Happy 115th International Women's Day! IWD notes, "Giving is not a subtraction, it's intentional multiplication. When women thrive, we all rise." We welcome you to join us in celebrating this year's IWD. #IWD2026

Our Drum-a-Thon takes place a week from today! Which part of the day will you be part of? Learn more and participate or pledge, here: www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticket...

Happy Women's History Month! This year's theme is "Leading the Change: Women shaping a sustainable future." Pictured here are four of the many incredible women who have led drumHeart, a performance ensemble of the Women's Drum Center, over the years. Kari, Marisa, Colleen, and Alex (current).

The popular Drum Basics Camp is full and we are no longer accepting registrations or walk-in appointments for this series. Watch our website or join our newsletter to learn about future iterations of this popular workshop series.

Happy Women's History Month! This year's theme: Leading the Change: Women shaping a sustainable future. We have a rich history of leaders who shaped the org we are today and leaders who continue to shape the future of our work to create vitality, resilience, and interconnectedness through percussion

March kicks off Women's History Month and is a really great time to check out the Women's Drum Center, too. We have a full calendar of classes, workshops, and events this month to help celebrate and we can't wait to see you at one (or all) of them.

Announcing the March Friday Circle theme! A gyil is an African xylophone played with mallets. No experience is necessary, and gyils will be provided. This is a perfect opportunity to explore this intriguing, melodic percussion instrument in a fun, easy setting. All gender identities are welcome.

This Black History month, we invite you to reflect on the culture, achievement, inspiration, accomplishment, leadership, creativity, resilience, and musicality brought by African Americans both past and present.

We have a jam-packed calendar of events and classes coming up. Which of these will you be at? Registration and more information available from our website. womensdrumcenter.org

Join us for this workshop in March. Read all about it and register here: womensdrumcenter.org/events-calen...

Registration is now available! womensdrumcenter.org/events-calen...

Are you our next Board Member? Learn more and apply here: womensdrumcenter.org/board-descri...

Join us for this ceremonial gathering where participants are invited to bring a frame drum—or any drum they wish—to be awakened through ritual and intention. Through guided ceremony, herbs and stones are offered to infuse the drum with personal meaning, purpose, and spirit. Held at the WDC studio.

Coming Soon! Marching Bucket Drum Workshop in March 2026. The bucket is a great percussion alternative for when you need something light, loud, and mobile. This workshop will help you transform a regular bucket into a marching bucket drum you can take with you on the go.

Big drums, big movement, big energy! Join us for our next Friday Drum Circle held on Friday, February 20, 2026 from 6:30-8:00pm. You'll learn how to play basic rhythms on the taiko drums in this dynamic, energy-filled drop in circle.

This popular workshop is back! You don't want to miss this no-pressure, no-experience-necessary Drum Kit for Absolute Beginners workshop led by Niki. Registration is on our website: Classes > Workshops & Series.

Drum Basics Camp is an exciting new four-part drum series at the WDC! Are you eager to learn how to drum, but don't know where to start? Then this is for YOU! Class members will explore both hand and stick drumming. Class size is limited, preregistration required

How are you spending your Galentine's Day or Valentine's Day weekend? Grab a friend and join us on February 13th to kick off the weekend with Dan's skill-building West African Solo Improv Workshop! Some experience helpful but not necessary. Space is limited. womensdrumcenter.org/events-calen...

Classes are cancelled this weekend in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Classes will resume after the holiday. Classes impacted include our third Friday session and Sunday classes. Reach out to your instructor or the Women's Drum Center through our website with any questions.

See you tomorrow! womensdrumcenter.org/events-calen...

Women's Drum Center statement regarding January 7, 2026.

Happy New Year! We're ringing in the new year with our final drum circle of 2025, which took place last night. We wish you all the best this evening and hope your new year can be filled with more big drum, big clave, and big percussion energy. Keep grooving and stay safe!

Wishing you all a peaceful and happy new year.

Djembe Diyamu performed three dynamic songs for our audience back in October. Watch here: youtu.be/xTjVXhkvcY4?... Djembe Diyamu is the WDC's first all-gender drum ensemble, performing advanced modern and traditional djembe and dunndunn rhythms.

Women Who Groove and Nritya Kalakshetra Academy of Performing Arts also joined together to perform a song as part of our 2025 Annual Concert. The two groups performed a medley of fisher people songs from Ghana and India. Watch here: youtu.be/Z213G19I3LU?...

Next up, we welcomed dancers from Nritya Kalakshetra Academy of Performing Arts to join Taikollaborative on stage for Wombat Combat, a song composed in 2020 by Jonas Vom Orde. Watch here: youtu.be/C9qmcsCaVGo?...

The next ensemble in our 2025 Annual Concert was Taikollaborative, bringing big drum energy to the stage with their song Murasaki Swing. The song is composed by Dr. Wendy Jo & is filled with movement & excitement. Murasaki means purple. Watch here: youtu.be/OX1TQvTWjYs?...

The weather outside is frightful! 12/9/25 classes are cancelled due to weather and road conditions. Email your instructor or [email protected] with questions and we will reply as soon as we can.

