PRESS RELEASE

Drum For Fun - Communication and Community through Music
January 21, 2017 - Cedar City, Utah

Marissa Brown is a creative and enthusiastic advocate for all styles of music. Percussion and drumming have always been an amazing outlet and way for her to express myself. In a society that increasingly lives online, she wanted to design a project and experience to open people up to new opportunities and try communicating through music instead of words. Marissa taught many different groups in and out of the Southern Utah community. Each experience was different, but each group had so much fun learning more about drum circles and percussion and how it all got started a very long time ago in Africa.

Marissa put together about an hour long program in which she went over some the History of Africa and drum circles in general – what they used to be, and what they are today. She taught about how people used to and still do communicate through drum circles without even using words, and tried a few activities with no one speaking. At Parowan High School, the students made parallels about how to take what was learned from drumming together and applying it into real life, such as “listening to your neighbor,” “that many different instruments come together to make music,” “everyone’s voice is important,” and that is no limit on creativity. The beautiful thing about drum circles is that they are different every time and it is a very improvisational and creative process for everyone involved.

Of the project as a whole, Brown said: “I felt so creative and liberated throughout this process as I was encountering so many different people in different settings. I had to make some of my own instruments, process how to talk to people through music that can’t otherwise communicate, and teach music to people that had never touched an instrument before. From special needs homes to preschools- each group expressed differently and had a unique experience. Who knew there could be so much learning about communication by putting phones and words aside and going back to primal mode?”

Marissa’s hope and dream is to keep doing these drum circles and would love to turn it into a business since she is so passionate about music and creativity! She is grateful to Southern Utah University and the DrumBus for sponsoring her for these projects and giving access to many instruments and resources needed to provide a portable music classroom to the amazing groups she worked and learned with. ###

Contact Information:
Marissa Brown
801-928-0016
marissa.jenell.brown@gmail.com
149 S. 300 W. Cedar City, UT, 84720
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/marissajenell
Website: http://marissajenellbrown.wixsite.com/drumforfun