During a challenging and unpredictable Spring of 2020, Al-Bustan’s Community Percussion Ensemble continued to create rhythms, stay connected with each other, and advanced their understanding of Arab percussion. Slated to be the first Community Percussion Ensemble to have the entirety of their twelve week session held in Al-Bustan’s new Hub on Lancaster Avenue, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the class to be hosted virtually for the last four classes of the term.
The group adapted quickly and with good spirits, and kept up with their drumming via pre-recorded tutorials from Teacher and Master Percussionist Hafez Kotain. For the last meeting of class, the Ensemble met via zoom to see each other for the first time in weeks, talk about the material they had been covering, and look ahead to future performances when life returns to normal.
In January 2020, before the pandemic changed the way class was conducted, the Community Percussion Ensemble ushered in an exciting new chapter; not only did the group have a new practice space at Al-Bustan’s hub, but it also welcomed three new beginner students. This meant that, for the first time in several years, Al-Bustan was able to host two sections of the class: Advanced and Beginner. This allowed the eleven returning students to continue to hone the material they spent the Fall learning, while the three beginners were able to learn in a small group with lots of individualized attention.
While the group’s scheduled performances were cancelled due to the pandemic (one at the Please Touch Museum on May 30 and another at Al-Bustan’s hub to celebrate the end of their class), on their April 8 Zoom Meeting, the group looked forward to reconvening and performing sometime in the future. “Keep practicing,” Hafez Kotain told the Ensemble, “because we hope to have more performances coming up.” The group asked Hafez and each other questions, shared insights into the new percussion solos, and swapped tips for staying motivated in their percussion practice and positive during shelter-in-place. Several ensemble members spoke to how drumming was a way of staying busy and stimulated during this time, and others said that the increased time at home meant much more time for practicing and learning. The zoom call (and final class meeting of the Spring) ended with smiles, well-wishes, and a hopeful “see you soon.”
