FESTAC SHINES-STEEL BAND SOUTH AFRICAN FESTIVAL

Steel band musicians of St. Jude’s Private School hailing from Festac Town in Lagos, Nigeria, represented their country well, and indeed, their part of their continent for that matter, when they participated in the International Marimba and Steelpan Festival held in South Africa.The sixteen-student-ensemble chaperoned by two staff were the only West African presence at the South African festival.

St. Jude’s had a very good showing, bringing home three trophies, a giant one for the best steel pan performance, and one for placing third in the “Battle of the Bands,” an open category. Additionally, the High Commission of Trinidad and Tobago reportedly bestowed a medium-sized trophy upon St. Jude’s. The steel band also received the sum of three thousand South African Rand.

The festival exhibited the musical and percussive talents of participating schools from areas and countries such as New York, Zimbabwe, Botswana, France, Lesotho and more. There were reportedly over 90 schools taking part, delivering two days full of songs and performances.

Well done lads…