15/11/21: Free percussion workshops at Equinox Festival
15 September 2021
Ross-on-Wye’s first one-day community wellbeing and world music event, the Equinox Festival, on Saturday 25 September at the Bandstand, will be running two kashaka percussion workshops from 1pm as part of its live music programme. The organisers, Ross-on-Wye Town Council, are offering free places to schools and organisations as well as anyone who is interested in learning about this fascinating instrument.
The percussion workshops will be led by musician Jon Sterckx, a highly experienced innovative percussionist with over 30 years’ experience of working with world percussion and world music. He works across a wide range of musical styles, from Indian classical music to contemporary experimental & ‘fusion’ styles. Jon has delivered a variety of workshops to schools, colleges, universities and festivals including tabla, world music, Indian music & world rhythm. He studied tabla in the UK with Harjinder Singh Matharu, one of Europe’s leading santoor players, and also studied with several leading musicians in India. Jon was a selected performer at the National Celebration of British Asian Live Arts in 2008, and his sitar & tabla duo Samswara was voted ‘Best Group in South West & South Wales’ in the MTM South Asian & Ethnic Minorities Awards 2014. Jon has performed twice at TEDx events – global educational forums – and his performance at TEDxWarwick was selected from over 10,000 TED events globally for the TED Global Music Project.
Jon’s workshops at the festival will use kashaka shakers, which originate from West Africa and are a lot of fun to play. They are simple instruments made from two small gourds or balls, filled with seeds or beads & joined with rope. Capable of creating highly complex rhythmic patterns and polyrhythms, kashakas are a great tool for any musician to develop and improve dexterity and rhythmic capabilities. They can be used as a warm-up before practice and performances and although some of the more advanced moves are quite tricky, they can be used and enjoyed by anyone from primary age to adults. They are also wonderful for improving timing and developing coordination, and playing them exercises the wrists and forearms and help to develop supple muscles. More information can be found at www.jonsterckx.co.uk/kashaka or www.kashaka.uk.
The workshops will be held outside under a stretch tent next to the Bandstand in Ross-on-Wye and kashakas will be provided to all participants.
Places on the kashaka workshops are free and on a first come first served basis – to register, please email Jane at tourism@rosstc-herefordshire.gov.uk.
Further details of the Equinox Festival can be found on the Ross-on-Wye Town Council Facebook page under ‘Events’ (www.facebook.com/rosstowncouncil1).