|
|
|
Fall 2003 Newsletter
Back
to Index
Steel Drums: Creative Outlet for Youth
.........................................................................
 On
a hot summer afternoon, the tropical
sounds of Jamaica fill the fellowship
hall of Brighton Rock AME Zion Church
in Portsmouth as the Urban Arts
Center showcases its summer camp
students' talents. Dozens of young
people wield mallets that coax music
out of steel drums as they move
through a repertoire that ranges from
"Heart and Soul" to Beethoven's "Fur
Elise" and "Jamaica Farewell." The
applause is thundering, and one
grandmother joins the musicians for
some impromptu dancing.
Besides teaching musical skills, the
six-week summer camp kept more than
80 youths busy learning in what would
otherwise be idle time. "Drumming
helps people learn self-esteem and is
a way to help young people gain more
discipline," says Charisse Spencer;
artistic director for the Urban Arts
Center; which is part of the Center
for Community Development.
The children's musical education
doesn't have to end when school
starts since the Urban Arts Center
offers drumming and steel pan classes
year-round to people ranging in age
from first graders to octogenarians.
The Portsmouth center has taught
drumming classes since 1994 using a
variety of patched-together equipment
- stands welded from plumbing pipes
and mallets crafted from dowels and
donated rubber tips. With help from a
$15,000 grant from The Norfolk
Foundation the center purchased
equipment needed for its 52 drums.
“The grant allowed us to buy cases,
mallets and stands,“ Spencer says.
“We even have a special stand for a
woman who can't stand up to play
because of her heart condition.
When asked why they enjoy playing
steel drums, Kristina Hudson, 12, and
Tomas Reid, 11, both say they “like
the sound.” But 15-year-old Waneysha
Bazemore, an I.C. Norcom High School
student and four-year steel drum
veteran, has another answer. "Playing
the drums gives me a challenge and
something to do besides sit in my
house."
.............................................................................
To learn more about the Urban Arts
Center and the Center for Community
Development Inc. call 399-0925 or
visit
www.wivw.ccdt-va.net
Back to Fall
2003 Newsletter Index
|
