Elgin’s High School Calypso band performs at the Oregon Music Educators Association Conference
By Garrett Christensen on Wednesday, January 28th, 2026 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
ELGIN – The Elgin High School Calypso band recently added another unique performance to its nine-year history. At around 9:00 a.m. on Friday, January 16, fourteen students, led by Elgin music teacher Tucker Murphey, performed at the 2026 Oregon Music Educators Association’s annual conference in Eugene, a first for the class.
In addition, the Elgin Calypso band was the only Eastern Oregon high school band to be invited this year. Following a great performance in the Soreng Theater, Murphey was invited to give a presentation about the Elgin Calypso Band, how it began, and how other schools across the state could start their own.
For those unfamiliar, A Calypso band is a steel pan/drum ensemble playing traditional Calypso and Soca music from Trinidad and Tobago. Elgin’s Calypso band is one of only two Calypso ensembles in the state of Oregon (the other being at Oregon State University) and is the only one of its kind in the state at the high school level. Reflecting on this year’s performance, Murphey remarked:
“We take a lot of pride in what we do in representing Elgin. Having something unique and special coming out of Elgin really means something to us. We try to really be the best representation that we can be. We have high expectations for our performance level.”
The band also possesses 14 different instruments, all of them originally from Trinidad. This does, however, mean that traveling light for out-of-area performances isn’t possible. Combined with a lack of compensation for the travel, the students turned to community sponsors to help. Murphey and the students would like to give thanks to:
- Patricia and Robert Beck
- Dian Witherspoon
- Bud and Janet Scoubes
- Roulet family
- Roberta Murphey
Former Elgin School District Superintendent Dianne Greif also provided the trailer the band used to haul their instruments.
Alongside the OMEA performance, three students, Ely Murphy (Tuba), Riley Morehead (French Horn) and Daniela Tomphson (Trombone) went on to perform as part of this year’s Oregon All State Band.
