quality steel pan building and tuning
Handcrafting steel pan instruments in Minnesota since 2023
About Kunkel Instruments
Meet Jeremy
Jeremy Kunkel has dedicated over 30 years to percussion — performing, teaching, and now crafting instruments that bring the sound of steel pan to life.
His passion for the steel pan art form began while earning his Bachelor of Music Education at the University of Memphis, where he first discovered the steel pan’s expressive voice. Since then, Jeremy has performed and collaborated with world-class ensembles including the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, the Tony and Emmy award-winning Broadway production Blast!, and the Silver Stars Steel Orchestra of Trinidad and Tobago at the 2019 Panorama Finals.
As founder of the Pan Outreach program and Pan-handlers Steel Drum Band, Jeremy continues to share his love of pan through education and community engagement. In recent years, his journey has expanded into hand-crafting steel pans, blending decades of musical experience with a deep respect for the instrument’s Trinidadian roots.
A Minnesota native, Jeremy lives in Northfield with his wife and two children.