Akua Leith has a dream. The young pannist has a vision to capitalise on Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument, steelpan, in a way that can take beyond the country’s borders and make it as ubiquitous as the piano – the world’s most popular musical instrument.
So, in 2018 he started to plan. “I wanted to put something on paper for what the best practice of steelpan could look like,” he told Business Day. He envisioned a world-class manufacturing facility, that did more than just make steelpans but actively engaged in research and development to make pan better – from metallurgy to craftsmanship to tuning to playing – straight through the value chain.