As education officer with responsibility for music in Guyana, calypsonian and music educator Joel Gonsalves, 48, serves with “people, service and nation” being his mantra even as he observes with humility and pride 30 fulfilling years in the teaching profession, both at home and in the Caribbean.
His post as education officer with responsibility for music within the Unit of Allied Arts, Ministry of Education (MoE), he said, allows him to continue to serve in education particularly in the field of music.
“Music for me is much more than an artform. It is a powerful tool for education, cultural preservation and personal expression. As a calypsonian, I can express my thoughts and emotions. Many of my calypsos carry historical and educational themes reflecting my commitment to using music as a medium for meaningful communication. Music can enhance students’ learning experience and foster a deeper appreciation for culture,” Gonsalves told Stabroek Weekend.
Born in Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara, he grew up in a household surrounded by music.
“My grandfather, Euland Sandy, was a self-taught musician and a farmer who played the clarinet in the village band. When the village had any activity, like for Emancipation, Christmas and even wakes, the band played and entertained the village,” he said.
Gonsalves’ older siblings were musicians as well. His eldest sister played bass on the steelpan. Two of his brothers also played the steelpan, one the tenor and the other, the double tenor. His grandmother and mother sang in the choir at church, while one of his aunts also played the piano.
“I believe all those things influenced my love for music,” he said.
While at Golden Grove Secondary School where he was a student, he took part in many school events such as concerts and anything that had to do with the stage. One day in early 1992, his drama teacher Aaron Blackman asked students to take part in the schools’ Mashramani calypso competition and no one showed an interest, so Gonsalves, about 14 years old at the time, volunteered. That year he won second place behind Bevon Semple, now a well-known local musician. “That basically kicked off my career on stage and music,” he added.
His siblings started playing the steelpan at Golden Grove Secondary during a period when the school’s steelband instruments were temporarily located at his family’s home.
“Something had happened at the school and the instruments were thrown out. I really don’t know why. Our home rescued the instruments. We were living within easy walking distance from the school. It was the school’s instruments so many students came to our home to practice. Members of the community came along. From time to time the band was called to represent the school,” he stated.
Even before the steelpans were taken to their home, Gonsalves recalled their living room being turned into a concert hall.
“In those days, we didn’t have television and all the other things to entertain us. We had a radio; that was our entertainment. When it was turned off, we sang and told stories. While the others played the instruments, I sang along with my two younger siblings. We were like the vocals and rhythm section,” he recalled.
Music was not a subject on the timetable while he was at school, so the only time Gonsalves did some form of music was during drama classes. While he was a student, his steel pannist sister Stashia Gonsalves-Cudjoe, who was a teacher and knew of his passion for music, suggested that when he left school, he should learn and teach music. Blackman, his drama teacher, guided him to then Ministry of Education music coordinator, Edith Pieters. “I told her I’d like to learn to play music. The first thing she asked was, ‘Are you are here to teach?’ I said, ‘No. I’m still a student,’” he recalled.
Gonsalves said she told him that her philosophy was if she was going to teach anyone, in return they had to teach someone else. When he asked her who he was going to teach, she suggested he become a teacher.
And so, he began music classes with Pieters after school and whenever he had school breaks, with his main instrument being the piano. After successfully completing his Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, he was offered a job at Golden Grove Secondary.
“That was how music was placed on the timetable at Golden Grove Secondary,” he said.
He began as an unqualified master at Golden Grove Secondary, but Gonsalves heeded headmaster Raymond Reis’s advice to become a trained teacher.
“I went to Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) from 1996 to 1999 to pursue music education for secondary schools under the directorship of Ms Pieters again, Mr Winston Anderson and Ms Norma Semple,” he said.
After graduating from CPCE he continued studies at the University of Guyana (UG) where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in history.
“There was no music degree programme at UG at the time and so I settled for history. That did not deter me from pursuing other music courses,” he said.
After UG, Gonsalves was appointed head of department, allied arts, Annandale Secondary School where he taught history and music. From Annandale Secondary he moved to Trinidad and Tobago (TT).
“It was hard moving to Trinidad at the time knowing that I had started something new at Annandale Secondary. When I left Annandale Secondary, students were getting distinctions in history. It was bitter-sweet because we had started to step up our music education in terms of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams. I was among the first batch of eight Guyanese and Caribbean students, and we were all teachers, to write music education at CSEC level. We got 100 per cent passes including distinctions.
“As teachers, we experienced what we had to do to teach students. We collaborated with the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD). We started setting up some programmes that dealt with content and methodology which we introduced into schools, both primary and secondary. I left thinking that I would always return, especially to continue what I had started in music,” he said.
‘Music opened doors’
Meanwhile Gonsalves continued to pursue other courses in music. “Music opened the doors for me in Trinidad and Tobago and allowed me to function beyond my dreams. Trinidad is all music. Because of my skills base in music that I’d acquired in Guyana, I was able to blend in quite quickly and easily. Even though I was in Trinidad and things were working out for me, the thought of being back home was always there. I was able to use that opportunity to bring the individuality of me into the system. It allowed me to visit schools as an education officer and to continue implementing systems in terms of modernising the music education system and getting certain programmes on track in Trinidad. At most of the schools I visited, I was well received,” he said..
