Steel sounds hit UA Mall with free concert

Dan Hoffman Arizona Daily Wildcat Members of the UA Steel Band perform on the UA Mall yesterday afternoon to celebrate the program's 10th anniversary. The concert drew a crowd of about 150.

About 150 people attended the show, which featured the program's two bands: the Red and the Blue.

The entry-level Red Band is for beginners, while the more advanced Blue Band plays tougher tunes, said Bob Brudvig, steel bands director. He added the entry level band is open to all students.

"Most of them don't have any (musical) experience," he said.

Ross McGinnis, a music doctoral student, said he came to the University of Arizona mainly because of the steel bands' reputation.

"We do a variety of tunes from the Caribbean and try to stick to the tradition as much as possible," McGinnis said, adding he has arranged some songs for the UA program.

Brudvig said the band performs on campus each semester and will hold auditions for the spring semester in January.

Steel drumming emerged from the island country of Trinidad in the 1950s, Brudvig said. He said that the UA was one of the first "handful of schools" to start steel band programs, but that the art has since begun to grow at the college level.