Ronald C. Emrit with the Trinidad Steelband in Washington, DC, at the State Department Christmas Party hosted by the late Senator Robert Kennedy (December 1967)

Ronald C. Emrit with the Trinidad Steelband in front of Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall, Howard University (May 1968)

Ronald C. Emrit at the National Harbor, Maryland (June 2011)

RONALD   C.   EMRIT

PLACE OF BIRTH: St. James, Port of Spain, Trinidad
EDUCATION:
  • Newtwn Boys' Roman Catholic School, Port of Spain, Trinidad
  • Queen's Royal College (QRC), Port of Spain, Trinidad
  • Howard University, Washington DC, USA (BS, Mechanical Engineering, 1970)
  • University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA (MS, Mechanical Engineering, 1973)
  • STEELBANDS:
  • Invaders (1961)
  • Starlift (1962 - 1965, 1970)
  • Metronomes (1962)
  • Trinidad Steelband, Washington DC (1965 - 1970)
  • Modern Sounds, Boston, Massachusetts (1974 - 1975)
  • Steel Pan Jam (2010 - 2023)
  • SPECIALTIES:
  • Tenor Pan
  • Double Seconds
  • CAREER:                                       Growing up in Woodbrook, Emrit learned to play steelband music after receiving a tenor pan tuned by Emmanuel Riley for Christmas 1960. He promptly joined Invaders for Carnival 1961 and, later that year, teamed up with a small band of QRC students led by Ray Holman for the first performance ever by a steelband at QRC. He moved over to Starlift for Carnival 1962 and played tenor on the band's stage side until leaving in August 1965 for Howard University. He later returned briefly for Carnival 1970 to play tenor in the Panorama Final with Starlift. During his time with Starlift, he played tenor with Metronomes during the 1962 Steelband Music Festival. While at Howard, he played tenor and double seconds with the Trinidad Steelband until his graduation in 1970. While living and working in Boston, Massachusetts, he played tenor and double seconds with the Modern Sounds Steelband in the mid-1970s. After his work career as a mechanical engineer ended with his retirement from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in September 2007, he began playing the steel drum again in March 2010, performing solo with backing tracks at various events in Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, DC. The following is a summary of significant events in which Emrit participated:
    • Starlift
    • 1963 Panorama - Final, "A Fool and His Money" (Mighty Sparrow), arranged by Ray Holman
    • 1964 Panorama - 3rd Place, "Bullpistle Gang" (Mighty Sparrow), arranged by Ray Holman
    • 1965 Panorama - Final, "Hold On To Your Man" (Lord Kitchener), arranged by Albert James
    • 1965 Carnival - Best-Beating Steelband, 1st Place, "My Pussin" (Lord Kitchener), arranged by Ray Holman
    • 1970 Panorama - 2nd Place, "Pan Man" (Mighty Sparrow), arranged by Ray Holman
    • Metronomes
    • 1962 Steelband Music Festival - 2nd Place, "Romance in Eb" (Rubinstein), arranged by Gaston Pierre
    • Trinidad Steelband
    • 1967 - U.S. State Department Christmas Party for Foreign Students, hosted by Sen. Robert Kennedy
    • 1968 - Foreign Student Council Reception hosted by Sen. Robert Kennedy, Pan American Union Building with special guest, Sammy Davis, Jr.
    • 1968 - Sen. Robert Kennedy Presidential Campaign
    • 1968 - Sen. Hubert Humphrey Presidential Campaign
    • 1969 - Virgin Islands Float, Inaugural Parade of President Richard M. Nixon
    • 1969 - Guest appearance at performance by Jimmy Durante at Georgetown University
    • 1969 - U.S. Air Force Christmas Ball, Sheraton Hotel, with separate performance by the Count Basie Band
    • Modern Sounds
    • 1975 Panorama - 1st Place, "Streakers" (Lord Kitchener), arranged by Ronald Emrit
    • Steel Pan Jam
    • 2010 - Present