Panyard
Interior of the panyard, littered with steel pan drums ready to be played.
Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko
What may look like the inside of a life-sized concrete box serves as the rehearsal room for Oberlin Steel or OSteel, a popular student-led performance group. The walls are punctuated with multicolored, spray-painted names of song titles, nicknames of former band members, and assorted posters and flyers from past and upcoming performances.
The steel pans, drums, and music stands take up much of the space referred to as the Panyard. It’s located in the basement of Hales Gymnasium, where members meet several times a week during the academic year to practice beats and perfect tones.