Tom Teasley :: Educational School Assembly / Family Programs

School Assembly/Family Programs/All Ages
Award winning teaching artist
Program connects to history, geography, world cultures, and technology in addition to music
Tom shares his extensive world travel and collaborations as Cultural Envoy
Experience instruments from all corners of the world; from ancient to futuristic
Extensive use of technology
Interactive participation with audience
Connections to math, science, geography and history
Perfect for school assemblies, family concerts, outdoor festivals, and international culture programs

Tom Teasley is an award-winning multidimensional sound artist specializing in ancient and futuristic percussion from around the world combined with American Jazz. He is a past Drummie Awardee for Best World Percussionist. He has been awarded several Helen Hayes Awards and Nominations for his work with live theater. In addition, he is the recipient for numerous Wammie (Washington Area Music Association) World Music Awards. His free-thinking approach has provided the opportunity for numerous tours abroad as a cultural envoy for the US Department of State. These include historic performances to Jerusalem, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, China, South Korea, and many others. It is through these tours; collaborating with master indigenous musicians, as well as teaching that form the basis for his passion of sharing the universal language of music.

His educational activities are vast and are intended to reach almost all possible recipients. These include national and international festivals, conservatories and universities, high school, and elementary students. A short list of places Tom has presented include Eastman School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, China Conservatory, Korea Institute of the Arts, Muscat Festival (Oman), PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention) and many others. In addition, he has shared his passion at hundreds of elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the world.

Recently Tom has included community building, and special needs programming to his web of recipients. He has organized and implemented community drumming and rhythmic events for community centers, senior citizens, special needs groups and more. He has presented many virtual sessions where he demonstrates his eclectic approach to music, often touching on the power of music as a diplomatic tool. Included in these sessions are participatory exercises as well as videos and pictures with accompanying back-story on his travels. Tom has recently become interested in the power of music and rhythm in “sound healing” and has collaborated with Yoga, and Yoga Nidra sessions. In addition, he has created sound design and music for guided meditation and stand-alone sound meditation. Frequently he combines several possible offerings into one session and residencies.

The basis of Tom’s work is to combine many, often ancient, disparate world cultures of music, and its functional use with American Jazz concepts. American Jazz has often been considered a therapeutic music among its practitioners and recipients. The goal is to create an offering that is at once innovative, universal, functional, and familiar. Often these ancient traditions are combined with current use of technology such as digital looping which allows Tom to create virtual ensembles in a live performance. Tom has served on the faculty of American University, Levine School of Music (where he chaired the percussion program for 10 years) and University of District of Columbia. He currently serves on the board “Interactive Drumming Committee” of The Percussive Arts Society. In addition, he teaches virtual lessons throughout the country and internationally.

I want to thank you for supporting the drum workshop and performance by Tom Teasley Music LLC at Legacy International’s Global Youth Village this summer. Participants establish friendships with people from cultures vastly different from their own. In 2016, approximately 50% of the youth came from North America and the balance from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Honduras, Poland, Spain, and Somalia.

Tom's workshop and performance introduced teens to percussion. We noticed an increase in afternoon drumming circles after Tom's events. Thank you for the materials on your products and shakers you sent.

Tom talked about percussion practices globally, inspired young people to try techniques and got everyone moving. In addition, Tom demonstrates a long-term commitment to cross-cultural understanding and education and knows how to inspire young people. He is extremely creative and his dynamism, positive energy draws all students in and makes them feel safe and comfortable. With more instruments all the students could get a chance to find their inner drummer. - Mary Helmig, Legacy International - Global Youth Village

Book a School Assembly with Tom

Please enjoy Tom's EPK on his World Percussion assembly and family concerts.

Educational Program Sponsors

You may wish to plan programs through state and county organizations that provide matching funds (or grants) for pre-selected artists. You'll find Tom Teasley on the roster of selected artists for a growing number of regional organizations. Contact Tom for this opportunity.

InterAct Story Theatre
Virginia Commission for the Arts
Young Audiences of Virginia
US Department of State (contact me for cultural envoy projects)

Assembly Programs / All Ages Shows

The Drum – Ancient Traditions Today

This program is a unique journey through the history of percussion. With Tom Teasley, world /jazz percussionist, the audience will travel the Silk Road from Italy to China and the Sugar Trade Route from Africa to the Americas. Ancient instruments such as the balafon, doumbek, djembe, kilimba and frame drums are combined with the most recent advances in music technology including digital looping. This interactive program touches on subjects of geography, history and math.

Drumming Back to the Future

Using drums from around the world, a single performer can create a kaleidoscope of textures and timbres of sound. With the digital looping technology available today, a single performer can become a virtual ensemble. Join Tom as he builds a layered sound composition in real time. Get a glimpse of how musicians utilize the latest technology to enhance their music and compositions and create the musical sounds of today.

Workshops

The World of Rhythm Workshop

This program explores how rhythms from around the world often have a commonality. This realization allows one to use the rhythmic traditions from one culture to gain awareness of another culture. This presentation can be a demonstration or geared to music students with very active participation. This participation includes stepping in time, reciting call and response rhythmic syllables (called solkattu in the South Indian tradition). Other activities include rhythmic coordination with egg shakers and the merging of Indian, Brazilian, and African rhythmic traditions. This is an excellent program for band and choral students to improve their rhythmic precision.

Community and Special Demographic Events

Rhythmic Happy Hour

This is a community building drumming and rhythm event for all ages and special needs groups. An awareness of rhythm and time is established via stepping and call and response rhythms. Then basic sounds on the hand drums are taught; bass, open and slap tones. After some call and response on the drums, rhythmic traditions from the Middle East, Africa and India are combined with contemporary rhythms. The program culminates with a full percussion ensemble performance in which the participants are encouraged to solo and explore self-expression while adding to the totality of the rhythmic community.

Healing Vibrations

This is a receptive experience for participants to experience the healing benefits of sound, rhythm and vibration. The ancient art of sound healing is presented on a variety of therapeutic vibrational instruments including hand pan, frame drums, Tibetan bowls, gongs, kalimba and more. This program has been used by psychotherapists, yoga instructors and guided meditation practitioners, and special needs groups. Let the healing vibrations wash over you like a cleansing wave of healing.

Residencies

Drumming on the Edge of Magic Residency

In this residency students receive in depth demonstrations of Tom’s eclectic music approach. They learn body kinetic skills using rhythm to develop more advanced coordination. Students learn some rhythmic patterns from Africa, the Middle East and more. They also get to experiment with some music technology. The residency culminates with a performance where all the newly developed skills come together in a performance setting. Tom frequently does some training with the music teacher so they can better assist during the project and are equipped to follow up after. If interested Tom will work with his industry sponsors to secure some drums at a discount.

Sound Integration Residency

This is residency intersects various subjects such as math, visual art, world history/geography, global studies and of course, music. Tom works with teachers of seemingly disparate departments to discover how music, sound and rhythm can enhance the learning experience. Indian rhythmic systems involving math calculation, instrument traditions from various cultures, sound-visual correspondences all come together in this residency. Tom can include some teacher training as a part of this residency as a way to think creatively in approaching traditional SOLs.