Have you watched the 2025 Annual Concert recap, yet? This picture is from the video on our YouTube channel featuring Women Who Groove. Women Who Groove opened up the concert for us and brought a ton of mood-setting energy. Check it out and let us know what you think: youtu.be/vaPkkcgZS10?...

As Giving Tuesday comes to a close, we want to thank everyone who has supported the Women's Drum Center today and in 2025. Your generosity helps us bring world percussion education to broader audiences. If you haven't donated yet, there's still time!

Drumroll please.....The 2025 Annual Concert recordings are now available on our YouTube channel. You can watch each group's performance and the debut finale which brought together all ensembles for a brand new, never-performed-before piece written by WDC ensemble members.

This event is now full and we are unable to accept walk-ins on the day of the workshop. If you are no longer able to attend the event, please email us as soon as possible so we can offer your space to another interested individual.

Thank you! Your generous donations made through Minnesota’s biggest day of giving plus registrations for Drum it Up with drumHeart helped us exceed our $1000 goal. Your generosity is already fueling our mission as we bring together world percussion programs that nurture and inspire.

Our popular Rhythms of Wellness workshops fill up quickly. If this one is of interest to you, we recommend you register promptly to secure your spot. womensdrumcenter.org/events-calen...

Registration coming soon! Our next Rhythms of Wellness event is 12/20/25 with Jill & David Thiel. Join us for a night of rhythm, sound, and healing as we return to the light in celebration of winter solstice.

Drum it Up with drumHeart this Thursday! $20 donation through GTMD site (or register directly on our website) and forward the receipt to our email with the message to "secure your spot." Limited to first 20 and women-only. See you soon!

We deliver workshops & classes to ~3500 people per year. Your donation helps us sustain programs that serve young people through in-school residencies and one-time workshops, residents in living facilities, & more. Your gift helps us reach our GTMD goal to fuel this work in 2026 and beyond.

Throwback to August 2025 when Twin Cities Live host Kristin and camera man Seth stopped by the WDC. Seth got a little mini taiko lesson after recording wrapped up and look at those smiles! Join our taiko drum circle on 11/21/25 at the WDC to get your own chance to learn how to play the taiko drums.

We've been blessed at the WDC to have talented teachers. Rebecca Kite was one of those instructors between 1996-98 and is celebrating 50+ years of her amazing percussion career. She brought her classical training to marimba, gyil, ensemble classes, & even brought her handmade timpani for classes!

With a GTMD donation of any amount, you can help us empower our future & bring more percussion residencies to elementary schools. Picture: Sandi leading students at Kenny Elementary in performance at the end of a taiko residency. Your donations help us bring these to more schools at reduced/no cost.

Did you know you can make your Give to the Max gifts early? Early giving began 11/1 and continues until 11/20. -Set a donation amount -Decide when and how you'll donate. -Share this post Donate here: www.givemn.org/organization...

Registration coming soon! You don't want to miss this Drum Kit for Absolute Beginners workshop led by Niki. With experience playing drums across a range of genres, Niki brings a playful, down-to-earth approach to rhythm that celebrates creativity and confidence over perfection.

Stop by the Women’s Drum Center during the annual Do the Dow Open House. You’ll be able to try out percussion instruments, explore our World Percussion Interpretive Center, ask questions, and join us for an open drum circle between 4:00-7:00pm. Free with suggested $10 donation if able.

Join us for our next all-gender drum circle on Fri, Nov 21 from 6:30-8:00pm for an evening of Intro to Taiko led by Sandi. Taiko is a form of Japanese drumming. Students will have the opportunity to learn basic hits and stances. Register: womensdrumcenter.org/events.../dr...

GTMD early giving is underway now! We have a $6,000 fundraising goal this year to help fund our in-school residency programs. At a time when music programs continue to be cut from school budgets, our in-school programs help bring percussion to young people. Donate: www.givemn.org/organization...

Upcoming Workshops Wow, what a way to round out the year! We have a full calendar of classes, workshops, drop-in-drum-circles, and ways to get involved with the WDC in November and December. Learn more and register on our website. A $20 donation for GTMD gets you into the 11/20 class with drumHeart!

Empower our Future This photo encapsulates the GTMD theme Giving that Gathers. Taken from the stage, we see the joy of people gathered around percussion. We seek to gather people around the power of percussion & this photo is a powerful reminder of that effort in action. Donate: give.mn/fdygyf

Can you believe our 2025 Annual Concert & Celebration is already part of our PAST? Thank you for being part of our annual event. This short segment is from the debut of our brand new concert finale song performed with all ensembles on stage to close out the night.

We kicked off the first of 3 free Test Drive classes this week with attendees of the West African Level 1 class learning a tune called Anta, a phrase that means "let's go" or "get started." Instructor Dan shared history, context, and meaning behind the song and rhythms. Hope to see you again soon!

Do you want to try drumming? Drop into one of these three free test drive classes this week. No registration needed. Our building is accessed by one flight of stairs. Be prepared to remove your shoes or change into clean, non-street shoes upon arrival to help us protect our new floor.