T&T mourns death of pan innovator Bertie Marshall

Pan legend Bertie Marshall is dead. He was 74 and had been suffering from complication related to diabetes. 

Marshall is credited with introducing harmonic tuning of Steelpan notes in 1956, as well as inventing the double tenor instrument. He was also the first person to amplify the pan and has been building and tuning instruments for Desperadoes since 1970.

He developed the Quadrophonics, Six Pan and Twelve Bass together with Rudolph Charles of Desperadoes Steel Orchestra from Laventille.

Marshall was part of a project of the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) in 1982 that investigated the possibilities of machine production of Steel Pans. He was awarded the Chaconia Medal (Gold) in 1992 and the nation's highest national award, the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, in 2008.

In June, the government promised to help the ailing marshall with housing and other needs. (Click here to read the story)

Pan Trinbago president Keith Diaz told local media: “Bertie was the ultimate icon of pan invention in T&T. He would be missed for the excellent tonal quality he brought to the instrument. Bertie produced instruments of the highest quality."

Read the tribute in the GUARDIAN