Hailed as the “Paganini
of the Steelpan,” Liam Teague currently serves as the Head of Steelpan Studies
and Associate Professor of Music at Northern Illinois University. Along with
Clifford Alexis, he co-directs the NIU Steelband.
He has received many
awards in his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago, including the Humming Bird Award
(Silver) for “loyal and devoted service,” and won of a number of notable
competitions such as the Trinidad and Tobago National Steelband Festival Solo
Championship and the Saint Louis Symphony Volunteers Association Young Artiste
Competition.
His commitment to
demonstrating the great musical possibilities of the steelpan has taken Teague
to Europe, Asia, and Australia, as well as North and Central America and the
Caribbean.
He has performed with many
diverse ensembles, including Taiwan National Symphony, Czech National Symphony,
Saint Louis Symphony, Panama National Symphony, Vermeer String Quartet, Dartmouth
Wind Ensemble, University of Wisconsin-Madison Marching Band, Nexus, TCL Group
Skiffle Bunch Steel Orchestra, BPtt Renegades Steelband and Starlift Steel
Orchestra.
Teague has collaborated
with such prominent musicians as Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Samuels, Zakir Hussain,
and Evelyn Glennie. As a performer and clinician, Teague has given
presentations at several Percussive Arts Society International Conventions
(PASIC) and at many educational institutions throughout the world.
He is steelband director
at Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Door County, Wisconsin, and he has
also taught and performed at the California State University Summer Arts Camp
and at the Interlochen Academy for the Performing Arts.
A strong advocate for
original steelpan compositions, Teague has commissioned a number of significant
composers to write for the instrument, including Michael Colgrass, Jan Bach,
Libby Larsen, Deborah Fisher Teason, Joey Sellers, Ben Wahlund, Erik Ross and
Kevin Bobo.
Many of his own
compositions are published with MaumauMusic, PanPress and RamajayMusic.
From 2004 to 2006,
Teague served as musical arranger of the TCL Group Skiffle Bunch Steel
Orchestra for the most prestigious Steelband competition in the world,
Panorama; and for the 2005 edition of the World Steelband Music Festival held
in Madison Square Garden, New York. He is currently the musical arranger for
the Starlift Steel Orchestra, one of the most celebrated Steelbands in the
world.
To date, Teague has
recorded eight compact discs, including Hands
Like Lightning (1993), For Lack of
Better Words (2002), Panoramic: Rhythm Through an
Unobstructed View (2005) and Open Window
(2010).
For more information,
please log on to: www.liamteague.com