Kids Steel Drum Workshop

Who doesn’t like to hit a drum? When we play the steel drum, also known in the Caribbean as “playing pan”, we don’t actually hit it. We pull notes out of the pan. Making a note in a pan is easy and fun, and the reward is immediate. The joyous sound of the steel drums lightens your heart and makes your feet want to dance!

Kids ages 8 and up will learn a brief history of the steel drum, its Caribbean roots and social significance. Then using visual and aural techniques, rather than reading from music, you will learn how to be part of a steel band!  Admission: $30.00.

This class meets in the Owl Hall on the main level of the Education Wing.

MATERIALS
Make sure to eat a healthy breakfast, wear cool clothing and comfortable shoes, bring plenty of water, and get ready to “jump up”!

AMY HUGHES
A Yarmouth native, Amy Hughes grew up with an abundance of music and art at home. Piano lessons began in the second grade, as did watercolor painting with her father. On Sundays in the 1970’s Amy’s family attended evening concerts under the stars at Mattacheese Middle School. There was magic happening between the performers and the audience. The first time Amy struck a drum, she knew she would drum for the rest of her life.

In 1989 Amy moved to New Hampshire in order to raise a family, and to ski as much as possible. In 1995 she opened the Whittier House Restaurant, a bustling 250 seat establishment in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. She worked long hours and found no time for art or music for years. An ad in the Conway Daily Sun caught her eye, announcing beginner steel drum classes on Tuesday nights. Amy joined the steel band “Steel Dreams” in 2003 and has played with them in the annual PANFEST NEW ENGLAND every year since.

Amy returned home to Cape Cod in 2015, enjoying both painting and playing steel with local pan players. She lives in South Yarmouth with her life partner, Dawn.