Announcement coincides with CHOGM, where Revere Arts Co-founder Elise Brown chairs a panel on the creative economy and steel pan.
Revere Arts, a leading UK arts consultancy with over 20 years’ experience working across classical, contemporary and culturally rooted music, today announces a landmark partnership with RSL Awards (Rockschool) to develop the UK’s first structured learning, assessment and progression framework for Steel Pan ensembles that will be launched August 2027.
The announcement coincides with CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting), where Revere Arts Founder and Co-Director Elise Brown is chairing a panel exploring the role of the creative economy and steel pan in creating educational, cultural and economic opportunities across the Commonwealth.
Steel pan is widely recognised as the only acoustic instrument invented in the twentieth century, and although Steel pan has been a vital cultural symbol for Caribbean communities for around a century in the Caribbean, this year marks its 75th anniversary since being officially recognised in 1951 in the UK. Despite this, steel pan musicians have historically had fewer opportunities to access structured assessment and progression pathways comparable to those available across other areas of music education.
The new framework has been designed to support the recognition of achievement, skills development and progression for steel pan musicians. Developed specifically for the steel pan community, it provides a culturally informed and structured assessment pathway that reflects the instrument’s history, technique and musical excellence.
The framework will be piloted by New Generation Steel Orchestra, one of London’s leading youth ensembles working in steel pan. This announcement follows the 60th anniversary year of Notting Hill Carnival, where steel pan has remained one of the defining cultural pillars of Carnival’s identity for six decades.
Developed with the foremost academics in the field Dr Dawn K Batson and steel pan virtuoso Leon Thomas AFHEA, the framework will mark a major shift in how steel pan is valued, taught and assessed across the UK. The partnership between Revere and RSL will develop a progressive suite of steel pan learning and assessment opportunities. This will include a performance award alongside higher-level regulated qualifications at Levels 3, 4 and 6, providing progression opportunities for learners as their skills develop.
Through the framework, Revere Arts and RSL Awards aim to:
• Support recognition of achievement in steel pan performance and musicianship
• Create clear progression pathways for young steel pan musicians
• Encourage wider awareness of steel pan within education and the arts sector
• Strengthen the cultural and educational ecosystem surrounding steel pan
• Promote equitable access to structured assessment opportunities
Elise Brown, Founder & Co-Director, Revere Arts and board member of Carnival Village Trust: “Steel pan has shaped the sound of London and Carnival for generations. This assessment and progression framework ensures the young musicians who carry that legacy forward are finally recognised for their skill, discipline and artistry. Our work with New Generation Steel Orchestra has shown us how transformative access to steel pan can be for young people – especially those from low-income and Caribbean backgrounds who have historically been overlooked by formal music education. By creating a learning and assessment programme, we are opening doors to further study, professional opportunities and long-term progression. This is a vital moment for the sector, and it aligns with Revere Arts’ mission to champion equity, representation and non-traditional musical pathways.”
Norton York, Founder, RSL Awards (Rockschool): “RSL Awards is proud to partner with Revere Arts on this groundbreaking structured assessment pathway for steel pan, it’s something I’ve wanted to do since the ‘90s when we first established as an awarding organisation. As one of the most vibrant and culturally significant instruments in the UK, steel pan deserves recognition within music education and higher-level study. Through a culturally informed learning and assessment programme, we are helping to create meaningful progression routes for young musicians, strengthen equity across the sector, and ensure the next generation of steel pan players receive the recognition, credibility and opportunities their talent merits.”
Dr Dawn K Batson: “This framework will give steel ensemble members the recognition their artistry and dedication deserves. Working with Revere Arts and RSL, we’re building a structured pathway that will support pannists’ progression into schools, conservatories and the wider music industry.”
Leon Thomas AFHEA: “Programmes like this give the steel pan a seat at the table alongside other recognised instruments in music education, potentially providing a pathway towards greater steel pan specialists, professionals, educators, composers and arrangers. Instrumentalists wishing to pursue a music education with the steel pan as their principal instrument, especially at the tertiary level – a route of music studies that is only available in limited capacity-– would no longer be forced to switch to other instruments or give up that pursuit entirely.”
Joelle Gardiner, Director, New Generation Steel Orchestra: “For our young people, steel pan is heritage, identity and community. Being able to gain structured recognition of achievement for our musicians will be life-changing.”
Known for championing artists and projects that embody non-traditional musical pathways- and for working with leading higher education and cultural institutions from Guildhall School of Music & Drama to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic- Revere Arts is expanding its commitment to equity and representation by supporting the development of formal progression opportunities for steel pan musicians. Funded by Arts Council England, the project aligns with Revere Arts’ wider goals to undertake socio-economic research, including work connected to the annual Class Ceiling Conference, which Revere Arts facilitates each year.
Research on New Generation Steel Orchestra shows that 88% of members of the ensemble come from low-income families, with 100% being of Caribbean descent. As many young people begin to excel in the ensemble, they are not able to formally present their progress and are therefore overlooked in both academic and entertainment sectors.
The introduction of this framework arrives at a moment when the sector is confronting stark disparities in representation across music education and higher education. Recent research (Bull et al., 2022) shows that only 1% of UK conservatoire students were Black British between 2016 and 2020, reflecting wider findings on the underrepresentation of Global Majority musicians and educators, and the lack of progression pathways for culturally rooted instruments.
