The Sentinel
Kings County libraries are usually known as a place of peace and quiet but this week they were filled with the sounds of the Caribbean as kids participated in a steel pan drum circle, which capped off the Kings County Library’s Summer Reading program, themed Reading to the Rhythm.
Ray McNamara, a world music and contemporary percussion master, shared his knowledge of the steel pan drum. He lived in Trinidad, where the pan drum originated, to learn about the history of the instrument and the people who created it.
“I got to live with them. I got to eat their food. I got to sing songs with them. I got to learn everything about them as well as the pan, so I think it’s really cool I get to share it with you guys,” McNamara said.
The children smashed hollow-plastic tubes on the ground and beat pans with wooden sticks to learn about the evolution the islanders went through to resourcefully create music out of found objects.
Today the drum circle will be held at the Lemoore library at 11 a.m. and the Stratford at 2 p.m.. Tomorrow McNamara and his steel pans will visit Hanford at 10 a.m. and Corcoran at 1 p.m.
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