Steel pan band

Stonebridge steel pan musician introduces the work of Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky to a new generation

Alex Wellman, Reporter Monday, August 20, 2012
1:23 PM

Alfred Totesaut held a special classical concert last week

The classics of Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky have been reinvented for a new generation thanks to the steely determination of a musical one-off.

Alfred Totesaut, 60, of Brentfield Road, Stonebridge, has helped breathe new life into the composers’ work by getting his steel pan group to give them a Caribbean touch.

Mr Totefaut has been teaching steel pan to generations of youngsters in Brent and north west London for decades and held a concert at St Michael and All Angel’s Church in Hillside, Stonebridge, last week to show off their skills.

Mr Totefaut said: “I have travelled the world as a musician but many years ago I settled in Brent and since then have been teaching young people the steel pan.

“With this latest group, I wanted to show them that any kind of music can be played on the drum and can be fun.

“They had a great time and really took to it, asking for more.”

Mr Totesaut, known to his friends as Freddy, began playing the steel pan when he was a boy in Trinidad and became one of the most accomplished performers – even playing in front of Princess Margaret in the 1960s.