HARMONITES

Harmonites was originally formed as Wonderland in 1961 by a group of teenagers from Morvant and Second Caledonia, Barataria. In 1963, the band changed its name to Harmonites and set up its headquarters at the corner of Churchill Roosevelt Highway and Fourth Street in Barataria. The band later gained the sponsorship of the Solo Bottling Works Company. With musical arrangements by Earl Rodney and Rupert Mark, the band won four Panorama titles. In the early 1990s, some members of the band left to form the Pan Knights Steelband but returned to merge with Harmonites 15 years later. In addition to its accomplishments listed below, the band made the Panorama Finals for Large Bands in 2010 (7th-Tied) and 2012 (5th-Tied). Harmonites finished among the top three steelbands in the following significant competition:
YEAR EVENT RESULT SELECTION ARRANGER
1968 Panorama 1st Wrecker (Lord Kitchener) Earl Rodney
1969 Panorama 3rd Bongo (Mighty Sparrow) Earl Rodney
1971 Panorama 1st (Tied) Play Mas (Lord Kitchener) Earl Rodney
1972 Panorama 1st St. Thomas Girl (Lord Kitchener) Earl Rodney
1973 Panorama 3rd Steel and Brass (King Wellington) Earl Rodney
1974 Panorama 1st Jericho (Lord Kitchener) Rupert Mark
Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit