St. George's College (SONG)

Date for Entry: (Monday 19 September 2022)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Saturday 5 November 2022)

Dear Diary,

    The journal entry below is a compilation of recorded events related to the creation of the steelpan version of St. George's College Song.

CREATION OF STEELBAND ARRANGEMENT.

** Monday 19 September 2022. **

[St. George's (Week #1); Day #1]

    Today was my first day being an OJT trainee at St. George’s College. Daddy and I left the house at 6:45 in the morning and took a bus on the bus route to Barataria. I entered the compound at exactly 7:25 by security. Coming down the road to the school, I was worried because I forgot my identification card at home. 

    The lobby area was the corridor entering the administrative area, and I met two other new people who came in that day. We got to see the morning assembly gather around the school. It was a completely different experience from Hillview’s morning assembly. This assembly was short and interesting. Many students sang and played different instruments.

    When the assembly was over, I waited and waited. The boy and girl with me had already met their supervisors and went on with them. Sometime around 9:32, I met Miss Roberts. She had come to sign in the office and then took me to rest my bags in the music room. Upon entering the music room, it was like heaven. Something I wished Hillview could have had. They made it up like a classroom, with instruments and a really beautiful piano. I was not sure if they had a steelband.

    We had to leave the music room because there was a function to start in the hall soon, and Miss Roberts had to wait with the students who had to perform. The national anthem was done, and a vocal piece was done by two girls at the end. The college song was also performed at the end of that function. I stood from the chairs they gave us and waited extremely patiently to hear what it would sound like.

    When it was over, I was amazed. I liked the melody a lot. I knew it was a different school altogether, but the song comforted me. I began to wonder if there was a score for it. Unfortunately, just like Hillview and Vessigny, Miss Roberts told me that the school did not have the melody notated.

    On the other hand, Miss Roberts did manage to show me from her computer what she had “tried to write it out” over the summer vacation for the COVID-19 period. I went quickly to see what she did, and I was happy because it was a good start to having something on paper. We had some technical difficulties when the computer spoiled the work she had done.

    I decided to mentally plan over the entire college song as if it were to be a steelpan arrangement because it would be easy to write it out when I got back home. All day, I thought of the rhythmic structure for the middle and back of the frontline pans.

    I told Miss Roberts that I would not disturb the notation that she worked so hard to do. I wanted to do my version before I ended up spoiling what she did. Some minutes after half-eight that night, I was able to complete the entire arrangement. A lot of gladness came to me. Miss Roberts messaged me back, and she said that it was good enough for the steelband to use.

Link(s):

• College Song Recording. ** [For Request by Email.]

 

ASSISTANCE, PLEASE.

** Tuesday 20 September 2022. **

[St. George's (Week #1); Day #2]

    On my way out of the school’s compound, I saw Miss Ramsaran and asked her for help in finding the name of the St. George’s College Song, the name of the person(s) who composed the lyrics, and the name of the person(s) who composed the melody. 

    I hope that in time, Mr Sammy or someone might be able to tell us what the 3 answers are. I’m glad and grateful that Mrs Sookdeo was approving of what I had done as the steelpan version of their college song.

 

THE STUDENTS' HANDBOOK.

** Wednesday 21 September 2022. **

[St. George's (Week #1); Day #3]

    While I was working at my desk in the staffroom, I met Miss Ramsaran as she spoke to me from the side of my desk, and she said that she was waiting for something for me in the college song. Some time had gone by, and she returned by the desk to hand me a book. It was fascinating looking through the book. I admired how detailed and well-made. I had some cherished chats with my neighbouring desk persons.

    Heading up home in the car onto Green Street, the rain finally broke out. I got to finish inserting the names of the persons responsible for the St. George’s College song. It appeared to be surnames in my view, as Bailey & Campbell. The book did not mention a name for the song itself, so I decided I would call it “Onto Victory” as it’s a temporary title or until someone alive can state otherwise. I also took their logo and crest from the school’s website to make it a part of the score for decoration.

Link(s):

• St. George’s Student’s Guide. **
• Full Journal Entry: (Week 1) – Day #3.

 

SCORE VIDEO GUIDANCE.

** Friday 23 September 2022. **

[St. George's (Week #1); Day #5]

I went to the office and asked about the procedure for requesting photocopies when I might need some in the classes further on. The details sounded like a lot of run-around, so I didn’t want to try it again. Dr Sookdeo walked out of her office and met me before leaving the compound, and we had a really nice conversation. I had gotten her permission to create a video of St. George’s song, just like Hillview College’s song, once I had let Miss Roberts verify the music that I had.

Link(s):

• Hillview College’s School Song.

 

STRUMMING AMENDMENTS.

** Monday 17 October 2022. **

[St. George's (Week #7); Day #26]

I went back to the office and sat in the classroom next door for the majority of the day, working on the steelpan version of St. George’s College. I changed the strumming in the introduction. All the pans for verses one and two carried the same rhythmic pattern.

