Students March to Beat of
Different Drum
Written by Patricia Villers, Published by New Haven Register, October 21, 2002 .
Reprinted with permission.
The students, who are in the fifth through eighth grades, sat in a circle and
slowly got the hang of it.
Hector and Neal Joseph, natives of
Hector and Joseph have been building and playing drums for many years. In
"No rings on please, that can break the skin," Hector warned as they
formed their drumming circle.
"Sing the melody in your mind," he urged. "Say it to play
it."
Last week's session was the first in a 12-week program called "Drums Not
Drugs" sponsored by the Valley Substance Abuse Action Council. It is funded
with a $10,000 grant from the Katharine Matthies Foundation.
The initiative promotes cultural diversity, self-expression, leadership,
self-esteem and group worth.
Eighth-grader Julia Almestica, 13, is a native of
"This is nice because we learn different music and different culture,"
she said. "We learn how other cultures express themselves."
Julia said she previously tried beating the drum when the musicians gave a
demonstration at the center two weeks ago.
"We learned to hit both sides to count out beats (and) we learned to hit
different places to get different sounds," she said.
Before they played, the youngsters had to pass a manual dexterity test of sorts.
They wrapped bands of red fabric on two metal rings that circle the drum shells
carved out of wood from the
The next step was to cover the fabric by knotting black cord in a pattern.
"We do the bottom (ring) first, then the top," Joseph told
sixth-grader Kenyon Beene, 12. "We need to have the same number of notches
on the top and the bottom."
Kenyon patiently pulled the cord over and through, under and through and spaced
the knots apart to form a pattern of braiding.
Drums Not Drugs is an interactive program designed to give students a positive
after-school outlet.
"We've just received another grant for a second (similar) program in the
spring," said Pamela Mautte, VSAAC director. Funding comes from the
Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, she said, and will give 10 other
children the opportunity to learn drumming skills.
Jan. 6, 2003 Grade school
drummers chosen for poster kids
New Haven Register
Nov 05, 2002 Valley group gets 2
grants to curb substance abuse
New Haven Register
Oct 21, 2002 Students march to
beat of different drum
New Haven Register
Oct 14, 2002 Drumming away
boredom
New Haven Register
