TalkingDrums
The title TalkingDrums refers to both an ensemble and a project: It is the name of the student percussion ensemble at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart (HMDK Stuttgart), as well as a three-stage music education project with the same concert program.
The project: TalkingDrums - A concept for music education
TalkingDrums is a three-stage music educational concert project that has been developed in recent years by the percussionist and university lecturer Klaus Dreher and carried out by him and the TalkingDrums - Percussion Ensemble at HMDK Stuttgart in collaboration with local organizers and schools throughout Baden-Württemberg.
Stage 1: "Guest teaching" by individual ensemble members in the music classes of local schools a few days before the concert date.
Stage 2: School concert on the afternoon of the performance day in the concert hall of the local organizer, tailored and moderated for students.
Stage 3: Evening concert with the full program for the whole family available for open sale.
The artistic basis is the homonymous concert program, which is presented to the local audience in an evening concert for open sale. On the occasion of these concerts, the ensemble also offers a special concert for the local schools. This can be specifically prepared through workshops, where the performing musicians introduce individual or multiple classes to the world of percussion in music lessons and pre-rehearse the participatory parts of the concert with a small portion of the later concert audience.
In addition to the music pieces, integral components of the concert are the moderation, the mentioned participatory parts, clapping and stomping, as well as a chant-like battle cry integrated into the music that is shouted out by everyone on command. The moderation, along with the program selection, traces a path along the development of percussion music parallel to human civilization history.
