Nebraska Steel in concert Dec. 7
calendar icon26 Nov 2024
Lincoln, Neb.--Nebraska Steel, the university’s student ensemble dedicated to playing steel drum music, will perform on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 3:30 p.m. in Westbrook Music Building Rm. 132. The concert is free and open to the public.
Nebraska Steel and Steel Panguins, another student ensemble, will present a concert titled “Cookie Decorating and Hot Chocolate Holiday Fundraiser.” Nebraska Steel is conducted by Assistant Professor of Percussion Emily Salgado.
The concert will include a hot chocolate bar, where audience members can pay $3 per cup of hot chocolate, which also includes various additions such as candy cane, chocolate chips and marshmallows.
The program includes “Sarah” by Len “Boogie” Sharp; “I Shot the Sheriff,” arranged by Brad Shores; “Cedar Fever” by Dave Walton; and a Chappell Roan mashup, among others. The second half of the concert will include different holiday tunes, including a sing-a-long.
“The event is a perfect afternoon activity with friends, and family, so we hope to see everyone on Dec. 7,” Salgado said.
Jacob Wrobel, a doctoral student in percussion performance in the Glenn Korff School of Music, said audiences should expect to have a good time at the concert.
“Definitely playing a lot of really fun music, and I’m sure we’ll have everyone dancing in their seats,” he said. “A highlight will probably be a Chappell Roan medley a member of the ensemble arranged.”
Claire Erb, a freshman music education major from Maple Plain, Minnesota, agreed.
“The audience should look forward to a concert that is a lot of fun,” she said. “The ensemble will be grooving and having a blast throughout the whole concert. Steel Panguins will also join Nebraska Steel for a song, as well as playing a few of their own songs. As a member of both ensembles, I am looking forward to this collaboration."
Steel drums are not common at universities, so Wrobel joined the ensemble to get the experience of playing.
“I really wanted a chance to learn how to play such a unique instrument,” he said. “This is my first semester in the ensemble as a grad student, but I’ve played a little in the past. I really love the energy of the group when rehearsing. It’s easy to find myself dancing or getting into the music with everyone else. It’s an instrument that is easy to be relaxed and engaged once you learn the notes.”
As a music education major, Erb was encouraged to learn pan and to try it out.
“A lot of my close friends are a part of this ensemble as well, and I knew it would be an enjoyable group of people to be around for rehearsals,” she said. “In Nebraska Steel, I play the bass pans and in Steel Panguins, I play lead pan."
Wrobel said there are five to six types of pans used in Nebraska Steel.
“Bass, Guitar/Cello (tenor), Double Seconds (alto), Double Tenors, and Lead, which is what I play on, along with a drumset and other hand percussion acting as an ‘engine room,’” he said.
Erb hopes audiences will support the ensembles and come see them play “groovy music.”
“I love the sound of steel pans and the energy that they can bring to any room,” she said. “They aren’t instruments you would typically expect to see at a concert, and they certainly are unique.”