Austin Community Steelband

The mission of our non-profit school is to share the joys of Steelpan with the citizens of Austin of all ages, incomes, and cultural backgrounds, with a special emphasis on reaching at promise youth. We offer innovative instruction and playing techniques stressing self-expression and provide musical performances for the community.

We believe that advocating excellence in playing will help to preserve and promote steelpan's cultural origins from Trinidad while securing the instrument's position within the family of conventional musical instruments. We believe that once people are exposed to the sound of the Steelpan, they will become aware of its infinite musical possibilities and join with those who share in the magic of this inspiring instrument.

Our Goals

1. To provide low income and at promise youth with caring adult role models and free instruction designed to be motivating, empowering, and culturally relevant, and to foster acceptance and tolerance of cultural differences.
2. To provide low-cost steelpan instruction for the community at-large regardless of age, gender, or cultural background.
3. To establish a professional performing steel orchestra that plays any musical genre with expert skill.

Our team of steelpan professionals conduct the classes. They have extensive experience teaching steelpan and arranging for the giant steel orchestras in Trinidad as well as conventional musical training. Our sequential curriculum of Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced classes allows teachers and students to build on prior learning. Children increase their learning skills while they learn in steelband to cooperate with one another. This team building activity develops qualities of leadership, management, discipline, acceptance of cultural differences, and high self-esteem while kids have fun playing music they know and enjoy.

Students who gain playing proficiency perform for community events. Those students who reach the required highest level of performance will be invited to join our professional steel orchestra when it is established.

Our Afterschool has partnered with a number of organizations, including AISD's 21st Century Program, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area, True Light Day Care, Citizen Schools, East Side Story, and Ebenezer Baptist Church.