“Pan is my passion. I eat, sleep, drink pan.” For Robert ‘Robin’ Margetson, those words are hardly an exaggeration.

For more than four decades, steelpan has provided a soundtrack to his life, taking him from a teenager captivated by his first Panorama to player, arranger, band founder, teacher and mentor.

But his story also runs along another distinctly Caribbean track. For more than forty years, Margetson built a career with LIAT, eventually becoming a highly regarded trainer whose expertise would be sought by airlines across the region.

His two worlds, aviation and steelpan, have been defined by remarkably similar qualities: discipline, training, service, teamwork, and a willingness to pass knowledge to the next generation.

Early Years

Born on June 4, 1960, in England, Robert ‘Robin’ Margetson is the son of Robert ‘Bobby’ Margetson of Montserrat and Rose Margetson of Trinidad.

His parents were completing their studies in England at the time of his birth. When those studies ended, the family moved to Trinidad and Tobago for several years before eventually settling in Antigua when Robin was about six years old.

Formal education began in the preparatory section of Christ the King High School, today known as St John’s Catholic Primary School. From there he moved to St Joseph’s Academy, where he completed five years of secondary education.

Margetson then transferred to the Princess Margaret School to pursue A Levels, which at the time were available only through the government school system. He could hardly have anticipated that his education would unfold against one of the most turbulent periods in Antigua and Barbuda’s teaching history.

School in the Shadow of the Teachers’ Strike

What should have been two relatively straightforward years of A ‘Level studies became anything but. A major teachers’ strike severely disrupted the education system. Teachers picketed and protested; some were jailed, and classrooms were left without instructors.

Margetson remembers students arriving at school with very little teaching taking place. Eventually, he and several other students decided there was little point sitting around doing nothing. So, they joined the action.

The students began marching through St John’s, only to encounter the police, who promptly sent them back to school.

The disruption likely contributed to a significant change in Antigua and Barbuda’s education system. The A ‘Level programme was transferred to the Antigua State College, where Margetson eventually completed his studies.

Professional Life

That interrupted education did not close off opportunity. Instead, it placed Margetson at the edge of a working life that would demand the same patience, discipline and adaptability he had already begun to learn.

Beyond the classroom was an institution that would shape much of his professional life. Margetson joined LIAT (1974) Ltd as a Passenger Service Agent at the airport.

What began at the passenger counter developed into a career spanning more than four decades.

His work ethic and proficiency saw him rise to Customer Service Supervisor before another important opportunity arrived in 1999, when he was assigned to LIAT’s training department.

There he encountered William Tomlinson, a boss whose advice Margetson took seriously: Learn everything you can. Become well-rounded.

Margetson did precisely that. He undertook training in Miami with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and completed a range of instructor courses, steadily developing into an accomplished aviation trainer.

For the next two decades, training became his professional home.

Then came 2020. COVID-19 closed borders, grounded aircraft and brought Caribbean aviation to an extraordinary standstill. Margetson was among those affected when LIAT suspended operations.

He later returned when flights resumed, but the reprieve would prove temporary as the airline eventually closed.

Yet four decades of accumulated knowledge do not disappear when an airline does. With the establishment of LIAT 2020 Ltd, Margetson was retained as a training consultant, called upon when specialised instruction was required.

His expertise has also travelled well beyond LIAT. Over the years, airlines including Sunrise Airways, Fly Montserrat, SVG Air, Anguilla Air Services, Trans Anguilla Airways and Trans Guyana Airways have sought his services.

It is an impressive professional legacy.

Robin’s Pan Story

That same commitment to training and service would also define the other great rhythm of his life: steelpan.

While Margetson was helping people take to the skies, another part of his life remained firmly grounded in the distinctive sound of Antigua and Barbuda.

The year was 1973 when Margetson attended his first National Panorama competition. He remembers the experience vividly because something happened that night. He fell in love with pan. Not casually, completely.

The opportunities to explore that fascination were plenty.

St Joseph’s Academy had a highly competitive steelpan programme, and Margetson was determined to become involved.

At the same time, Gambles had an active community group whose members did everything from hiking and fishing to cooking together. They also played pan.

Margetson spent time around the group until community member Luther Lee invited him to join. He started on double guitar before moving to double tenor when an opening became available.

Then another door opened. Along with other students from St Joseph’s Academy, Margetson was invited by Colin Derrick to play with Harmonites (Steel Orchestra) in 1973. In 1974, he was among a group of the band selected for a tour of St Thomas.

He would subsequently join Harmonites on the Panorama stage on several occasions.

