Village Calypso

By Christina Weaver
Special to the Coastal Point

	Special to the Coastal Point • CHRISTINA WEAVER The Trinidadian band Golden Gloves takes time for a photo in Ocean View.

The village is located on the property of John and Libby Syphard in Ocean View.

It consists of the family home, two smaller buildings known as sheds, four trailers, a couple of tents that were demolished in one of last week’s storms, a field for playing flashlight tag in the middle of the night and a covered area under some shade trees for band practice.

The villagers consist of the Syphards and their three children, 30 or so local children who play in the Steel the Show and Plenty Problems bands, 21 children from the Trinidadian band Golden Gloves, two Golden Gloves parents, one of the band’s assistant directors and one village chief. That last person is the indomitable Hills-Headley.

John Syphard is a social-studies teacher at the Southern Delaware School of the Arts.

He originally just taught students who were involved in dance, art, singing and playing music but there were some who didn’t fit the mold. He had already started a juggling troupe that was well received but still didn’t fill the gap for all those students.

Then, from his Trinidadian roommate at the University of Delaware, where he was getting a graduate degree, he got the idea for a steel band. His friend put him in touch with Hills-Headley and thus blossomed a relationship that has become a multi-dimensional international bond.

Like Syphard, Hills-Headley is a teacher. Her field is advanced biology. And 10 years ago, when her daughter Vanessa was 6, she was faced with a dilemma.

Vanessa wanted to learn to play the steel drums. But in Trinidad — the home of the steel band and calypso music — the art was passed on from musician to musician, and there were no steel bands for children.

Wanting to do her best for Vanessa without having her hanging around with a bunch of adult musicians, Hills-Headley picked up the stick, beat her own drum and started the Golden Hands School of Music in her living room.

“I couldn’t have done it without Dane. He is an exceptional arranger,” Hills-Headley commented.

Dane Hinds, who works for the Trinidad Ministry of Health, is the band’s assistant director and music arranger. He has been playing since the ’60s and was able to develop pieces that sounded sophisticated but were simple enough for children just starting to play.

From the start, Hills-Headley’s primary goal for her band was music education.

“Socialization is good and we have a lot of fun, but we are serious about our music. All my children learn to read music and many of them now write and arrange for the band,” she said.

Indeed, the Golden Hands is not a children’s band. It is a band of children who play at the highest level of their art.

The calypso equivalent of the Grammys results from an active process of band competitions, including bands from around the world. Every two years, there is a festival to determine the world’s best. This year, the Golden Hands placed third in the category for bands of 15 or fewer players.

Hills-Headley’s daughter Vanessa placed third in the solo category and fellow musicians Richarde Breaux, Chisara Bailey and Keon Marcano also placed in duo and other categories.

At another competition of bands from Trinidad and its sister country, Tobago, the judges (from the U.S. and Canada, to avoid bias) voted Golden Hands the overall best band in the show.

Thus, it is not surprising that after the group performed on the Bethany Beach boardwalk last week, town Entertainment Director Gloria Farrar received the following message on her voicemail: “I often spend $75 or more to attend a concert, and I have never heard any thing this good.”

“The boardwalk show, it was tremendous,” said Hills-Headley. “We included something for everyone — classical, rock and our own. People loved it. You could feel the energy between the people and the band. There was even a conga line.”

Hills-Headley added that they had played on another trip, in Washington, D.C., and are scheduled to play there again before they return home.

“After we got here, one of the children said, ‘Can’t we just stay in Delaware?’ They love the reception we are getting and are having so much fun being with the Steel the Show and Plenty Problems children. And the parents and the community have been so generous and gracious to us,” Hills-Headley said.

In fact, much of the food and drink for the band has been donated by G&E, Food Lion, Wawa and two local chicken plants.

“Is it what you expected?” I asked hostess Libby Syphard. Tears bubbled down her cheeks.

“She must be exhausted and counting the days until peace and quiet returns to their lives,” I thought.

Wrong.

These were true tears of happiness and pride for her husband.

“He has worked so hard getting ready for this and it is going so well. First, the government in Trinidad had to accept us and agree to Franka and John’s plan for the trip. Then it was up to John to make it work on this end,” she said.

“These people,” she said, gesturing around toward the children — Trinidadian and Delawarean, peer musicians practicing together without adult supervision — and looking at Hills-Headley, “are part of our family. Just lots of regular kids and adults who care.”

The Golden Hands’ visit will end next week, but their influence will continue through continuing friendships and the passing on, in the traditional way, of musical knowledge and skills.

“John has some real talent here,” noted Hills-Headley. “If they apply themselves and are determined, Delaware could become a real center for calypso music in America.”

Now, there is a challenge.