Community School of the Arts offers drumming and rhythm instruction in Oct. and Nov.

GOSHEN, Ind. – The Goshen College Community School of the Arts (CSA) will offer two special instructional opportunities that are open to the public in October and November.

Drumming instructor Garner Wireman will lead a community drum circle in the Goshen College Music Center lobby on Saturday, Oct. 21 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. No registration is required, and no experience is necessary. Participants can bring their own drum or use one provided by the CSA. Drum circles have gained recent popularity as community-building entertainment for all ages. The CSA is pleased to offer this opportunity for community members to experience improvisational hand drumming in a group setting.

Instructor Talashia Keim Yoder will lead a rhythm workshop based on the high-energy style of performance arts groups like “STOMP.” The workshop, for students age 14 and over, will be held Saturday, Nov. 18 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Music Center Room 153. This workshop will combine ideas from tap and drumming, integrating the body, found objects and group-work to make visual music. Participants in the workshop will learn “STOMP” concepts and rhythm patterns, and as a group will experiment with body sound. Tuition is $10, and participants are asked to register through the Music Center Main Office by calling (574) 535-7361.

Garner Wireman is a professional drum circle facilitator and has facilitated over 250 hours of drum groups. He and his wife Angie Wireman recently founded Pulse Beat Nation, a recreational music-making company that offers drum circles to businesses, organizations and individuals. A student in the GC organizational leadership program, Garner’s vision for drumming led him to be named in July 2006, as the first Goshen College student in the adult program to receive a grant from the Goshen College Business Department’s Entrepreneurship Learning Center to assist in his endeavors.

Talashia Keim Yoder has trained in ballet, Irish step-dancing, tap and additional styles of dance at various levels, and has taught dance for the past eight years. She has also been active as a choreographer in productions on many stages, including those of Bethany Christian Schools, Hesston College, Tabor College and has recently choreographed several Goshen College theater productions.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.