This monthly newsletter was inaugurated in January with primary focus on music. Hence, I fashioned the theme we want you to hear more. However, other projects have also been addressed. From May, emphasis has been on The Rainmakers. I am now pleased to announce imminent release of a new CD, Under the Sapodilla Tree, another of the many fund-raising items in the catalogue www.sanch.com/rainmakers.html .

I have taken artistic liberty to describe this album as being sweet, sugary and succulent, simultaneously. The phrase aptly describes the mouth-watering taste of a ripe sapodilla. And this is exactly the blend that will whet your palate, as served by Golden Hands Steel Ensemble and executive producer Franka Hills- Headley.

When I went to their panyard on that eventful Saturday afternoon last year to record Mark Loquan’s We Love Carnival, one of the subsequent pieces that impressed me was Patterns in Steel. Although I did not know it at the time, this selection was composed by Dr. Jeannine Remy, main arranger for Golden Hands. As fate would have it, Sanch Music recently became publisher of Dr. Remy’s works, to be released on the second CD, The Rainmakers-A Tropical Journey in Percussion and Steel, in November.

The Rainmakers’ committee is indeed pleased to welcome The National Lotteries Control Board as a primary investor. Meanwhile, Dr. Remy has recently returned from Texas. She fine-tuned many logistical details pertaining to our upcoming performances at PASIC and Mc Callum’s High School in Austin, Texas.

The Rainmakers’ commemorative magazine will be launched this month, to coincide with the beginning of the new academic year. This publication has grown to 76 pages, from being a simple programme booklet. It has earned TT$83,500.00 in advertising revenue from a diverse number of local and international customers.

The Rainmakers will distribute several thousand copies in an effort to help realise its budget and achieve some modicum of self sufficiency. Unit cost is TT$30.00. Under the Sapodilla Tree will retail for TT$100.00.

Simeon L. Sandiford
Managing Director