Ray Holman

Raymond Anthony Holman (born 1944) is a musician, composer, pannist and performer from Trinidad and Tobago.

Biography In 1957, Ray Holman began playing steelpan at the age of 13 with the Invaders Steel Orchestra, led by Ellie Mannette, for whom he composed his first pan piece, "Ray's Saga", recorded by the Invaders in 1961. At 20, he became the youngest player to win the solo Ping Pong (an early version of the tenor pan) competition in the 1964 Trinidad and Tobago Music Festival. Later, he became arranger for Invaders Steelband, doing classical pieces such as "Dream of Olwen" and "Etude in Ab."

In 1963, he moved to work with the steel band Starlift, whom he achieved consistent success with in both the Panorama competition and the informal "Bomb" played on the road at Carnival. Two of his most renowned arrangements were "I Feel Pretty" and "Penny Lane". During the 1960s his arrangements placed Starlift in the top 3 twice (1964: "Mas in South" – Kitchener, 3rd place; 1968: "Jane" – Sparrow, 2nd place) before finally winning the coveted first prize in 1969 with his arrangement of Kitchener's "The Bull". After placing second in 1970 with Sparrow's "Pan Man," Starlift was joint winner of the 1971 Panorama, tying for first place with Harmonites ("Play Mas'" – Kitchener) with Holman's stunning arrangement of "Queen Of The Bands." Since the popularity of a particular piece enhances its chances in Panorama, Holman's decision was particularly bold, as the audience was unfamiliar with the song, a level of harmonic sophistication few other calypso composers have reached.

Pedagogy and awards A University of the West Indies graduate, and alumnus of Queen's Royal College, Ray Holman was a teacher of Spanish and History at Fatima College, and has taught pan in many higher education institutions in the United States of America. He has conducted workshops at West Virginia University and was a Commissioned Composer in the California State University Summer Arts Program. He regularly attends the bi-annual steelband tuning and arranging workshop at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, and has done presentations at meetings of the Percussive Arts Society. During 1998-2000 he was a distinguished Visiting Artist in the Ethnomusicology Program at the University of Washington, Seattle. Holman's compositions can also be found on Sanch compilation albums of the yearly Panorama competition. Several deleted albums recorded by Starlift in the early 1970s also feature his work.