[Kingston, Jamaica , March 27, 2022]
On Tuesday, April 12, 2022, Avant Academy of Music will be delivering a drumming program led by Jesse Golding. The program will run for ten classes and be focused on the exploration of Afro-Jamaican drumming also known as Traditional Drumming.
New Thrust
This is an evening program and is part of the new thrust of Avant Academy of Music to serve an ever-widening set of stakeholders. For the past eight years, Avant Academy has been serving primarily young children and retirees through private music lessons. This drumming program is focused on offerings for young to middle-aged adults in a group setting.
The program is important because of its content. It allows the institution to offer an experience that is more deeply Afrocentric as compared to the Eurocentricty that is the norm for most instrumental lessons of which the piano is king.
Jesse guiding scholarship student, David Brown
One of Us
Jesse Golding is no stranger to the Avant Academy of Music community. He has been a substitute teacher for the previous African Drumming program led by Maroghini. He is also the son of Steve Golding, who was one of the first guitar teachers at the school, and also of Fab Five and Peter Tosh fame.
Jesse’s credentials as a drummer come from his nearly two decades of commitment to the National Dance Theatre Company and during that time being mentored by the most senior drummers of the Afro-Jamaican Drumming Tradition. He counts Marjorie as one of his biggest influences and of course Rex Nettleford.
The influence is quite evident when he plays and teaches. He is possessed with a calm gravitas and yet is fearless to “get inna di spirit” while drumming.
Jesse has spent almost 2 decades playing with the NDTC
Research & Development
This program will not merely be an extra-curricula activity for adults but is part of an overall strategic plan to establish Afro-Cultural forms as an important component in the foundation for the development of programs for Jamaicans. This understanding and documentation will benefit the teaching of other forms of music such as Dancehall, Jazz and music production.
The traditional drumming program on a Tuesday is just the beginning. There is more work to come with the expected reward of an empowered Jamaican people making sweet music.
For more information on the Traditional Drumming Program with Jesse Golding, click on this link. https://www.avantacademyofmusic.com/traditional-drumming-jesse-golding
For more information on the programs at the school:
(876) 631-4216
info@avantacademyofmusic.com