Wheaton Municipal Band concert to feature DeKalb steelpan drum soloist

Steelpan dummer Jaden Teague Nunez, a recent graduate of DeKalb High School, will join the Wheaton Municipal Band for a performance Thursday, July 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Park in downtown Wheaton.

According to a news release, Nunez recently soloed with the Chicago Symphony. He recently became the first steelpannist to win the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition in 2024.

“I started playing steelpan when I was around 7 or 8 years old when my dad gave it to me for my birthday, which paved the way for my musical career, eventually learning piano and percussion,” Nunez said in the news release.

His father, Liam Teague, is a renowned steelpan performer and currently on the faculty at Northern Illinois University.

“My vision aligns with my dad’s goal for pan; showcasing the versatility of the pan and be able to present its many musical possibilities, like playing classical music, jazz, calypso, rock and many more with orchestras, jazz ensembles, wind ensembles and percussion ensembles,” Nunez said in the release.

Some of the selections on the program include, “Salute to American Jazz,” “Rhapsody in Steel” by Kevin Bobo, “Symphonic Dance No 3” by Clifton Williams and “Tempered Steel” by Charles Rochester Young.

Admission is free.

For more information, visit wheatonmunicipalband.org.