Current Affiliations
Pan Masters Steel Orchestra
Dynamic Steel Project, Founder & Music Director
NEXUS DMV, Founder & Music Director
Cultural Academy For Excellence, Music Director
The Elite Pan Consortium, Member
Black Berklee Network, Creator & Co-Founder
HBCU Jazz Education Initiative, Founding Member
NAFME / MMEA Member
Recording Academy Professional Member
Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University
Past & Seasonal Affiliations
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra OrchKids
Pan Lara Steelband (Instructor/Arranger)
Berklee Steelpan Ensemble
Boston's Branches Steel Orchestra
Pan Evolution Steel Orchestra (Panorama only)
Pantonic Steel Orchestra (Panorama only)
Washington National Steel Orchestra
Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra Alumni Ensemble
Birdsong Steel Orchestra (Panorama only)
Carib Dixieland Steel Orchestra (Panorama only)
ADLIB Steel Orchestra (Panorama only)
St. Matthew's Harmony Steel Orchestra (Panorama only)
St. Veronica's Youth Steel Orchestra (Instructor/Arranger)
Tropical Ensemble
Originating from her great-grandfather Aubrey Armorer, a top-notch upright bassist who played for calypsonian The Mighty Sparrow and popular Trinidadian big band, the Fitz Vaughan Bryan Orchestra, Khandeya's musical heritage continues today with her family's involvement in the steelband movement. She experienced the frequencies of steelpan music before birth as her mother, father, aunts, uncles, and cousins were playing members of the Trintoc Tobago All Stars Steel Orchestra. At the time, the ensemble was under the baton of Mrs. Gwyneth Armstrong and the late Mr. Alston "Cannon" Jack who would become one of her mentors later in her life.
Khandeya began formally playing pan with her family in Tropical Ensemble (Baltimore, MD), further exposing her to music theory and arranging for steelband in a contemporary setting. For the past 25+ years, Khandeya has been gaining experience as a performer and playing member of various steelbands, participating in Panorama competitions in Virginia, New York, Trinidad & Tobago under noted composers and arrangers such as Leon "Smooth" Edwards, Ken “Professor” Philmore, Andy Narell, and Andre White.
As a local talent in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area, Khandeya has performed alongside Warrant Officer (Ret'd) Robert Tobitt of the T&T Defence Force Steel Orchestra (UB). She has accompanied Ray Holman and Jeff Narell as part of an All-Star steelband (Cherry Hill, Baltimore). In 2008, she supported Grammy award-winner Esperanza Spalding as a member of Pan United Youth Movement, led by Shawn & Sherwin Thwaites (UMD). In 2019, Khandeya and NEXUS were the first act to perform featuring the steelpan as a main instrument in the Sofar Sounds franchise (Baltimore location).