Performance brings rhythm to lunch
World Drumming students present talent in cafeteria
Students drum while paying close attention to Mr. Schmitz.
March 4, 2015
The sound of pounding drums filled the cafeteria Feb. 25, drowning out students’ chatter.
As students came in, they saw the World Drumming class sitting in a semicircle in the back with various types of drums.
Instrumental music teacher Steve Schmitz teaches this one semester class, and said it’s mainly for people who are generally not musicians.
“This is basically for people who are not in choir, band or a traditional music class,” Schmitz said.
Sophomore Jessica Lopez said she thoroughly enjoyed the performance.
“It’s something different and it looks really fun to try drumming,” Lopez said.
Students like freshman Daebreona Byrd said the performance was extremely interesting and entertaining.
“I really liked it, it’s really fun listening to all the different rhythms,” Byrd said.
The class also draws an extremely diverse crowd and uses diverse music, according to Schmitz.
“We mostly focus on West African and Caribbean drumming, but it also branches out to Irish and Native American too,” Schmitz said.
Schmitz also said the class has become a popular elective for students.
“We’ve had a waiting list from 60 to 90 kids for World Drumming, which is pretty cool,” Schmitz said. “We’re actually going to get approved to have more than one class a semester, to serve more kids.”
