29390: Wilcken (announcement): MASTER ARTIST FROM HAITI OFFERS DRUM CLASSES IN BROOKLYN (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From:  Lois Wilcken <makandal@verizon.net>

For immediate release

Contact:  Lois Wilcken, 718-953-6638, makandal-ny@juno.com

MASTER ARTIST FROM HAITI OFFERS DRUM CLASSES IN BROOKLYN

La Troupe Makandal, New York's Center for Haitian Drum and Dance, announces
classes in AfroâHaitian drumming with Frisner Augustin  on Tuesdays from
6:30 to 8  pm at the Restoration Plaza Youth Arts Academy in
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Classes are now in progress.

People with a passion for Afro-Caribbean music will find compelling reasons
to take Mr. Augustinâs class.  First, he utilizes a traditional, holistic
approach that emphasizes ensemble playing and aural memory.  Second, he
devotes care and attention to hand and stick technique, a dimension
sometimes obscured by a narrow focus on timing.  Third, the instructor
stands out among his colleagues for the breadth and authenticity of his
repertory.  Students will enlarge their repertory of AfroâCaribbean dance
rhythms. We encourage dancers as well as musicians to take the class.

Master Drummer Augustin is Artistic Director of La Troupe Makandal.  In 1999
the National Endowment for the Arts honored him with its distinguished
Heritage Fellowship.  Mr. Augustin has been teaching more than 30 years, and
he has recorded for jazz artists Kip Hanrahan and Andrew Cyrille, and
filmmaker Jonathan Demme, among others.

Classes run from 6:30 to 8 pm at the Restoration Plaza Youth Arts Academy,
247 Herkimer Street, Studio 2D.  The location may be found near the
intersection of Herkimer and Brooklyn Avenue.  By public transportation,
take the A or C subways to Nostrand Avenue, or the B25 or B44 buses to
Fulton and Nostrand.  Walk one block east on Fulton, enter the Plaza, and go
to the far left corner.  Instruments are provided, but you may bring your
own.  Fee: $12; discount with our 10-class plan.

Classes are made possible, in part, by support from the National Endowment
for the Arts.

Further information: 718â953â6638 or makandal@verizon.net