Review of "World of Drumming" Event

It's been a couple of days since the World of Drumming event which was held on Friday night (12/1) in Grass Valley, and I am still recovering from memories of the event. It turned out to be a wonderful evening with a completely sold out house. It exceeded everyone's expectations.
All of the performers were wonderful and included the following groups or individuals:

• GRASS VALLEY TAIKO JAPANESE-STYLE DRUMMING
• CONGA BYA WITH BOB SCARLETT
• GARY GREENBERG Afro-Cuban Bata Group Ome Ache
• JOE FAZEN TABLA NORTH INDIAN CLASSICAL DRUMS
• CAPOEIRA RACA EM MOVIMENTO BRAZILIAN CAPOEIRA
• DA' OWAGA with AWENDES and the \ FEATHER RIVER SINGERS
• DRUMMERS CEILI CELTIC GATHERING
• TYNOWYEN MIDDLE EASTERN DRUMMING

The evening went off without a hitch and the finale was awesome, with over 70 musicians on stage, playing in sync. The amazing thing about the finale was that we only practiced twice prior to the event, so it speaks volumes about the skills of those involved that it came off as well as it did.

I enjoyed everyone's performance, beginning to end. Everyone had fifteen minutes to perform a set of 2-3 songs, and every performance left you wanting to hear more. It was a whirlwind tour of music traditions from around the planet.

I especially enjoyed the gals (form Da'Owaga, Awendes & Feather River Singers) singing and playing the mother drum. This was the first time that members of the various groups had come together to perform and it included folks from Tahoe to the Bay Area. They kicked off the performance with grace, and even though they we stressing back stage beforehand that the singing wouldn't be heard (since we didn't mic the singers), the performance was amazing.

It's hard for me to write about all of the other wonderful performers, as they were all awesome. I enjoyed each of the performances and I'll cherish the opportunity which we all had to experience the variety of music presented. I am thankful to Saul, Mitzi and Mel for letting be a part of this rare and wonderful experience. The bar was set high, but everyone involved had a great time, so I expect that this won't be the last time we present an event like this. BUT - make sure that you attend the next one!

You can still donate:

If you were unable to attend the evening, but would still like to donate to this cause you can find out more on this weblink: http://www.tibetech.org/Appeal.html

Tibetech.org is the 501C3 Non Profit founded by Melanie Sullivan of Sierra Friends of Tibet. Sullivan will be traveling to a remote refugee camp in India in January-February to purchase computers and establish the Sierra Friends of Tibet Computer Learning Lab at the Jangchup Choeling nunnery. Tibetech.org will eventually open web-portals between the camp (which is also home to the visiting monks) and Sierra Friends of Tibet, for telemedicine support, distance learning programs and an entire world of opportunity to move the camp towards sustainability. "Just last month we learned yet again, of another Tibetan nun and children who were shot trying to cross the Himalaya to freedom. Along with compassion, Technology is the weapon of choice in fighting these injustices and we are committed to bringing this project to fruition. "