Lunenburg Drum Circle, Saturday, Feb 19!

This month, we’ll be moving away from traditional rhythms and
exploring the magic of free flowing, group rhythms. In a
facilitated drum circle, the group will learn to listen to each other
and come away with a clear understanding of how to improvise
in any drumming session. This session is appropriate for all ages
and drumming skill levels.
Date:
Sunday, February 19
Times:
2pm-4pm (Registration at 1:30)
Cost:
$25 bring any drum
Location:
Lunenburg Cultural Centre, 114 Fox St.
Register:
Email wlw3@mac.com
Bring:
Any drum or percussion instrument. If you
do not have anything come and play
something that Kelly brings.
All types of drums welcome.
Kelly is bringing nine extra drums
and a box of percussion
instruments, if you do not have
anything to play.

Been neglecting the ol' website as of late...but things are happening!

Ok, so quickest update ever:

Today I went to a drumming workshop in Lunenburg. It was great. I'll be hosting the one next month and I'm really looking forward to it!

Back in December I did a 10 minute drum circle for my work's Christmas meeting do. It was seamless and surprised everyone there! Everyone really loved it and as a result, I've been asked to come to a circle (yes, during my 9-5 working hours!) with an off-shoot group that our organisation facilitates.

I have also been in communication with a former schoolmate of mine. She's now working as an Occupational Therapist at the QE2 (hospital in Halifx). She's received some funding and wants to do a trial circle on Feb 23rd. She's working with people recovering from mental health difficulties...a population I've been trying to work with now for over a year. Still waiting for confirmation, but so far so good.

I had hoped to finally launch my Drumming for Mental Health this month, but problems yet again. This time an expired check and uncertainty over whether a new one will be issued. Long story short, the workshop has been promoted as a "coming soon"...not at this rate!!!  >_<

Anywhoo, Friday night I was back at Humani-t cafe and decided to bring some toys to share. HAve made some new friends and the result was a sweet last minute drum session. If you head over to YouTube, you can see the video here.

Adventure Earth Centre

I led a drum circle last night at the Adventure Earth Centre. What a great group! It's so interesting to me to see how in tune a group can become. This group had already worked with one another and it showed in their music. I had 12 participants, ages 12-16 and a lot of laughter.

Great night had by all!

Drumming for a women's choir group

I was invited to join the Gaia Singers this past week to drum with them for the launch of their latest CD, Widening Embrace. We performed last night at St. Margaret's of Scotland church on Robie street. It was a lot of fun. The ladies were kind enough to invite me to another performance tomorrow in PEI, but unfortunately I won't be able to make it. Still, great experience!

Drum Camp 2011 !

Well folks, I've been busy making calls and sending emails. I'm told the summer months can be tricky for organising events, but I'm going to give it a go anyway.

For those of you coming to this site looking for more info, you've come to the right place!

So what's the purpose of this camp anyway?

Well, to be honest, I'm robbing a brilliant idea I once heard of. It was a group that worked with homeless people and got them together to form a choir. They practiced each week until they were ready to perform. The benefits were obvious from the video. These folks suddenly had a place to go and a reason to be.

Drum camp is aiming to achieve something very similar. I want the participants to have a place where they can come and feel free to be themselves, while learning a skill they can be proud of. I envision this camp as an opportunity for participants to make new friends, learn how to work as a team and experience first hand the joys associated with collaborative music making.

This week long program is phase 1 of a project I hope to extent (as with so many great projects, subject to funding) to include a composition segment and later, a pulic performance series.

Obviously, this cannot be achieved without people! So, please, spread the word about this program. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health difficulty, and you're between the ages of 16 and 30 we want to hear from you!

Some finer details:

Dates: Monday July 18th-Friday July 22nd

Times: 10am-12:30pm (potluck lunch to follow)

Location: Chocolate Lake Recreation Facility (Herring Cove Road, served by bus 19 and 15 I think?)

Cost: FREE!

Update on Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 3:35PM by Kelly

Looks like we're going to have to make a few more partnerships with folks in the area before this camp will run. Had a few people interested, but not enough to go ahead. We'll get there...