Giving Back To The Community

March 5, 2013 in General Announcement

Potts & Pans Toys for TotsPotts & Pans, Inc. NFP strives to become a supporting member of the community. In addition to the courses and educational concerts provided, we also organize fundraising concerts. In December 2012, Potts & Pans organized the first annual Toys for Tots benefit concert. The first year was a major success, bringing in over 50 toys and $100 in cash donations!

After delivering the toys to Toys for Tots, they were so impressed with our first attempt at a fundraiser that they agreed to help out next year. For 2013, Potts & Pans will be working with the McHenry County Toys for Tots organization with the goal of doubling our donation.

If everybody gives a little back to the community, we all win. Music is our gift and we are proud to say that our music made such a big difference for the McHenry County Toys for Tots. This was one of the most enjoyable performances we have had to date, and counting up the donations after the concert left us all with such an incredible feeling that we cannot wait to do even better in 2013!

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District 155 Steelband – Teaching Pan And It’s History To The Next Generation

March 5, 2013 in General Announcement

Potts & Pans, Inc. NFP runs an after school program for high school students in and around District 155. These students are all new to the instrument and learn from scratch. Lead by Matt Potts, the group typically performs once or twice per semester for various D155 related music events. The group is free to join but does ask for a $100 donation per semester if the student can afford it.

Along with learning how to play, Matt also provides historical information about the instrument. Students that go through the D155 Steelband program come out knowing a little more about Trinidad and Tobago’s culture as well as some of the key people that helped create the steelpan.

Music for the group is chosen by the group, with the approval of Matt Potts. During the fall semester of 2012, one of the students even composed his own piece of music. Together with Matt, the student reworked his composition to work with the instrumentation of the D155 Steelband. The group performed that piece at multiple locations around Crystal Lake including a Toys for Tots benefit concert that was hosted by Potts & Pans.

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Nice Service At First Congregational Church Last Night

March 3, 2013 in Performances

steelpans at first congregational church in crystal lakeLast night, Matt Potts provided a solo steelpan for the evening service at First Congregational Church in Crystal Lake. It was a nice service and had a handful of the expected “church” tunes. In the middle of the service, Matt was invited to perform a solo. He performed Bach’s “Prelude III in E Major” for the audience, and they seemed to love it. It was a beautiful atmosphere and was very enjoyable. Although this was not an educational event, Matt stayed and talked to people for about 30 minutes after the service concluded answering questions about the instrument.

This was a very enjoyable performance and demonstrates how important it is for Potts & Pans to do things like this. Potts & Pans has performed at First Congregational Church multiple times and has provided a fair amount of educational material during past performances. Even though there were some familiar faces in the audience, there were many more that had not seen the steelpan before. People were very intrigued and were very eager to come out and talk to Matt about how the instrument is laid out, how it’s made, and how he got interested in it. All and all, this was a great night and helped spread some more information about the steelpan and showcased it perform “the classics” as one of the audience members commented after the service.

If you are in the Crystal Lake area and would like to see a similar service, Matt will be at the March 30th 5:30 service at First Congregational Church in Crystal Lake. Although the featured piece of music has not been picked yet, I promise you won’t be disappointed. If you are interested in having a member of Potts & Pans come and do a service with your church, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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March Is Here And So Are The Performances!

March 1, 2013 in General Announcement, Performances

There may still be snow on the ground, but it is March and that means warm weather will be here soon! That also means that we will be performing more! Potts & Pans is kicking off March with a performance by Matt Potts at First Congregational Church this Saturday starting around 5:30 PM. We are going to try to keep this front page more up to date with what performances are coming up and where, so remember to check back frequently to see what new news there is!

Speaking of staying informed, have you signed up for our newsletter? If not, sign up at the bottom of the page and you will be added to our list to receive our monthly newsletter. At the beginning of each month we send out a newsletter with upcoming performances and a recap of previous performances along with any other interesting news.

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