Phil Solomon has been making and playing steel drums by hand in since he was a child growing up in his native Guyana. He moved to Pittsburgh in 1984, and often visits grade schools, universities and civic groups, trying to get the word out about steel drums.



Today, Phil Solomon still crafts drums from old 55-gallon oil barrels in a tedious process that involves lots of cutting, carving and to-the-milimeter measurements with a compass. A single drum set can take hours, sometimes days, to finish.



Phil's daughter, Jonnet Solomon-Nowlin, runs the the US Steelpan Academy in Pittsburgh.