Above: Pat Bishop photographed during a rehearsal of the Lydian Singers at The Little Carib Theatre in 1985. Photo by Mark Lyndersay.
When Patricia Allison Bishop died on August 11, 2011 the nation lost one of its greatest cultural icons.
The T&T Guardian said, “Pat Bishop was an artist, a teacher, a musician and conductor, but those descriptions seem woefully inadequate in capturing the full range of the work that she did in those fields.”
Trini Good Media was commissioned by the National Gas Company’s Above and Beyond Programme to produce Pat Bishop – A Life, a five-part series that looks at various aspects of her life – intellectualism, art, music and legacy.
Here, you can listen to all five episodes as well as two bonus interviews that will give a comprehensive look at the life of Pat Pishop.
Episode One – Pat Is A Star
Series producer Franka Philip sets the groundwork for the series by exploring Pat Bishop’s early life and intellectual philosophy. Among those she speaks with are Pat’s sister Gillian and artist Peter Minshall.
Bonus Episode One – Ronnie Joseph
Ronnie Joseph was known as “Pat’s right hand”. In this wide-ranging interview, he talks about working with Pat at the Solid Waste Corporation where they developed the popular Chase Charlie Away anti-rubbish campaign in the 1980s. He also reminisces about their shopping exploits and the excitement of working with the Desperadoes.
Episode Two – The Joiner of Dots
Pat Bishop studied art at Durham University and emerged as one of this country’s prolific artists around the mid-1970s. Artist and lecturer Ken Crichlow breaks down Pat’s artistic oeuvre, while artist Jackie Hinkson describes their fruitful working relationship.
Episode 3 – A Woman of Firsts (The Lydians)
Pat Bishop developed The Lydians is into a world class choir with a varied and challenging body of work. In this episode, we hear about Pat’s vision of excellence for the choir and what the future holds. Lydians managing director Garnet Allen and leading tenor Edward Cumberbatch are among those featured.
Episode 4 – A Woman of Firsts (Pan)
Pat Bishop was called The First Lady of Pan. She was deeply passionate about the steelband movement. In this episode, we hear from Lydian Steel co-captain Astra Noel, Desperadoes stalwarts Robbie Greenidge & Finbar Fletcher and the inestimable composer and arranger Len “Boogsie” Sharpe.
Bonus episode – Pat and Edison
So many people of a certain generation ascribe their understanding of pan arrangements to the Panorama commentaries of Pat Bishop and Edison Carr. The two were really a dynamic duo. Listen as Edison Carr tells some stories about his radio partnership and friendship with Pat.
Episode 5 – The Legacy
What is Pat Bishop’s legacy? Is it too soon to tell? Janine Charles-Farray, Mark Loquan, Muhammad Muwakil, Derek Gay and Gillian Bishop are among those who weigh in on this question.
This is such a treasure. Thank you.