BBCC to present Drum Fest on Saturday

MOSES LAKE — Big Bend Community College will get rhythm this Saturday when the Drum Fest takes over the Wallenstien theater. 

“It will be a workshop-slash-mega drum line,” said John Owen, associate professor of music at BBCC.   

The drumming begins at 6 p.m. with a world drumming workshop, according to the event’s promotional flier. All ages are invited to join a drum circle that will explore drum techniques from a variety of cultures and traditions. 

“That'll focus mostly on world rhythms, predominantly from West Africa, Cuba (and) Puerto Rico, so Caribbean and West African rhythms,” Owen said. “Then there will be some short workshops where we talk about drum set, marimba, things like that.” 

Drums will be available for workshop participants to borrow, Owen said, or they can bring their own if they prefer. 

“At the college, we have a lot of we have a lot of djembes, a lot of congas and other drums that can be used,” Owen said. “Sometimes people are really into this (and) they use their own equipment. It's kind of a combination. If somebody doesn't have (a drum), they can come in and just play; if they do have it, great.” 

That drum circle will be followed by master classes in drum set, marimba and snare, according to the promo. These are intended for players with a little experience, Owen said.  

“The master class will be geared kind of toward school musicians and people who are already playing,” he said. “This would be local drummers that play in a band, or kids who are at one of the local middle schools, which all have great music programs, (or) the high school.” 

Owen does workshops at schools in Ephrata, Quincy and Othello as well as Moses Lake, he added, and student musicians from those districts are welcome as well. 

Next comes the bring-your-own-drum mega-drumline, according to the flier. That’s oriented toward marching percussion, Owen said.   

“We’ll usually have kids from the different schools come out,” he said. “The main part of the experience is that they get to play with the college drummers. (It’s) a pretty big deal ... to stand side-by-side next to somebody who plays at a high skill level.” 

The program will conclude with a performance by BBCC’s jazz ensemble, Owen said. The show is called “Flannel,” and will serve as a kind of documentary of drumming, moving from what Owen described as a ballad of flannel into percussion-focused arrangements of grunge music of the 1990s. The jazz band will also play classic jazz pieces arranged to highlight the drums, Owen said. 

“They’ll be playing a Buddy Rich tune called ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,’” he said. “They’ll be playing Brubeck’s ‘Take Five;’ there's an iconic drum solo in there by the late, great Joe Morello, that the drummer actually has transcribed and learned.” 

Admission to the Drum Fest is free for BBCC students and $15 at the door for everyone else. There’s no preregistration necessary, Owen said.  

In the past, the Drum Fest has been held in the BBCC gym, Owen said; this will be the first time at the Wallesnstien. The acoustics are better in the theater, he said, especially for such a large ensemble. 

“We have three marimbas, two vibraphones, three snares, three basses (and) two tenors,” Owen said. “It’s (about) 20 players and it includes rhythm section, marching percussion and mallet percussion.” 

    Big Bend music professor John Owen, left, plays the marimba with his son Milton at the Moses Lake Farmers market. Owen, whose background is in world rhythms, will spearhead Drum Fest at the Wallenstien Theater Saturday.