The NIU Steel Band was started in 1973 by G. Allan O'Connor, who was head of percussion studies in the School of Music at that time. It was the first actively-performing steel band formed in an American university and has performed extensively throughout the United States, Trinidad, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Trinidad, and the Czech Republic. In 1983 O'Connor assumed the duties of Assistant Chair of the School of Music. Soon afterward, Clifford Alexis was hired on staff as builder, tuner, and arranger for the band, leaving his position as steel band instructor at St. Paul Central High School, St. Paul, Minnesota. When O'Connor was appointed Associate Dean of NIU's College of Visual and Performing Arts, Alexis became the co-director of the steel band, and as such is responsible for the preparation of all the calypso and popular music performed by the band. Many of the pieces are his own compositions, which usually attempt to show the versatility of the instruments by combining several musical styles such as calypso and jazz.
Over the years, the NIU Steel Band has broadened the repertoire and performance venues for this unique musical instrument, including a performance for 18,000 soccer fans in Yankee Stadium, concerts with many symphony orchestras (including the St. Louis Symphony and the Chicago Sinfonietta), numerous performances at International Conventions of the Percussive Arts Society (more than any other steel band), and two highly successful tours of the Republic of China in 1992 and 1998. In 2000 the NIU Steel Band "shook up" the pan world by placing 2nd in the World Steelband Festival in Trinidad, and in 2002 performed the opening concert and several others at the Seoul (Korea) Drum Festival.
Since the introduction of the steel band at NIU, over 50 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada have formed their own ensembles. The majority of these bands use drums that were manufactured by Alexis. O'Connor and Alexis continue to assist in the formation of new steel bands and give workshops and performances throughout the U.S. and Canada. O'Connor has started many of the bands that now exist in U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities, as well as in New Zealand and at the National Institute of the Arts in Taiwan.
The steel band program at NIU includes individual instruction on pan, and performance in one or more of the three steel bands. The All-University Steel Band is open to any NIU student regardless of major or previous experience on pan. The NIU Steel Band is the 35-member top group and is comprised of many percussion majors and "graduates" of the All-University Steel Band. The NIU Steel Band performs regularly at public schools, colleges and universities, conventions and arts series concert programs. The third band is affectionately known as "The Little Band." It utilizes the finest players in the program, and performs extensively each summer.
In the fall of 2001 pan virtuoso and NIU alum Liam Teague joined our faculty to augment the steel band program. G. Allan O'Connor retired from NIU in the summer of 2003.