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Sacred Drumming Workshop
June 15 @ 10am-11:30am
Join Rick de Yampert for an exploration of how and why cultures around the world use drumming to alter consciousness and connect with Divinity and the Other Realms. Drumming is used by Siberian shamans who “ride the shaman’s horse” (a drum) to ascend to the spirit world, while African and Caribbean cultures use drumming to draw down Gods, Goddesses and Orishas to the earthly realm. Rick will demonstrate drumming on djembe (West African hand drum), dundun (a barrel-shaped West African drum typically played in a set of three), bodhran (Irish frame drum), doumbek (Middle Eastern hand drum), tongue drums and congas, plus rattles, cowbells and other percussion. The workshop also will include recorded samples of authentic African ritual drumming, Native American powwow drumming and more. At the conclusion of the workshop, Rick will lead participants in an impromptu drum circle. A variety of drums and percussion instruments, including the ones cited above, will be provided, and no drumming experience is required. Cost is $30 cash. Please call 386-228-2323 to register in advance. Participants will meet in the hotel lobby prior to class start time and walk with Rick to the workshop’s outdoor site. Located in a covered pavilion, inside the entrance of Colby-Alderman Park, one block east of Hotel Cassadaga.
Rick de Yampert Bio:
Rick de Yampert is a freelance writer, musician, artist and lecturer. He has been following a Pagan spiritual path since the early 1990s. His book Crows and Ravens: Mystery, Myth, and Magic of Sacred Corvids was released by Llewellyn in March 2024.
Prior to freelancing, Rick was the arts and entertainment writer at the Daytona Beach News-Journal, a daily newspaper, for 23 years. He has interviewed such creators as Kurt Vonnegut, Yoko Ono, Ray Manzarek of the Doors, Janet Jackson, Shirley MacLaine and many others.
As a professional musician, Rick plays sitar, Native American flutes, djembe (African hand drum), tongue drums and guitar. He has performed at art festivals, cafes, yoga sessions and sacred events throughout Central Florida. He and his girlfriend Michelle Davidson, who plays crystal bowls, tongue drums and bass, perform as the music duo Wandering Spiral.
As a lecturer, Rick presents programs on various spiritual and metaphysical topics to Unitarian Universalist churches, Pagan gatherings and other organizations and events.
As an artist, Rick takes photos of crows and shapeshifts them into phantasmagoric, magical landscapes using various digital programs. He then has the images printed on canvas for sale.
Find Rick online at rickdeyampert.com, mistercrowart.com and wanderingspiral.com.