Music Therapy in New Orleans

BY DAN SADOWSKY
February 23, 2006
Country: United States
Topic: Hurricane Katrina

Malkia, 12, gets some tips from professional drummer Luther Gray at Mercy Corps drum circle at the Dryades YMCA in New Orleans. Photo: © Debbie Fleming Caffery

Sounds of bass drumbeats, rattling snares, echoing congas and ringing cowbells filled the Dryades YMCA cafeteria in late February, as a class full of seventh graders laughed, danced and thumped their way through Mercy Corps' first New Orleans drum circle.

Along the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast, Mercy Corps is supporting programs that help children recover emotionally from Hurricane Katrina and its still-omnipresent impact on their lives. One of the agency's own initiatives is to hold ongoing drum circles for youngsters in New Orleans schools, neighborhoods and community centers.

Professional percussionists, led by Mercy Corps' Ken Williams, will introduce kids to New Orleans' unique musical heritage and use music to tap into their emotions about Katrina.

"It's total expression, a creative workshop," Williams explains. Encouraging students to drum or rap about various subjects, including Katrina, especially might help those who are reticent to talk about their feelings of loss, displacement and change.

Most of the students here at the inner-city Dryades YMCA, home to a K-8 charter school, lost everything in the storm. Many are still separated from family members and adjusting to new surroundings. "You'd be surprised what they go through just to be here every day," says math teacher Nathaniel Lang.

But for an hour, at least, these kids found joy in creating music. By the end of the session, what started as a harsh cacophony had evolved into a steady roll of foot-tapping rhythms.

"It was fun," says Malkia, one of the more enthusiastic participants. The 12-year-old says she's "just a little bit" over Katrina, and that the drumming helped her get her emotions out. "I felt excited. I felt like a star."

Next in this series: It Takes a Neighborhood

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