1738 - Fr. Francisco Garcés born in Spain; came through SCV in 1776, found Tataviam fighting with Coastal Chumash, observed Santa Clara River flowing by night and dry by day despite the season being spring [story]
Wow! It’s already week four of the ABCs of the Santa Clarita Valley. We have had A for Animals, featuring details on various places in the Santa Clarita Valley to see animals; B for Bicycle Trails; and C for Central Park.
This week, I decided to go for something I thought would be a bit unexpected: D for Drums. Surprised? Drumming in Santa Clarita actually represents much more, as it references arts and music education and the performances available to families in the SCV through the Performing Arts Center at the College of the Canyons, as well as some hidden Santa Clarita gems, as well.
In case you missed it, last spring more than 7,500 students and 12,000 individuals in total descended on the stadium and field at COC of the for “Rock the Rhythm, Beat the Odds” in an effort to break the world record for the largest drum ensemble. Although Guinness representatives ultimately assessed that the group fell short of the world record – which was set in Hong Kong in 2007 when 10,045 drummers performed together – the event was still a success and an impressive showing. It reflected the power of the “Rock the Rhythm, Beat the Odds” program, in which youth throughout the SCV experienced a hybrid music and rhythm learning program, while also improving their listening skills, focus, team-building, self-esteem and more. It is one of the many K-12 Arts Education Outreach programs of the Performing Arts Center at the COC.
Rock the Rhythm event at COC’s Cougar Stadium | Photo by Stephen K. Peeples
Remo, one of the leading drum-making companies in the world, is located in Valencia and made 11,000 sound shapes specifically for the world record attempt. Until recently, I did not know that Remo was located here in Santa Clarita, and this gives “D for Drums” another link to our community. Plus, Drumline Live, a touring musical version of the hit Fox movie by the same name, wowed audience members at the PAC this past week.
Finally, I cannot move on from drums in Santa Clarita without mentioning my favorite live drum performance group that often pops up at various community events: CanUnDrum, an impressive trash can trio whose performance includes the use of old garbage cans, buckets and other interesting materials, and who always wow the audience. I have seen them at many local events including the Bow and Meows Pet Fair, Santa Clarita Street Arts Festival, Earth Arbor Day and more.
I am not sure where CanUnDrum will pop up next, but I do know that if you catch them at a city event, you (and your kids, if you have kids) will be impressed. It got my toddler interested in drumming, and we created our own drum setup using buckets and sticks in the backyard.
Also, please stop in at The Good Long Road Facebook page to let me know how you are enjoying the series and what your favorite Santa Clarita Valley outings, adventures or explorations are. They just might make it into an article.
Jennifer Fischer is co-founder of the SCV Film Festival, a mom of two, an independent filmmaker and owner of Think Ten Media Group, whose Generation Arts division offers programs for SCV youth. She writes about her parenting journey on her blog, The Good Long Road. Her commentary is published Saturdays on SCVNews.com.
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
All opinions and ideas are welcome. Factually inaccurate, libelous, defamatory, profane or hateful statements are not.
Your words must be your own. All commentary is subject to editing for legibility. There is no length limit, but the shorter,
the better the odds of people reading it. "Local" SCV-related topics are preferred. Send commentary to: LETTERS (at) SCVNEWS.COM. Author's full name, community name, phone number and e-mail address are required. Phone numbers and e-mail addresses are not published except at author's request. Acknowledgment of submission does not guarantee publication.
Last spring, the City Council heard the community’s call to step in and preserve the landmark Valencia Ice Station. After months of renovations and updates, the 93,000 square foot building is almost ready to welcome the community back - to the newly renamed The Cube.
Helping our students stay on track to complete their goals remains our top priority. To that end, we are offering a wide variety of classes this spring designed to do just that.
1738 - Fr. Francisco Garcés born in Spain; came through SCV in 1776, found Tataviam fighting with Coastal Chumash, observed Santa Clara River flowing by night and dry by day despite the season being spring [story]
Nearly 100 people gathered in front of the highly anticipated Laemmle 7 in Newhall to officially open the theater to the Santa Clarita Valley community.
The city of Santa Clarita Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission recently met to receive an update from city staff about the status of the Pioneer Oil Refinery in Newhall.
A judge’s ruling this week dealt a setback to the Tejon Ranch Co.’s proposed 19,000-unit Centennial development project in the upper northwest corner of Los Angeles County.
The California Community College Athletic Trainers Association has named longtime athletic trainer, and current College of the Canyons associate athletic director, Chad Peters its 2021 Athletic Trainer of the Year.
Los Angeles County Public Health on Friday confirmed 48 new deaths and 752 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, with 27,432 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.
The Santa Clarita City Council Legislative Committee briefly met Thursday morning to recommend that the City Council oppose four pieces of state legislation that would expand the state’s land-use authority.
In an effort to provide kids across the Santa Clarita Valley with a safe place to play and learn over spring break while parents are working, the Boys & Girls Club of SCV holds an annual camp.
In recognition of public safety dispatchers' services, the California Highway Patrol joins other law enforcement agencies to recognize National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week on April 11-17, 2021.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying public health restrictions in place for large events and community gatherings, as well as past participation numbers, the city of Santa Clarita has evaluated several components of the annual Santa Clarita Marathon and is making a necessary change to the event.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 52 new deaths and 710 new cases of COVID-19, with 27,417 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Because of the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, some pet owners may have delayed purchasing their annual pet licenses and are now subject to late penalty fees.
College of the Canyons will welcome José Rivera, award-winning playwright and the first Puerto Rican screenwriter to be nominated for an Oscar, to the School of Visual & Performing Arts’ Virtual Industry Insight Series on Monday, April 12.
Santa Clarita Artists Association (SCAA) will spotlight contemporary artist Alex Schaeffer in a virtual oil demo on Monday, April 19, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Spectrum Commercial Real Estate advisors Yair Haimoff, SIOR, Randy Cude, and Matt Sreden represented the seller in the sale of a 23,817-square-foot professional office building in a prime Valencia location.
Following stakeholder planning meetings over the course of a year and a public survey period in January, the city of Santa Clarita’s 2021 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) draft update enters the next phase in the approval and adoption process.
Cassie Gratton knows how to open a Laemmle theater. The general manager of the Newhall Laemmle, which will open its doors with a ribbon-cutting this Friday, also helped to open Laemmle’s Glendale and Claremont locations.
The California Department of Transportation announced that new High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV, or carpool) lanes are open to motorists on Northbound and Southbound Interstate 5 between the Ventura Freeway (State Route 134) interchange in Los Angeles and Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
0 Comments
You can be the first one to leave a comment.