UWI Arts Steel and Chorale presents “Anansi Say” (Auditorium)

The Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) of The University of the West Indies proudly presents ‘Anansi Say’, the final production of the DCFA Legacy Year productions, 2025-2026. ‘Anansi Say’ is a suite of steel orchestral pieces composed by Professor Jeannine Remy, in her last semester of a glittering career at The UWI and is an allegorical tale that employs the richness of the DCFA – music, dance, drama and the visual arts.

This event, for one evening only, takes place at the Winnifred Atwell Auditorium of the historic Queen’s Hall on Friday May 1, 2026 at 7:30 pm. This world premiere event follows the critically acclaimed premiere of Professor Remy’s ‘Dancing on Steel’ in 2024 which was performed by the UWI Arts Steel and Festival Dance Ensemble and screened internationally at the Percussive Arts Society International Conference (PASIC) in that year. This production also represents the final chapter of a much-celebrated collaboration between Professor Remy and Senior Lecturer Jessel Murray. For over two decades, they have worked together in a much-heralded partnership where Mr. Murray has conducted world premieres of original steel orchestral pieces by Professor Remy, as well as performances of her classical adaptations and arrangements for the UWI Arts Steel and the National Steel Symphony Orchestra. He has also premiered many of the piano accompaniments for Professor Remy’s vast catalogue of pan and piano compositions for the UWI Pan Exams.

‘Anansi Say’ was inspired and shaped by sayings from Trinidad and Tobago. It is a programmatic work that interprets the lessons learned from the tales of Anansi, a West African trickster character who inadvertently imparts wisdom, knowledge, insight, and morality. Encoded in concise cultural axioms ‘Anansi Say’ is not just a collection of precepts, but each one is a microcosm of lived experience and cultural expression. The UWI Arts Steel, conducted by Jessel Murray and the UWI Festival Dance Ensemble, choreographed by Joanna Charles, will once again partner to bring this work to life supported by DCFA student actor and dancer Zerkiphe Francis, who will play the title role of Anansi. Brendon LaCaille is the dramaturge while Rachel Rochford and Michael Norgriff will supervise the visual elements of the production. As an added treat for the audience, Professor Remy will be the principal percussionist for this, her final performance at The UWI.

In keeping with the spirit of folk tradition, The UWI Arts Chorale will perform the celebrated ‘Misa Criolla’ (Creole Mass) by Argentinian composer Ariel Ramirez. The ‘Misa Criolla’ is a famed setting of the Mass which utilises Spanish language set to pulsating South American rhythms. Of course, the Chorale will also dip into its vast treasury of sacred works inclusive of spirituals and gospel music and will feature a surprise soloist! In the last few years, the UWI Arts Steel and the UWI Arts Chorale have gained a following in Trinidad and Tobago with their eagerly awaited premieres of choral/orchestral works. Most recently, The UWI Arts Steel collaborated with the Caribbean School of Dance in their acclaimed performance of the ‘Coconut Cracker’ at Queen’s Hall. ‘Coconut Cracker’ was an adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker for Steel Orchestra by Professor Remy.

The Chorale has presented the national premiere of Benjamin Britten’s classic work ‘A Ceremony of Carols’ with harp accompaniment (2010), the complete ‘Carmina Burana’ in 2018 and the Mozart ‘Requiem’ (2024) among many other masterworks. Under the joint guidance of Jessel Murray and Khion De Las, the UWI Arts Steel and Chorale have completed international tours to the Caribbean and United States and will be making a return trip to Central America in July 2026. This joint production of ‘Anansi Say’ promises to be an unforgettable cultural experience that will showcase the DCFA in all its diversity for which it has become renowned over the last four decades.