Keishaun Julien

Keishaun  Julien
© Keishaun Julien
Arranger, Performer
Principal country concerned : Column : Music, Internet






Known for his ever so often viral steelpan videos on social media, Keishaun Julien is an icon in the making that hails from the beautiful sister isle of Tobago. At 21 years old, Mr. Julien has established his brand and continues to grow as a household name in the steelpan fraternity.



Although Mr. Julien was introduced to the steelpan at age the age of 6, his journey as a professional steelpan Musician really began at the age of 10 while being a member of the Our Boys Steel Orchestra. During his early years at O.B.S.O, he was mentored by Mr. Leeandro Noray and eventually became the tenor section leader of the band. Mr. Julien's leadership qualities was further manifested as he entered his final years of secondary school, where he captained his school steelband to its first panorama. Keishaun then went on to become the captain of Youth In Steel, a band formed by the Tobago members of the short-lived National Youth Steel Orchestra. Under his captaincy in 2010, Youth In Steel placed 1st in the National Junior Steelband Music Festival. Additionally, Keishaun represented Y.I.S in the solo category of the said music festival in which he placed 3rd. Other competitions Keishaun have won and placed high in competitions are the Scarborough Secondary School Jingle Jam, Children's Showcase, Baker's Scouting for Talent and the Citizen Security Programme Talent Competition to mention a few. Apart from competing locally, Keishaun Julien enjoys traveling and sharing his talent with the world. Mr. Julien has represented Trinidad and Tobago on the National Instrument in countries such as Belgium, Canada, France and the United States to name a few. His most recent trip was in July of 2017 to Belize and Mexico. In an attempt to promote Trinidad and Tobago's culture, Keishaun Julien created a Youtube Channel dedicated to videos of himself playing the national instrument. To date, his Youtube channel has approximately 7,000 subscribers and over 1 million cumulative views. Recently, he uploaded a steelpan cover of "Despacito" which has gained over 300,000 thousand views on Facebook alone. His ability to create such stable online fanbase is something that very few steelpan musicians has been able to accomplish. As a result, his social media presence has served as a platform to inspire other upcoming pannist.











Keishaun currently attends the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus where he pursues a BA in Musical Arts using the steelpan as his major instrument. Upon completion of his Bachelor's, he hopes to continue traveling to perform in order to further sell the product of Trinidad and Tobago to the world. Additionally, Mr. Julien aspires to be champion panorama arranger one day. Later on in his career, he plans on opening a music school in Tobago. Mr. Julien recently concluded a steelpan camp in August of 2017, where he volunteered his services to the Gentle Giants Foundation in Tobago, teaching young persons the fundamentals of playing the steelpan. Keishaun's contribution to culture has not gone unrecognized as fellow artist and entities such as Kes The Band, Erphraan Alves and the Tobago Cultural Committee have all recognized him for his contribution to the art form. Looking up to steelpan musicians such as Duvone Stewart, Liam Teague and Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Mr. Julien hopes to be remembered for his notable contribution to the arts in Trinidad, Tobago and the world by extension.






Partners

  • Arterial network
  • Media, Sports and Entertainment Group (MSE)
  • Gens de la Caraïbe
  • Groupe 30 Afrique
  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Zimbabwe : Culture Fund Of Zimbabwe Trust
  • RDC : Groupe TACCEMS
  • Rwanda : Positive Production
  • Togo : Kadam Kadam
  • Niger : ONG Culture Art Humanité
  • Collectif 2004 Images
  • Africultures Burkina-Faso
  • Bénincultures / Editions Plurielles
  • Africiné
  • Afrilivres

With the support of