David ‘Ola’ Ijaduola - Music is my Heartbeat!

Aug 27

Aug 27 David ‘Ola’ Ijaduola - Music is my Heartbeat!

David’s musical journey with the steelpan started in 2001, under the tutorship of Alicia Brown, at the Albany Secondary School. From an early stage, Alicia noted David’s talent and vast ability. She decided to introduce him to the Pantasia Steelband, where he learned to play percussion for a short time, before moving to various steel pans in the band. In 2005, David won his first competition - Pan Explosion under the direction of Chris Storey. In 2006, David entered the same competition as an arranger for the first time, with the same band and they were victorious. He continued to persevere and excel within the band, for the following three years until the band became defunct in 2009. During his time at Pantasia, he was able to compete in various pan competitions including Panorama and the School Proms, along with winning his second Pan Explosion competition in 2009. After Pantasia folded David decided to concentrate on gigging and studying music.

David with Pantasia at Trafalgar Square Steelband Jamboree 2005.

In the summer of 2010, whilst gigging, David was introduced to Mark Williams, a member of Ebony Steelband, who invited him to play for UK National Panorama competition. Ebony was crowned winners that year and it was David’s first taste of winning on the big stage. After having such a great experience, David decided to join Ebony the following year for Panorama. He enjoyed it so much it was just a matter of time before he joined their stage side, in late 2011and played in the Ebony Christmas concert. In early 2012, David decided to take his musical journey with the steelpan further by accompanying a few Ebony players to the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. The band members were drawn to vibrant vibes of the BP Renegades and played with the band at the Trinidad and Tobago National Panorama competition. David said, “What stood out for me wasn’t just the vibe of the band and music, but the sense of order and discipline, which I had never seen in that way before”.

Renegades placed 4th in 2012 Panorama finals. Shortly after returning from Trinidad, David felt extremely inspired from his experience and was asked by Pepe Francis - Director of Ebony Steelband Trust to form a new generation of youth players within the band. They were called “Ebony Youth”. Alongside Joshua Prescod, they arranged various songs for the band that excelled throughout the year performing at gigs all over Europe as well as playing with the big band for Panorama. David was very excited when he stated, “It was a great time, we were all around the same age and became a family”.

In 2013, David decided to reform Ebony Junior’s, with the permission of Pepe Francis, David formed a band of players aged 11 to 16, who went on to perform at various gigs and won their first Junior Panorama. He said, “That was my opportunity to see if I could really jump into arranging in a panorama style, forming, experimenting and shaping my ideas”. The band grew larger every year and also placed 1st in 2014, 2016, and 2017 Junior Panorama competitions. Ebony Juniors won the 2015, 2016 and 2018 Pan Explosion competitions. Recently, David has passed handed over the Junior band to the capable Jody Humphries and Marcus Cumberbatch-King, two young, talented and aspiring arrangers.

David began entering the soloist competition - Pan Clash hosted by the Steelpan Trust in 2011, where he placed first and continued to be victorious in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016. When asked about what the Pan Explosion offered him he said, “I saw the competition as an opportunity to really express myself and show who I am”. In 2014, David shared the stage with pan soloist “Andy Narell” as one of the winning prizes for the 2014 Pan Clash competition. He said with a very big smile, “It was a privilege to play alongside someone whose music gave me inspiration on a different way to approach original compositions”.

David with Pepe Francis and Kayleigh Lewis at junior Panorama.

Through the hard wok of arranging for the Ebony Juniors, David received his first opportunity to arrange for a band at the 2015 UK National Panorama competition when he was invited to arrange for the Croydon Steel Orchestra (CSO). They played David’s musically arranged rendition of “Like ah Boss” by Machel Montano. He confirmed, “That was great experience and brought me out of my comfort zone, the feeling of having your music played on the big stage is unforgettable”. David went on to arrange for CSO in 2016 playing his musical arrangements of “Different Me” by 5Star Akil. David was very pensive when he said, “I got to dig deeper the second time round and work out different ways, I could arrange my style of music” In 2017, David returned to Ebony for Panorama as a player and has been there since.

Panorama 2021 , marks the first time David will be arranging for Ebony Steelband in the UK National Panorama competition. The band will be playing his musical arrangement of “Backyard Jam” by Farmer Nappy. David said, “This year is like no other. The band is coming back from a one-year break and the season has been a learning experience. I’m really excited for the band and the music this year!”

Away from Pan, David is an accomplished all round musician and composer. He has a flourishing career as a Music Producer, Songwriter, Film and TV composer, as well as a gigging musician with credits with the pop group “Rudimental, J.P.Cooper and Ade Josh”.  “The future is Bright!!”