This play-along performance invites students to the stage where we master a rhythm pattern called CLAVE. You’ll find this pattern in Ghanaian Kpanlogo, Spanish Flamenco, Caribbean genres like Salsa and Bomba, Brazilian Bossa Nova, New Orleans Jazz, and many other styles of music. You’ll hear it in modern songs ranging from Bo-Diddley to Toto to Snoop Dog. Students will map the globe while playing along to songs from all over the planet, identifying this particular pattern though to originate in Africa but appearing in music all over the world.

Through skill building and mastery experiences, small groups of students will take the stage to showcase for their peers as ALL AUDIENCE MEMBERS PLAY ALONG together on Boomwhackers™, colorful plastic percussion tubes they’ll likely already know from their music classroom. We’ll learn the basic clave and a few variations, uncover where clave hides in more complicated patterns, and consider how this idea might relate to larger life: what are the patterns in our own lives that are common to everyone? Where are patterns hiding in our everyday world? What are the useful patterns that foster healthy habits?

The word “clave” translates as keystone, the architectural feature that holds an arch together. The metaphoric connection is that the clave pattern unites people all over the world through the universal power of music. Boomwhackers are the perfect choice for world music because the instruments are vibrant, multicolored, joyful, and readily played by anyone. 45-minute show.

Artist Background

At Drum for Change, Greg Whitt facilitates workshops and retreats designed to connect people to one another and to the world around them. Greg has been on the teaching artist roster with United Arts since 2009. During those years they’ve awarded him four professional development grants: two for folkloric study in Cuba and Belize, one to purchase specialized instruments to provide arts and wellness programs in healthcare settings, and one to develop a series of essays on positive affirmations expressed through music.

Greg holds a B.A. in Communication from NC State University. He studied holistic lifestyle practices in graduate school at the Maryland University of Integrative Health where he focused on ancient wisdom traditions to benefit modern society. This support his work leading interactive and experiential education programs in corporations, congregations, communities, and classrooms. Cleverly disguised as music, his programs are actually hands-on philosophy teaching how to live, work, and play well together in community.

Greg founded the Raleigh Drum Circle in 2002, a community interest group that still meets weekly in partnership with Raleigh Parks and Recreation. Greg has previously served as president and executive director of the Drum Circle Facilitators Guild, an international membership association focused on professionalism in the industry. He’s a member of the North Carolina Storytelling Guild and one of Raleigh’s Arts Commissioners.

In 2024, at the invitation of United Arts, Greg was honored to present “Conveying Your Curriculum Through Music”, an arts integration workshop for Wake County teachers.

Search Criteria

• Program Type: Performance
• Discipline: Music
• Grade Level: Elementary
• Accepts bookings in Johnston County