Joy Lapps at St. Mary Magdalene Church

Globally recognized artist and composer Joy Lapps activates spaces for community building and creative expression. The award-winning instrumentalist of Antiguan and Barbudan descent treats the steelpan as a tool for engagement. She amplifies women’s contributions in all her work, giving nuanced attention to women of the steelband movement.

Her repertoire teems with Afro-Caribbean- and Afro-Brazilian-inspired rhythmic and harmonic patterns, melody and plenty of space for spontaneity. Her fondness for hit song forms and reimagined instrumental choirs emerge frequently in her compositions.