Orange County native and UNC alumnus Ken Wilson teaches an introduction to Congolese drumming at the Seymour Center, located on Homestead Rd. in northern Chapel Hill. He has been playing the Congolese drums for forty years as he loves the tradition, sound, and rhythm of these African drum.
The Robert & Pearl Seymour Center is drumming up excitement for the new year. Beginning this year, the Seymour Center will be hosting a Congolese drumming class.
This will be an introductory class geared toward how to use the drums and appreciating Congolese music in general. The class is taught by Dr. Kenneth Wilson, who has been involved in the Congolese drumming scene in the Triad for many years. Wilson was drawn to Congolese drumming from the instant he heard it.
“It was just so incredible that I wanted to play it," Wilson said. "That was about 1980, and I’ve been playing it ever since."
Congolese drumming is similar to West African and Afro-Cuban drumming but involves more guttural sounds, Wilson said. He also emphasized how influential Congolese drumming is for every other music style throughout the world.
The class will feature the Ngoma, a drum that goes hand-in-hand with the Congolese drumming style that produces a low and deep sound.
“I decided it would be nice to pass the rhythms on as there’s so few people who know them in the area,” Wilson said.
This is the first time the Seymour Center has offered a such a class. When Wilson reached out to Programs and Operations Manager Cydnee Sims offering to teach a class at the Seymour Center, she jumped at the opportunity.
Sims emphasized that because drumming doesn't require a language to understand, it's a good way to overcome the barriers that exist in the multi-ethnic Seymour Center.
At the end of this class, there will be a performance by Pline Mounzeo, a professional drummer who lives in the Triad area.
He began his career in drumming after his uncle, also a professional drummer, introduced him to the style when he was 18 years old in 1998. The class won't be Mounzeo’s first experience at the Seymour Center because he has performed there in the past. Mounzeo said this performance went well and that the experience was exciting.
“(Congolese drumming) is a good way to learn about the culture of the Congo and tradition from one region to another region,” said Mounzeo.
The classes are free to the public and will take place every Friday from 2 to 3 p.m. until Feb. 22.