Profiles: Heroes, Role Models and Pioneers of Trinidad and Tobago - by Nasser Khan

83 Voisin’s career as a musician began when she joined the Siparia Village Council, and later the Fyzabad Choir and Morne Diablo Cultural Group. But it was as leader of the band La Divina Pastora Serenaders that Voisin left her mark on the parang scene in Trinidad. She was deeply religious and has said that it was divine intervention that led her to spread the gospel through parang. During her reign as Queen of parang, she composed and sang Christmas classics including “Sereno Sereno”, “Daisy Voisin”, “Daisy Daisy Daisy”, “El Nacimiento de la Verdad” and many others. “Alegria Alegria” is perhaps her most famous composition. • 1982 - Parang Association Gold Medal; • 1988 - Hummingbird Medal Silver OLIVE WALKE (1911-1969) B elmont-born, she attended Bishop Anstey High School, Trinity College and the Royal Academy of Music, London. She was one of the first to carry out research into the folk music of T&T. She was a music teacher and in 1940 she formed La Petite Musicale, a chorale singing group that has become well known around the world. Her popular hit songs were “Mangoes” and “Every time ah Pass” and published a book “Folk Songs of Trinidad and Tobago” . She was an independent senator from 1961 to 1966. In 1969 she received the Humming Bird Medal Gold and in 1975 the group La Petite Musciale received the Public Service Medal of Merit Gold. ANTHONY WILLIAMS (1931-2021) A nthony “Tony” Williams is an inventor, pioneer and musician of the steel pan from St. James and one of the early major innovators of the steelpan. He created the layout of the notes known as the cycle of fourths and fifths. A genius in tuning, he also excelled as a bandleader,