Striving to provide all persons with world music educational opportunities
Offered at no cost, allowing all area schools and organizations an equal opportunity to experience the joys of playing pan.
Learn More
Learn about Pan Outreach and how we can provide world music education to your students.
Meet the Staff
Meet the staff behind the noise and learn about our years of experience.
Donate
You can make a difference by donating to our cause and supporting world music education.
- Steel pan clinic/classes covering history, development, pedagogy of the instrument, and the culture from which it was developed
- Group lessons/rehearsals where students play the pans in an ensemble setting
- Performance options and preparation
- Educator training/resources, including a classroom method for beginning steel band
- Custom arrangements adding pan parts to your existing ensemble(s)
- Customized curriculum to meed the specific needs of your program
FAQ
Yes! To better facilitate learning as a group, we have developed a classroom method for beginning steel band. Our methods are similar to other instrumental method books used by instrumentalists and concert bands all over the country. Our method includes descriptions of techniques, etudes, diagrams of note layouts (specifically for the instruments we use), and cross-curriculum information about the culture and craftsmanship of steel drums. This method was developed to ensure the approach and information each educator provides is consistent from one class to the next. Pan Outreach will provide a PDF and/or hard copies of the method, according to host preference.
Getting this set up requires little effort and varies from school to school depending on available space. We recommend hosts add the pan outreach program as additionally insured on the host’s general liability policy for the duration of our residency, and we will do the same for the host district upon request. Pan Outreach carries the standard state requirement of $1.5 million liability aggregate. Any required background checks will be at the expense of the host, and a host employee will need to be present during any interaction with the students. A secure area where the instruments can be set up must be available, and ideally be one that will also be used for rehearsal/class. Set up and tear down of the instruments is cumbersome and cannot be accomplished on a daily basis.
Students will receive instruction from our educators, a curriculum tailored to meet the goals of your program(s), and other educational resources/instructional materials. Generally speaking, we can prepare students for a concert/performance, joint concert with Pan-handlers Steel Drum Band, add this curriculum to a general music class, offer steel band as an extracurricular/after school activity, or as an added ensemble for band students or percussionists, etc. A combination of these options is preferred, and we welcome other ideas as well.
Yes! This program is currently offered free of charge to the host school/organization, allowing the students access to instruments comprising a 16-piece steel drum ensemble. Charitable funding and donations make this program available to everyone.
We are very fortunate to contract with some of the best percussion educators around. A staffing schedule will be provided before any contract is signed. Our educators will utilize our classroom method text (when applicable) as well as generate progress reports while pursuing the agreed upon goals set forth by the host. Pan Outreach makes every effort to have two educators present for all scheduled classes/rehearsals. Educators are compensated and insured by Pan Outreach.
Pan Outreach has completed residencies of one day to seven weeks. Because every program is different, it’s important to determine how much time is necessary to meet the agreed upon goals of your program. Balancing the host program needs and the needs of programs in waiting usually results in a 3-6 week offering.
We are ecstatic that so many area educators are interested in having this program at their school. Since there’s a high demand, scheduling is being offered on a first come/first served basis. Some schools have greater flexibility than others, and we will make every effort to “fill in the gaps” with host requests that aren’t beholden to a specific scheduling window. We prefer to keep the Pan Outreach instruments and staff busy year-round.
Yes, but circumstances vary. Staffing becomes more difficult when the host is outside the metro area. It’s not insurmountable, but certain considerations must be made and agreed upon by all parties. Contact us to learn more!
Fill out the form on our contact us page, completing as many fields as possible. We will call or meet with the host representative(s) to determine the viability of the goals you’d like to meet. Based on the host goals, a schedule will be agreed upon and a contract outlining all terms will be issued. A generic version of our contract can be viewed/downloaded here.
Occasionally, some hosts have the budget flexibility to offer payment for our services. Because our organization is a tax exempt 501(c)3 non-profit, we request any honorarium (not required) instead be offered to the organization as a tax-deductible donation. Any payment is completely voluntary and is not considered for scheduling or any other preferential treatment.
Pan Outreach was founded with the financial support of Chops, Inc., who continues to be a fiscal sponsor of the Pan Outreach program. Chops, Inc. relies on charitable gambling (pull-tabs), fundraisers, grants, and tax-deductible donations from generous companies and individuals to pursue the mission: to provide a program to educate members of all ages in the art of music and performance.
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
