St. Luke's Steel Band
was started in the fall of 1999 when Father Victor Rogers and a group of supporters from New Haven's historic St. Luke's Episcopal
Church purchased a set of used steel drums from a band in Brooklyn. Since then, the group has attracted at dedicated membership
of 25 players of all ages. Many of the members or their families come from the West Indies: the islands of Antigua, Barbados,
Granada, Jamaica, Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago are all represented in the ensemble.
The band rehearses twice a week and
performs regularly during services at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. They also play for conferences, festivals, benefits and
private functions throughout the state. Their repertoire includes soca and calypso, reggae, classical, sacred, popular and
island folk music.
Under the direction of coach/arranger Debby Teason and assistant director Donna Johnson,
St. Luke's Steel Band has gained a reputation as one of the area's most unique and exciting performing ensembles. The band's
achievements were recognized in 2003 by an Artist's Award from the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, and they placed first
in their division and third overall in the 2007 Panorama Caribbean Music Fest in Virginia Beach.
