Imagine a gymnasium filled with over 100 students banging on their bongos and making awesome rhythms!
That’s exactly what happened at all three Revelstoke elementary schools where students had full-day workshops with professional Afro-Brazilian drummer Milton Randall. Students learned how people in African villages communicate by drumming and how every village had a master drummer who told stories through drumming.
Students practiced hard all day knowing that, at the end, their parents and the other kids from kindergarden to Grade 3 would come to watch a drumming and dancing performance.
Students thought it was a fun experience and want to thank the Revelstoke Arts Council, Art Starts and School District 19 for making this event happen.
Kobe Brunetti is a Grade 6 student at Begbie View Elementary School
Here are some photos taken by Kobe at Begbie View and a series of photos taken ay Columbia Park Elementary by The Current’s David Rooney:
Milton Randall tells a story to the rapt students he worked with at Begbie View Elementary on Wednesday.Photo by student reporter-photographer Kobe BrunettiPrimary kids at Begbie View drum on their bongos. Photo by student reporter-photographer Kobe BrunettiThe kids at Begbie View loved Milton Randalls’s drumming class. Photo by student reporter-photographer Kobe BrunettiWorld=class drummer Milton Randall brought his Groove Master Percussion skills to Revelstoke with drumming lessons at Columbia Park and Begbie View Elementary Schools. Here, he teaches Grade 4-6 CPE students some of his secrets. David F. Rooney photoAs you can see, the students were excited and eager to learn from Randall who combined humour with simple mnemonic devices centered around, of all things, the Darth Vader character from Star Wars. The kids lapped it up. David F. Rooney photoThis practice session began at 8:30 in the morning and lasted for two hours. The kids loved it. David F. Rooney photoRandall also taught the children about the importance of drum music in African, Brazilian, South American and Caribbean cultures. David F. Rooney photoEven teachers like Tracey Hill (center, back) were enthralled by Randall’s drumming skills and his tutorial. David F. Rooney photoAfter the two-hour practice, the kids broke for lunch and then came back to perform for the younger children, parents and teaching staff. The music of the drums naturally compels people to dance and dance the older children did!. David F. Rooney photoThe drums were so compelling that almost everyone in the audience — including Superintendent Mike Hooker (he’s not in this photo but he IS in the video), danced in a sinuous conga line. David F. Rooney photo
