MR. RAY HOLMAN (Musician, Educator)
Doctor of Letters (DLitt)
Ray Anthony Holman, a graduate of Queen’s Royal College and The University of the West Indies, started playing pan with the Invaders Steel Orchestra in 1956. Since 1963, he has arranged Panorama selections for numerous steelbands including Starlift, which won the competition with his compositions in 1969 and 1971. Mr. Holman was also the first steelband arranger to compose and perform his own tune for Panorama, with “Pan on the Move” in 1972. He is one of the most internationally recognized composers, arrangers, and performers, in demand throughout the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean. He composed the highly acclaimed score for the 1991 Crossroads Theatre production of “Black Orpheus” in New Jersey. He served as visiting artist at the University of Washington in Seattle from 1998 to 2000. Alongside his musical career, he taught for 30 years at Fatima College. Mr. Holman was named one of the “50 icons of Trinidad and Tobago” to commemorate the country’s 50th anniversary of independence.
50th Anniversary Cultural Icon
Pan Trinbago