe. Culturally, he has crossed four continents from the U.S. to Hawaii, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, England, Netherlands, France, and the Caribbean. He is often spotted performing with different bands at the prestigious Trinidad and Tobago Panorama competition.
Tracy's innovative steelpan style and fresh compositions have earned him a dedicated following for the fusion of steelpan music with the sound of rock, punk, and heavy metal. He boasts an impressive catalog of over CDs, with his compositions as a staple in steel band performances worldwide.
Tracy's impact reaches beyond the stage. His music has been featured in popular television shows like
"NCIS: LA," "Workaholics," and even "Keeping Up With The Kardashians." Not to mention, his tracks have found their way into the hit video game "Fortnite."
In 2015, "Pan Rocks" made waves at PASIC in San Antonio, TX, with over 80 talented players. Tracy's collaborations include sharing the stage with renowned artists like Mike Portnoy, John Blackwell, Greg Bissonette, and Stephen Perkins. Fast forward to 2017, and Tracy assembled a group of pan players in Hollywood to produce the immersive "Pan Rocks Project LA." This project featured music legends like Billy Sheehan, Tracii Guns, and Bruce Kulick. The success of this venture led to the "Pan Rocks RUSH" sessions, a tribute to the iconic band "RUSH." Notably, in 2020, Pan Rocks joined forces with Mike Portnoy, Stu Hamm, and Matt Starr to pay tribute to the late Neil Peart, the legendary drummer of Rush, at the NAMM Show.
During COVID lockdown, Tracy spearheaded two groundbreaking virtual music projects. The first with 100 pan players from eight different countries, collaborating with Stephen Perkins to perform The Who's
"Baba O'Riley." This initiative evolved into the "Pan In Unity Project," the world's largest steelpan virtual recording, involving 700 participants from 25 countries. Tracy also featured in various other virtual projects, including the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash and the "Drum Him Out" video with drumming greats like Steve Gadd and Mark Schulman.
Tracy also teamed up with electric violinist Mark Wood and the University of Miami of Ohio Steelband to merge steelpan with orchestra strings, resulting in a groundbreaking concert, "Steel & Strings," featuring over 175 musicians on a single arena stage.
As an innovator he is a critical part of the team that created the "Steelpan Pick Up", to amplify the sound of the steelpan instrument either while on the move, in the studio or on stage. With the advent of the Pan Pickup, Tracy has created his own sound by seamlessly being able to incorporate sound effects with the steelpan.
Tracy's skills extend to the studio, where he lays down steelpan, drum and percussion tracks for various bands and artists, including record producer Andrea Fanatic Heard and the Canadian percussion act Jamani Duo. He records, mixes, and masters music at his studio, "Pans Rock Studios" for a diverse range of artists, from steelpan acts to rock bands and commercial projects.