About Dr. Clifford Alexis Memorial Steel Band

Dr. Clifford Alexis (1937-2019) spent his life performing, teaching, composing, arranging, building and tuning steelpans for musicians around the world. His life-long commitment to steelpan began as a youth Trinidad in Hit Paraders, Sterophonics, Joyland Synco Steelband, and the National Steelband. In the USA, he performed with BWIA Sunjets, and toured with his own band: Clifford Alexis and Trinidad Troubadours, closely associated to Liberace. Alexis honed his building and tuning skills out of necessity for maintaining the instruments while teaching steelband in St. Paul Minnesota schools (1972-1985). Alexis also tuned for the Navy Steelband where G. Allan O’ Connor scouted his talent and convinced Alexis to permanently come to Northern Illinois University (NIU) where he stayed for over 3 decades. His more recent awards included the Sunshine Hall of Fame Award (2002), PAS Hall of Fame (2013), an honorary doctorate degree (2017) from NIU, and from Trinidad, a Chaconia Silver (2018).