April 6 concert by UA Steel Drum Band featuring Caribbean calypso

Calypso singer Keet Styla, also known as Designer, and master pan player Ray Holman of Trinidad are joining The University of Akron Steel Drum Band in concert Saturday, April 6, at 8 p.m., at UA's E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall, 198 Hill St.

The concert will feature a mix of jazz, classical and Caribbean pan and calypso music. A big-screen "pan cam" — a popular feature of the band's annual spring concerts — will put the audience in the middle of the vibrant sights and sounds. Tom Miller, a 1984 alumnus of the UA Steel Drum Band, will also be a guest artist.

Tickets are available in advance and at the door. Regular-price tickets are $22. Discount tickets are $20 for seniors and UA faculty, staff, alumni and parents of UA students, and $11 for all students.  

For tickets and event information call the Thomas Hall Ticket Office at 330-972-7570. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster outlets and www.ticketmaster.com. Discount tickets are available only through the  Thomas Hall Ticket Office. For more information visit UAEvents.com.

The University of Akron Steel Drum Band was one of the first collegiate steel bands in the United States when it was created in 1980 by Professor Larry Snider of the UA School of Music. Since then the band has grown in size to feature more than two dozen student musicians and has become a favorite at Akron's First Night and throughout the region.

Snider, a resident of Twin Lakes, continues to lead the band and the Percussion Studies Program in The University of Akron School of Music. Matt Dudack, a resident of Akron, is the band's artistic director. This year's student musicians include:

Daryl Belcher, undergraduate student from Las Vegas, Nev
Clay Chabola, undergraduate student from Ashtabula
Jim Curtis, undergraduate student from Wadsworth
Colin Dees, graduate students from the University of Southern Mississippi
Matt Diehl, undergraduate student from Orrville
Matt Edick, undergraduate student from Akron
Joseph Fox, undergraduate student from Cleveland Heights
Alex Fragiskatos, graduate student from the University of Cincinnati
Austin Ferguson, undergraduate student from Brilliant
Blaine Klein, undergraduate student from Canton
Neil Lantry, undergraduate student from Stow
Emily Larson, undergraduate student from Pickering
Tyler Mashek, undergraduate student from Tallmadge
Sam McKenzie, graduate student from the University of Montana
Josh Minhinnick, undergraduate student from Columbus
Jonathan Monacelli, undergraduate student from Mentor
Jordan Morrison, graduate student from Malone University
Stephen Neal, undergraduate student from North Canton
Laura Runion, undergraduate student from Indianapolis
Thomas Russell, undergraduate student from Hartville
David Singhaus, undergraduate student from Dover
Louis Turndick III, undergraduate student from Akron
Shelby Waters, undergraduate student from Newark
Cameron Weichman, undergraduate student from Ravenna
David Wolf, undergraduate student from Louisville

Media contact: Cyndee Snider, 330-972-5196 or cyndee@uakron.edu.