    At first, I thought that it was not a good gamble. I told myself that even though it worked in Tunapuna Secondary School’s Song, this one might have had a different outcome. There was a lot of playing around with the introduction until I finally got something that worked. My only insecurity was the effectiveness of the bassline. Towards the end of this exercise, the score became version four.

 

VERSE TWO'S CORRECTION.

** Monday 31st October 2022. **

[St. George's (Week #7); Day #25]

Today was the first working day for St. George’s College at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) campus in Valsayn. In the last thirty minutes before school finished, I got my way back to Block K to work on the melody for the college song. The ‘children’ in the staffroom were noisy as usual. Miss Roberts and I tried really hard to listen to the video with the children in the video singing the St. George’s College song. The second verse had a change in only one measure. I was glad that the review went by in that short space of time.

 

INTRODUCTION STRUMMING PATTERNS.

** Tuesday 1st November 2022. **

[St. George's (Week #7); Day #26]

    Today, the school had home periods for periods one and two. I was supposed to have 1 Mitchell for those two periods. I went back to the office and worked at  George’s College. I changed the strumming in the introduction. All the pans for verses one and two carried the same rhythmic pattern.

    At first, I thought that it was not a good gamble. I told myself that even though it worked in Tunapuna Secondary School’s Song, this one might have had a different outcome. There was a lot of playing around with the introduction until I finally got something that worked. My only insecurity was the effectiveness of the bassline. Towards the end of this exercise, the score became version four.

    By the middle of lunch, I was able to complete typing out the end-of-term exam for the form ones. I did not mind that the room was hot. However, a lot of sleep was being fought. Did not know why that was happening. Last night I stood up after getting the zeal and two more questions to make up the comprehension section. I had lunch afterwards. The exam paper was reviewed by Miss Roberts, and it was ready for class. I just have to figure out how to do copies at school.

MASTER SCORE – SHORT VERSION.

** Saturday 12 November 2022. **

    Today I tried to create more space on the full score (double tenors and double seconds now share the same staff). At first, I had nicknamed it ‘short version’, but the Musescore programme was able to play the full steelpan arrangement.

    I took that particular file as the one to represent St. George’s College anthem. I also took the St. George’s Logo I could finally get from Thursday evening, and added it to the Musescore file. All these changes made the song become the fourth version.

 

COLLEGE SONG BOOKLETS.

** Friday 18th November 2022. **

[St. George's (Week 9); Day #39]

    This evening, the booklets with copies of all the steelpan parts were created and compiled into a book. They were spiral-bound. I still have to wait for Dr Sookdeo to approve the ‘experimental’ video before it is sent off to YouTube. On Monday 21st of the following week, this book was only shown to one teacher before a warning was sent to me. I had the books packed up and returned them to the plastic bag. This remained on the desk for another three weeks.

Link(s):

• Image of College Song Booklets.

 

SCORE VIDEO 1ST ATTEMPT.

** Wednesday 23 November 2022 **

[St. George's (Week 10); Day #42]

    This morning, a message was sent to Dr. Sookdeo for approval on a score video of the St. George’s College Song. It is one minute and twenty-one seconds in duration. I still await feedback. I hope that it works. 

    There were not many good images on the internet of the front of the school. I found a beautifully captured image of the school’s hall from the quadrangle. The video felt like more was missing. I just wish that more of the history were available.

 

SCORE VIDEO 2ND ATTEMPT.

** Monday 5 December 2022 **

[St. George's (Week 12); Day #49]

    The second video attempt was created on this day, and it replaced the first attempt. The duration remained the same. To this date, there has been no approval or responses given on the first attempt. I feel as if I may just have to go ahead without Dr Sookdeo’s approval and send the video online. Somehow, things are moving strangely around the area. More curious than in the first week. I hope nothing bad happens.

 

THE LAST THREAD.

** Wednesday 7 December 2022 **

[St. George's (Week 12); Day #51]

    Today was the deadline for online marks for the term. I had a bitter conversation with Miss Roberts over the phone from the office at my desk on Monday. I understood and listened. I did not continue because my heart was ‘stabbed’ on that day.

    Today, Miss ‘Rough-Tops’ was out again, and she attacked me at the gates for a second time. In the quick moments going into the eighth period, I shouted out my dissatisfaction in the echoing corridor at the message from someone about the song. I don’t think this piece will continue. As of now, it will be put to rest. The entire next day presented an episode against me that was not pleasing. 

YOUTUBE VIDEO.

** Tuesday 3rd January 2023 **

[ St. George’s College (WEEK 14)– Day #55 [1/1] ]

    Today was the start of the new school term. As soon as I got home, I went right ahead and uploaded the St. George’s College song video. Before I could even do that, I had to do over a recording of the Musescore file playing out the song. The experimental version had difficulty. Thankfully, this did not take me more than ten minutes to do and the uploading.

    Looking back at the video, I felt satisfied that the song came out well, but I did not like having to wait and be stalled for a week. I still hope that this recording will be useful to teach the students the song. This was also a DAPHA Project.

Link(s):

• YouTube Video.

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Daryl Zion M. Ali