“I enjoyed that period of work because it showed me that side of myself which I had doubted before. Here it was: I had an opportunity to excel beyond my own imaginations. While I am thankful for the opportunities I had in Trinidad, home is always home.”
Gonsalves first taught at Rafeek Memorial TML Secondary School, St Joseph then at the Government Polytechnical Institute in St James where he spent 12 years. He spent 17 years in TT.
Initially when he went to Trinidad, he taught social studies and history. “When those in the system found out about my skills in music that was when my career in Trinidad really kicked off. Then I was made a music coordinator/education officer and all of that was because of music,” he recalled.
He was still in Trinidad when he successfully applied for the position he now holds. He returned home in August last year.
A passionate advocate for music and cultural preservation in Guyana, he said, he has had to hit the ground running. Part of his responsibility is to train teachers in music education and to enhance the music programme in schools across the country.
Since his return, his department has held several teacher training workshops, including one for content and methodology on the CSEC syllabus, and providing guidelines for school-based assessments (SBAs).
The Education Ministry, he said, is now offering music as a priority subject at grades 7, 8 and 9 and will allow each secondary student to play a musical instrument as more teachers are being trained in music and more instruments are added in schools.
“By the time they get to Grades 10 and 11 we should have students coming out of that programme who are ready to do music at CSEC,” he said.
“Music is no longer an enhancement or enrichment subject. It is now on the timetable. Several schools now have guitar teachers. We are introducing pianos. We have choirs. We have steelpans and of course the recorders.”
Meanwhile, he noted that CPCE is now training more music teachers.
His department has also held several workshops for both primary and secondary schools on composing.
“For example, we see calypsos as one of the artforms that tells our nation’s stories. Composing calypsos is an integral part of promoting and preserving Guyana’s rich cultural traditions,” he noted.
ABRSM recognition
Another achievement for his department, Gonsalves said, was getting ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) certification recognised as a qualification for the teaching of music.
“Teachers can now apply and receive credit based on the level of their training they would have done with the ABRSM examinations. Before, the MoE had not recognised the ABRSM certification, especially for employment,” he said.
Other boosts to the music programme included a music incubator programme that was a collaborative project between Kross Kolor Records and the MoE in which ten students from across the country were trained in music production to enable them, in future, to become music engineers. On completion of that programme in May, six students received complete studio kits that will also enable them to create beats, rhythms among other things.
In addition, his department will continue the distribution of steelpans in schools.
The CPCE is due to receive instruments for a steel band from the Unit of Allied Arts.
The department has also introduced eight marching bands in several schools.
“We’re giving students the opportunity to explore different musical genres,” he noted.
Tassa and bongo
Following his first exposure to calypso competition in 1992, when he was the runner-up, he entered the senior competition in 1995, at 16 years old with the calypso “In Vain”.
“In 1995, I had to audition to get into that senior competition. I still believe I am the youngest calypsonian to enter the competition via the audition route,” he said.
That year, he made it to every stage of the competition and came eighth in the final. The following year he took part again but did not make the final. He then took a break.
In 2007, before he moved to TT, he took part in an HIV/AIDS jingle competition and again came second, this time to the Mighty Canary. “It seems like I’m a second-place man,” he joked.
While in Trinidad, he said, “I made it known wherever I went that I am a Guyanese.”
In 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns in Guyana and the Caribbean, he sang an extempore calypso about it. “That was my exit point. I really started to get serious about returning home,” he said.
Looking ahead, Gonsalves is hoping that his department will be able to equip all schools with musical instruments and make them accessible to a broader range of students and not just those doing examinations. He hopes to make the music curriculum more comprehensive to include a diverse genre of cultural music and traditions and to help students to appreciate the global nature of music.
He is also looking at the integration of technology to enhance music learning such as digital music production tools and using online platforms for collaboration and learning.
“I’m also looking at community engagement and stronger connections between schools and local communities including partnerships with musicians and cultural organisations to provide students with real world experience,” he said.
He noted that collaboration has begun, and recently Jamaican artiste Busy Signal donated a keyboard to one of the students on the music producers’ programme.
In terms of steelpan, he said, “I’m looking at working with neighbourhood communities including churches.” Some of those teaching the marching bands are members of the local churches.
This year, his department will also be adding some new percussion instruments such as the tassa and bongo (traditional Indian and African drums), to the system.
“Again, we are looking to partner with members of the community. I’m happy to see, for example, at Hope Secondary School, tassa drums were donated by members of the community. The school will now merge the tassa drums to the marching band and the African drums that they will be getting to make music more dynamic,” he enthused.
He added, “Pretty soon we are starting a recycle, reuse and repair programme especially as it relates to our steelpans. We have a shortage of pan tuners in the country. So, we can have more bands up and running. At the same time, we are hoping to attract more steelpan tuners and steelpan instructors. There is room for more instructors, especially for schools out of town.”
