Last summer, something very exciting happened at the Plainsboro Public Library when Gerry Hemingway performed — he received a standing ovation. “(Audiences at) our little venue, complete with professional Shakespeare and all sorts of performances, has never before given a standing ovation,” says Jinnie Baeckler, director of the library. “His improvisation is beyond belief; he can make music from anything — a rag, a bell, or a drum.”
The Plainsboro resident is a professional musician who makes his living performing and composing music. He is starting a drumming group open to the community, which kicks off with an organizational meeting on Sunday, January 25, at 5 p.m. Depending on the response, the meeting place is to be determined, but will be at the library, the municipal building, or his home. Call 609-716-8203 or E-mail Hemingway at gh@gerryhemingway.com to reserve a spot.
The group, designed for the simply enthusiastic to the advanced drummer, will focus on African, Cuban, and Haitian rhythms and include bi-weekly sessions. Hemingway’s hope is to congregate as many folks as possible who are interested in the unique experience of drumming together and to begin technically and musically wherever the group as a whole can manage. If you need a Djembe, or other hand drum, Hemingway will point you in the right direction.
“This effort to organize adults and kids together in a group to do ensemble drumming has been something I have wanted to initiate for the community since moving here over four years ago,” says Hemingway. Originally from Connecticut, he has lived in Plainsboro two years.
He primarily plays the trap drum set, but his association with hand drumming goes back to when he studied and performed with a Ghanian drum and dance group in the mid-1970s in Connecticut.
Since that time he has worked and collaborated with a number of African musicians, and all of the world music drumming traditions have been influential on his work as an improviser and composer.
Hand druming group, organizational meeting, Sunday, January 25, 5 p.m. 609-716-8203. Location to be determined.
