Paul Munzenrider is the founder of Pan Association. His musical journey in pan will always be connected to his family and Uncle Jim, who introduced him to the instrument and convinced him to attend the Mannette Festival of Steel in 2003. That event was important in his journey as a pan player and forever influenced his playing, network, and development.

In 2009, Pan Association was created in Denver, Colorado as a means to promote his gigging steel drum group and educational endeavors. From there the group began playing and teaching in the area, and creating partnerships with musicians and other instrumentalists throughout town. Andrew Neldon moved to Denver a few years later and added more depth & expertise to the group.

Paul’s playing, teaching, and arranging for steel band has brought performance opportunities throughout the U.S. and Trinidad. In addition to those valuable summer workshops with the Ellie Mannette foundation, he has performed at the Trinidad Panorama competition 3 times in 2012, 2015, and 2017. He earned a Master’s degree from DU and worked closely with steel pan artist Tom Miller, as well as years studying with Don Prorak at CSU & playing in his pan group the Pan Jumbies. Paul was an instructor with the Rhythm Project steel pan education program in Virginia from 2014-2019 and honed his arranging & teaching abilities in all types of settings. His arrangements can be heard via the Pan Association Youtube page and compositions can be purchased via www.ramajay.com.