A talented Illinois high school student has mastered a rare instrument, the steel pan drum, and won accolades from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Jayden Teague Nunez, 16, won the CSO’s Young Artist Competition and has been called one of the most talented young steel pan players in the country.
“It’s really amazing that I can do this, because there aren’t that many steel pan players out there and not that many high-caliber kids who play steel pan,” Teague Nunez said.
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The son of musician parents, he moved to DeKalb from Panama when he was 3. His mother was principal viola with the Panama National Symphony Orchestra, and his father is director of steelpan studies at the NIU School of Music, so he was naturally drawn to the steel drums.
“When I was about 7 or 8, my dad gave me a steel pan for my birthday,” he says, “and I ended up loving it.”
Steelpan drums are traditionally made from drums, but are now made from high-quality steel. By hammering indentations into the drum to shape the tone, steelpan drums produce a sweet tone and a wide musical range.
Teague Nunez is a sophomore at DeKalb High School. His nimble fingers, sometimes with multiple mallets, allow him to play almost anything, from calypso to classical.
“You can play a Bach violin concerto, you can play jazz, you can play Donna Lee and ‘All the Things You Are.’ There’s a lot you can do with a pan,” he said.
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DeKalb High School band director Steve Lundin said there’s a certain joy in steel pan music.
“I think of it as a kind of ‘singing metal,’ and when you hit it, you get that moment of resonance that only singing metal can produce,” Lundin said.
Teague Nunez’s win at the CSO competition was the first for a steel pan player.
“From a historical perspective, this is a big deal,” Lundin said.
As a result of her win, Teague-Nunez will perform as soloist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Concerts during the 2024-25 season.
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“I want to be a soloist,” he says, “not just in a symphony orchestra, but in a jazz ensemble as well.”