Another significant chapter began when Margetson transferred to Princess Margaret Secondary School in 1976. There, he became part of a remarkable period in Antigua and Barbuda’s steelpan development. The PMS Serenaders were emerging.

In 1977, the orchestra became the first school steelband to compete in the National Panorama, a landmark moment that demonstrated that school-based orchestras could stand alongside established community bands on the country’s premier steelpan stage. Margetson was there.

Another piece of history was just around the corner: the birth of Gemonites Steel Orchestra. In 1978, Margetson became one of the founding members of that steelband.

Even the name reflected the youthful personality of the emerging band. Margetson recalls that several members had birthdays under the zodiac sign Gemini. From that coincidence came Gemonites.

What began as a group of young musicians would grow into one of Antigua and Barbuda’s recognised steel orchestras. Margetson remained with the band for several decades, developing not only as a player and teacher of how to play the instrument, but eventually as a Panorama arranger.

By 2007, differences over vision and direction led Margetson and several others to leave the Gemonites Steel Orchestra, leading to the founding of the Panache Steel Orchestra.

The name Panache was chosen for the combined meaning of flair, excellence, and flamboyance, qualities its founders hoped would become hallmarks of the band.

The new band moved forward without a major title sponsor and with limited resources. Yet Panache developed relationships throughout the community and the local business sector, finding supporters who consistently helped keep the orchestra moving.

Almost two decades later, Margetson remains involved. His role, however, has changed.

Today, he increasingly serves as an adviser, deliberately creating room for younger members to lead.

That transition reveals perhaps the most important part of his steelpan story. For Margetson, preserving pan means passing it on. Ask Margetson about the instrument and enthusiasm quickly enters his voice. “Pan is my passion. I eat, sleep, drink pan.”

That passion has never been limited to playing or competing at Panorama. He wants other people, particularly young people, to experience the exhilaration he first felt as a teenager sitting in the audience at Panorama in 1973.

That desire helped drive the creation and continuation of the Panache School of Pan, where the priority is teaching the instrument, not simply recruiting players for Panache. Students are immersed in the pan experience and encouraged to cherish the art form. Where they eventually choose to play is secondary.

Margetson has carried that philosophy into his work with the Sir Novelle Richards Academy Shining Stars Steel Orchestra, where he serves as Director and Arranger, as well as his involvement with church-based groups.

His motivation is not financial; it is to develop and preserve the art form among the youth of Antigua and Barbuda in particular.

Margetson is convinced that the steelpan yard can provide another avenue for discipline, belonging, creativity and productive engagement, helping to offset the restlessness and social challenges confronting some youth. “A panyard is much more than somewhere to learn notes; it is community.”

The Lessons Behind the Man

Margetson traces much of his approach to life back to his parents. They exemplified hard work, kindness, respect, honesty, integrity, and service. Spiritual development was equally important, and he was encouraged to participate actively in the various facets of the Catholic Church.

Those lessons followed him into adulthood: in the airline employee who kept learning until he became the trainer; in the musician who became the arranger and teacher; and in the experienced band member who deliberately moved into mentorship so the next generation could occupy the spotlight.

Taking Pan Next Level

After more than fifty years around steelpan, Margetson remains excited about its possibilities. But he is also concerned.

He believes Government can provide greater support, while recognising that meaningful progress must come from within the steelband movement itself.

In particular, he believes the Pan Association, of which he is a proud member, must become a stronger and more active institution.

He also believes Antigua and Barbuda needs to rethink where people encounter pan. Margetson sees decentralisation as one possible path forward, creating pan bases in communities outside St. John’s, making the instrument more accessible to children and adults who might otherwise never enter a pan yard.

 

 

Time Capsule Reflection

There is a beautiful symmetry to Robert “Robin” Margetson’s story.

Decades in aviation helping people learn how to move safely from one destination to another. Decades in steelpan, doing much the same thing with generations, from player to teacher to arranger to mentor.

The boy who walked into his first Panorama in 1973 could not have known that the sound would follow him for the rest of his life.

Through Harmonites, PMS Serenaders, Gemonites, Panache, the Panache School of Pan and the Sir Novelle Richards Academy Shining Stars, his fingerprints can be found across different generations of Antigua and Barbuda’s steel band story.

More than half a century after Panorama first captured his imagination, Robin Margetson is still guiding others to experience that same magic.

And, if he has his way, somewhere beyond St John’s, more youths will eventually pick up a pair of pan sticks, discover the sound for the first time and begin a journey of their own.