2001 2003 February 2010 February 2015

CURTIS  PIERRE DATE OF BIRTH: 1935 PLACE OF BIRTH: Port-of-Spain, Trinidad EDUCATION: Belmont Boys' Intermediate School St. Mary's College STEELBANDS: Melody Makers (1950 - 1951) Dixieland (1951 - 1974) TASPO (1953) SPECIALTIES: Player Arranger CAREER:                              Growing up in a middle-class family where the steelband was taboo, Pierre began "playing pan" at home in 1949, away from the poor, Black environment of the existing steelbands which he was prohibited from entering by his parents. While attending St. Mary's College, he was able to recruit some of his fellow-students of White, Portuguese, Chinese, and Black middle-class backgrounds in the formation of a band called the "Melody Makers" in 1950. Pierre became the band's leader in 1951, changed its name to Dixieland, and paraded on the road for the first time during Carnival the same year. In 1953, Pierre was chosen for the second TASPO tour of Miami, USA, which was cancelled beause of the destruction caused by Hurricane Janet. During the rest of the 1950s, Dixieland under Pierre's leadership was very instrumental in gaining acceptance for steelband music by the middle and upper classes of Trinidad society. In 1974, Pierre ended his active participation in Dixieland and, in 1993, he opened the Dixieland Pan Academy to impart his knowledge of the pan to others. The following is a summary of Pierre's record in significant steelband competition: Steelband Music Festival 1960 - "Estudiantina" (Joaquin Turina), 1st Panorama 1968 - "Miss Tourist" (Lord Kitchener), 3rd Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit