by Curlan Campbell
- New Dimensions clinched victory with 18-point lead over nearest competitors
- Republic Bank Angel Harps and Blast Pan Wizards, tied for second place
- 2022 winners Co-op Bank Commancheros secured 4th position
“It was a lot of long, hard nights. Every night, we were finishing at 2-3 in the morning, and now our work has paid off,” said Cordel Byam, Nexa New Dimensions’ arranger.
New Dimensions clinched victory with an 18-point lead over their nearest competitors, Republic Bank Angel Harps and Blast Pan Wizards, who both tied for second place with 270 points each. Angel Harps performed Inspector’s 1993 song “Hurricane,” while Pan Wizards played V’ghn’s latest release for Spicemas, “Welcome To Spicemas.”
Out of the 5 other bands that performed, the 2022 winners, Co-op Bank Commancheros, secured 4th position with 266 points after performing “Simple Policeman” by Skylark. IMA Grenada Rainbow City All Stars claimed 5th position with 261 points for their rendition of Scholar’s song “Only 50.” Pan Ossia took 6th position with 224 points for their performance of ‘Welcome To Spicemas’ by V’ghn. Florida WestSide Symphony secured 7th position with 221 points for their rendition of Gold’N’s “In Me Head.” Grand Roy Pan Angels secured 8th position with 217 points for their performance of Ajamu’s “Sweetness.”
The musical battle was intense as Byam guided his players through almost 10 minutes of his arrangement of Gold’N’s “In Me Head.” Byam stirred up support and cheers from the crowd with his theatrical performance, further hyping his players to perform at their best. “Basically, when I arrange my composition, I arrange it like a story. Most of the players are juniors, and we have about 10 seniors,” Byam said. “I’m taking a break. I love pan, but right now, I’ve been having a lot of sleepless nights. I just want to take some time for myself and enjoy this victory.”
This win marks the 14th championship for Nexa New Dimensions and the 3rd for Byam as the lead arranger.
Jevon Andrews, arranger for Republic Bank Angel Harps, was satisfied with the band’s performance despite not winning this year’s title. Andrews emphasised that judging is subjective and based on personal taste, and winning doesn’t always reflect the overall quality of the band. “Unfortunately, sometimes judges prefer specific types of music, and if they get what they want, they score it highly. Winning doesn’t always mean you are the best. Although things are changing and the focus is shifting from just music to other factors, we aim to produce excellent music at Republic Bank Angel Harps Steele orchestra. We need to get back to the essence of musical competitions and prioritize the quality of music. Tonight, in terms of music, we were untouchable,” he said.
Karl Stewart, captain of Blast Pan Wizards, has been playing with the band for the better part of 3 decades. He said, “While we would have preferred to take the top. I think I’m pretty satisfied with our players. We did work hard, given all the circumstances. It was a short time, a few struggles. Definitely happy with the work that we did, and I can say we did well. We all had fun. That’s what we went on to do: have fun. We got a lot of good reviews from the audience.” Stewart also recognised the work done by the junior members of the band. “We were able to help all the young kids grasp everything, no matter how challenging. Our teamwork was in full force at the conference. A lot of our younger players, especially the more skilled ones, showed great improvement this season.”
The results were as follows:
- Panorama 2024 Band: Nexa New Dimensions, 288 points; Arranger Cordel Byam, Song: In Me Head by Gold’N
- 2nd: Republic Bank Angel Harps and Blast Pan Wizards, 270 points; Arranger Jevon Andrews and Michael “Blaize” Robertson; Song: Hurricane by Inspector, and Welcome to Spicemas by V’ghn
- 4th: Co-op Bank Commancheros, 266 points; Arranger Andre “Maestro” Greenidge and Mikiel “Pan Guru” Smith. Song: Simple Policeman by Skylark
- 5th: IMA Grenada Rainbow City All Stars, 261 points; Arranger Othniel St Clair. Song: Only 50 by Scholar
- 6th: Pan Ossia, 224 points. Arranger Robert Cadet, Sr. Song: Welcome To Spicemas by V’ghn
- 7th: Florida WestSide Symphony, 221 points. Arranger Michael Alexis. Song: In Me Head by Gold’N
- 8th: Grand Roy Pan Angels, 217 points. Arranger Denver Mendes. Song: Sweetness by Ajamu
