A Beat of Their Own
Anastasia Nikiforova’s day job is a Territory Development Manager for Office Depot’s Business Division, but in her free time, she’s a musician. She studied music growing up in her native Russia and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition from Brigham Young University. She wanted to teach younger children how to play percussion instruments and contacted Create Now to set up a workshop as part of our Sound Off music program. We found a great match for her at Upward Bound House, a transitional living facility in Santa Monica.
Each week, Anastasia demonstrated how to play each of the varied instruments and the kids tried them one at a time. She led them in rousing performances, with everyone creating rhythms from Africa, Brazil and other parts of the world. Each child got to be the leader, while the others followed. Every time they switched leaders, the kids also exchanged instruments. A highlight for them was dancing to African beats.
In the beginning, some of the younger children were restless and disruptive. Anastasia said, “For those children who were fussy and chaotic, they quickly calmed down when we played music. Those who lacked energy, were bored, or weren’t quite present seemed to come alive and get focused. Their eyes started sparkling. Then they all would get in the same pulse, the same rhythm, where everyone was together, contributing, feeling the music. There was a sense of togetherness in that creation.”
As always, the children who participated in our World Percussion Workshop received gift bags with all kinds of goodies, including Certificates of Participation. Here’s what the kids have to say:
Thanks to our sponsors: the In-N-Out Burger Foundation, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Northrop Grumman Foundation and the Good News for Kids Foundation. |
Click here to learn about our "Create A Mural Now" workshops, where youth work as a team to design and create a mural. The theme can fit your needs. Each project culminates with a party and gift bags for all participants.
Our Sound Off music program provides fun, educational projects and a unique learning experience for the vulnerable children that we serve. A number of studies have found high correlations between music training and mathematical reasoning. Other research shows that music education improves several diverse aspects of cognition in the brain, including children’s attention spans.
For Anastasia’s World Percussion Workshop, Create Now supplied many diverse instruments, including conga drums and tambourines, donated by a group of college students. We also bought exotic yet inexpensive percussion instruments with a discount from Serrv International, a nonprofit that sells fair-market handmade items from artisans all over the world. This was made possible through the support of our donors.
Another fun exercise allowed each child to play the conductor. If they raised their hand high, then everyone had to play their instruments loudly. When they lowered their arm, the music was played softy. The kids had a blast as they changed the intensity of the beats, feeling powerful and more confident when the other children followed their lead.
Upward Bound House Activities Coordinator Adrienne James said, “The workshop was very exciting and it was fun watching the kids sing, dance, and play the instruments. They learned how to make rhythms, beats, and really looked forward to Wednesdays.”
These kids are hungry for knowledge about music, and as you can see, they derive so much joy and self esteem from playing. To help Create Now continue our Percussion Workshops, please donate today!