40 Years of Calypso Joy
In the early 1980s, Eugene Novotney fell in love with the steelpan. By 1986, the Cal Poly Humboldt Music professor’s love of the percussion instrument gave rise to the Humboldt Calypso Band, whose positive energy continues to radiate through a community united by the joyful spirit of its music.
Four decades later, the calypso band and its performances remain a cherished tradition at the University and the region—a legacy celebrated during the band's 40th anniversary concert in May.
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Novotney tells the story
On a spring evening inside Cal Poly Humboldt’s Van Duzer Theatre, nearly 70 musicians filled the stage. Steel pans shimmered beneath the lights. Musicians ranged from alumni and community members to students and faculty from the University and local high schools.
The milestone concert brought together internationally acclaimed guest artists Liam Teague and Josanne Francis, along with rising steelpan performer and Liam’s son Jaden Teague-Núñez. The program honored four decades of music rooted in the traditions of Trinidad and Tobago while showcasing the next generation of artists carrying the art form forward.
For Novotney, the concert was a celebration of longevity. It was also proof that the spirit that first inspired him in 1986 remains just as powerful today.
“What I hope audiences took away from this performance is the exact same thing I hope they took away from any performance of our band,” Novotney says. “That somehow they can tap into the joyful spirit of the music and of the art form itself.”
That radiant energy has defined the band from the beginning.
When Novotney arrived at Humboldt in the mid-1980s to teach percussion, he had recently fallen in love with steelpan music while attending graduate school. Inspired by his mentor, Clifford Alexis, a world-renowned master pan builder from Trinidad, Novotney saw an opportunity to introduce an art form largely unknown on the North Coast.
The challenge was finding instruments.
Novotney arranged for Alexis to build a set of steel pans, then launched rehearsals before they arrived. In the spring of 1986, he stood before a group of students with just one steel pan and the assurance that more were on the way. However, the instruments never arrived that semester.
Instead, students learned the music on marimbas, vibraphones, electric bass, and guitar while they waited. When the group gave its first performance in Fulkerson Recital Hall, they still had only one steel pan.
“That’s why we called it the Humboldt Calypso Band and not the Humboldt Steel Band,” Novotney says. “We did not have enough steel pans to rightfully call it a steelband.”
The audience did not seem to mind.
“It was pretty obvious, about 10 seconds into the first song, that people were thrilled,” Novotney says. “All it took was for one person to get up and start dancing, and boom. The whole place was up and dancing.”
What began as a small ensemble quickly became something larger. As more instruments arrived, the band grew. As Novotney traveled to Trinidad and deepened his understanding of the art form, the ensemble evolved with him.
Calypso, an Afro-Caribbean music genre, was born in the 19th century in Trinidad & Tobago among communities of African slaves. Later, the steelpan was invented in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1930s in response to the ban on traditional African drums used in Calypso. Resourceful street musicians transformed discarded oil drums into melodic instruments, turning a grassroots act of defiance into a globally celebrated symbol of Caribbean culture.
Over the years, Novotney has made 11 trips to Trinidad, where steelpan music was born from the creativity and resilience of Afro-Trinidadian communities. He forged relationships with influential artists, including Ray Holman, Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, and many others. Those connections helped transform the Humboldt Calypso Band into a bridge between Northern California and the birthplace of steelpan.
“My whole feeling of what it means to play the pan, my understanding of why that instrument developed, has gone far beyond where it was when I started this band.”--Eugene Novotney, Music professor
Today, the ensemble focuses on the music and composers central to the tradition, rather than just playing popular songs on steel pans. For Novotney, this dedication is part of the responsibility of teaching this art form at the University.
The band itself has also become something unique. What started with fewer than a dozen musicians now regularly includes more than 50 performers. Following the pandemic, the ensemble opened its doors even wider, welcoming high school students and community musicians eager to reconnect through music. Hundreds of students have participated over the decades, joined by alumni and community members who continue returning long after graduation.
The result is a group that spans generations, with members ranging from teenagers to people in their 60s and 70s.
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POV: You're in the calypso band
For many band members, the sense of community is what keeps them coming back. They note that it feels more like a family rather than simply a gathering of strangers. Others describe it as a group of people who come together to play music and collaborate in pursuit of excellence.
And many consistently point to Novotney as the person who makes that culture possible.
“He is so warm and funny, and he balances all of that with really high expectations and rigor,” says Humboldt Calypso member Holly Couling (’05, History). “The band is excellent because of the expectations he sets and the structure he builds for us to rise to them.”
The impact extends far beyond Arcata. Many Humboldt students have traveled to Trinidad to perform in Panorama, the world’s largest steelband competition. Others have gone on to launch steelpan programs of their own.
“A cool thing is that a lot of the players who pass through the band have started their own programs in different places and spread the joy to so many other people,” Humboldt Calypso band member Vance Umphrey (’16, Music) says. “I can certainly say that thousands upon thousands of people have been affected by Eugene.”
Looking back, Novotney is proud of the accomplishments, the partnerships, and the generations of musicians who have carried the tradition forward. But what matters most to him is something less tangible.