Alfred Totesaut held a special classical concert last week
The classics of Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky have been reinvented for a new generation thanks to the steely determination of a musical one-off.
Alfred Totesaut, 60, of Brentfield Road, Stonebridge, has helped breathe new life into the composers’ work by getting his steel pan group to give them a Caribbean touch.
Mr Totefaut has been teaching steel pan to generations of youngsters in Brent and north west London for decades and held a concert at St Michael and All Angel’s Church in Hillside, Stonebridge, last week to show off their skills.
Mr Totefaut said: “I have travelled the world as a musician but many years ago I settled in Brent and since then have been teaching young people the steel pan.
“With this latest group, I wanted to show them that any kind of music can be played on the drum and can be fun.
“They had a great time and really took to it, asking for more.”
Mr Totesaut, known to his friends as Freddy, began playing the steel pan when he was a boy in Trinidad and became one of the most accomplished performers – even playing in front of Princess Margaret in the 1960s.
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