Sterling Betancourt MBE

MBE

MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...

 (* 30 March 1930 in Laventille

Laventille

-Etymology:The name Laventille hearkens back to colonial times, especially when the French dominated the cultural traditions of the island. One etymological derivation of the name is due to the fact that the northeast trade winds come to this part of the Island of Trinidad before it reached any...

, Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

) is a pioneer

Innovator

An innovator in a general sense, is a person or an organization who is one of the first to introduce into reality something better than before. That often opens up a new area for others and achieves an innovation.-History:...

, inventor and musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 on the Steelpan

Steelpan

Steelpans is a musical instrument originating from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago...

.

Life

Betancourt was born and raised in Laventille near Port of Spain

Port of Spain

Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...

. He was a steelpan tuner and member of the steelband Crossfire. Betancourt was selected as a member of TASPO

TASPO (Steelband)

The Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra was formed to participate in the Festival of Britain in 1951. The group presented the newly invented Steelpan to an international audience.-Members of TASPO:...

 and toured England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 in 1951. He was the only musician of TASPO which remained in England. Together with Russell Henderson

Russell Henderson

Russell Henderson is a jazz musician on the piano and the steelpan. He is most widely known for one of the founding figures of the Notting Hill Carnival in London, United Kingdom.-Biography:...

 and Mervyn Constantine, Betancourt formed the first Steelband-Combo in England and performed all over London as well as in radio shows, jazz clubs and the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

.

Betancourt has been vitally involved in building up Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival

The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...

.
He was a very big part of steelpan development in Trinidad.

Sterling Betancourt was made Member of the British Empire in 2002. He lives in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

Readings

• Felix I. R. Blake: The Trinidad and Tobago Steel Pan: History and Evolution. ISBN 0-952-55280-9