Spring Retreat

Sessions

Our Camp offers drum classes at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels with a variety of teachers.

Drum
Learning in this environment will do wonders for your drumming: the djembe always repays the time you invest in it. A weekend of drumming will challenge you in terms of stamina and retention, as well as the content you tackle. You’ll actually notice the difference in your playing most after the event – the flow given by training muscle memory and the tuning of your ear to an immersion in the music will show the few days after

Drum Teachers 

Simon Fraser
Simon has been drumming his heart out all his life. Starting with plastic drum-kits and pots n pans as a kid and then graduating to a drum kit, he’s played many styles of music and found his passion in West African rhythms. Annual trips to West Africa since the mid 1990’s have seen him collaborate with some of the regions’ great percussionists. Simon returns to the region every year in search of new music, running a Tour to Africa. His love and knowledge of rhythm translates to his teaching where he focuses on tapping into your creativity, dexterity, honoring tradition and having fun.

Boubacar Gaye
Bouba first laid his hands on a drum in Senegal at the budding age of 14. Inspired by the musical mentors around him he became a member of the infamous Mama Afrika. Under the guidance of ballet professor Joseph-Raphael Bouschanzl, Bouba’s skills and passion grew quickly and soon he was also a member of the renowned Foret Sacre Ballet. In 1997 Bouba ventured to Europe and then onto Japan where he established himself as a leading African percussionists. With an energy and peace of mind that resonates from deep within – Bouba speaks a thousand words with his drum.

Mohamed Camara
Mohamed Camara has been performing and teaching traditional Guinean percussion for over a decade. Former djembe soloist for internationally-renowned Guinean ensembles Ballet Destin, Ballet Bolonta and Les Sorciers de Guinée, Mohamed has studied and performed with master drummers Aliou Sylla, Fadouba Oularé, and Miriam Makeba’s percussionist Papa Kouyaté.

Laura Kirkwood
Laura has been studying percussion for over 12 years, touring and recording with various bands ranging from jazz to ska. Following the beat of her own drum, she attended African Drumming’s 2013 tour to West Africa, studying with Master drummers in Ghana and Burkina Faso.  After completing African Drumming’s Teacher Training Course, Laura had the opportunity to teach workshops across Australia, and began teaching her own music therapy classes in Brisbane. Laura believes that music can transcend language barriers and is sometimes a language of its own.