Maestro Glen Velez

Four-time Grammy winner

Founding father of the
modern frame drum movement

Legendary master percussionist
and composer

After many years of ‘following’ Glen Velez, including the privilege of hearing him play live with the Paul Winter Consort at Kutztown University September 2, 2000, and again at Lafayette College Williams Center with his Handance ensemble and saxophonist Sonny Fortune, Sept. 20th that same year, I mustered the nerve to approach this virtuoso in the lobby of the Williams Center where he graciously met with the audience following the concert.

I expressed my interest in pursuing lessons and he expressed interest in launching his first ever ‘Handance Intensive’ ~ a multi-session immersion into the study of the frame drum and his methodology and I heartily volunteered my willingness to orchestrate said program here in the Lehigh Valley, which we launched in the Spring of 2001 at Little Pond Retreat, Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

Over the course of six months we met a total of four weekends starting Friday evening thru Sunday late afternoon and in between each session we were expected to practice the material and return prepared to advance. The program culimated with a performance at Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem, PA, showcasing the participants as an accomplished ensemble performing Glen’s Handance compositions for multiple frame drums, and, of course, spotlighting the Maestro’s talents! It was a great experience! Glen is the epitome of a master guru making the material challenging to the advanced drummers who attended while accessible for novices like me!

Thus began a devotion on my part to not only study with but also host Glen as often as possible here in the Lehigh Valley and we have in fact collaborated on numerous occasions including when I also hosted him on WDIY. You can listen to that interview at my Radio Archives page.

Fast forward to 2019 and upon my return from a frame drumming retreat in Connecticut with Glen hosted by Yousif Shernoick, my was mind whirling with wondrous memories of magical, marvelous moments … re-uniting with friends ~ e.g., Shirsten Lundblad, who was part of the Pilgrimage to Crete with Layne Redmond back in 2004 and Martha Sandefer, who participated in the 4-weekend Glen Velez 1st HANDANCE intensive program* hosted by yours truly in 2001 at Little Pond, in Nazareth, PA, and Ken Matazarro from Boulder, Colorado, who knows my ol’ friend and musical ambassador of peace, Camerson Powers….PLUS meeting an ever-widening circle of enthusiasts for ancient arts from Taiwan, Columbia, Germany, Canada and the US! So grateful to have made acquaintance with you all!

The venue, Trinity Retreat Center, was the epitome of ‘retreat’ with beautiful gardens alongside the river, comfortable accommodations and delicious meals. The classes were inspirational, thanks to the facilitation by masters of their craft and the unique & exquisite resonance of the frame drum.

An informal salon concert proved a true reflection of Divine creativity shared with love emanating from the bold souls who let their Light Shine!

My pièce de résistance was the opportunity to recite Rumi accompanied by Glen Velez!

I also appreciated the meal-time reflections offered by the Trinity Retreat Center Exec. Director Joseph Rose, particularly this one:

May the Love that is in my heart pass from my hand to yours.
May the Peace that is in my heart pass from my hand to yours.
And may the Joy that is in my heart pass from my hand to yours.

Interestingly and synchronistically a few nights after returning home, while watching a great episode of Spike Lee’s ‘She’s Gotta Have It” (Season 1 Episode 9), the character Nola Darling contemplates, “Who knows why the University brings people together…Maybe it’s to share exchanges of Light. Illumination to better see ourselves.”

YESssssss sššt sššt sššt sššt
(sesheshet, sesheshet, sesheshet, sesheshet (the sound of a shimmering systrum))

I see my Beauty in YOU

– Jalāl ad-Dīn Rūmī (1207 – 1273)

Everyone contributed to a sense of Beauty and Creativity in the community we formed for those four days and I am most grateful. In fact, my heart’s a flutter 💖 Thank you Cascadu for affirming it so!

This retreat afforded me a renewed enthusiasm for practicing my frame drum, shakers, and systrum! YESssssssss! To paraphrase Hafiz’s poem, THE GOD WHO ONLY KNOWS FOUR WORDS (Every child has known God, Not the God of names, Not the God of don’ts, Not the God who ever does anything weird. But the God who only knows four words and keeps repeating them, saying: Come dance with Me), you are invited to …

Come, Dance & Drum with me …

*Here’s a lil’ trip down memory lane… going back to that aforementioned 2001 Handance Intensive with Glen Velez….

I also suggest reading this interview by N. Scott Robinson with Glen in the April 2000 edition of Modern Drummer Magazine: Click here and taking a listen to my WDIY 2012 interview with Glen at my Radio Archives page.

FEB 2024 update: тєкα ∂υм тєкα ∂υм ✨𝒮ššᖶ 𝒮ššᖶ 𝒮ššᖶ 𝒮ššᖶ ✨

I encourage you to listen to this wonderful interview conducted by cellist Eugene Freisen as part of his “Beyond Mastery” podcast, which I found deLIGHTfully enlightening and interesting! Click the link below to listen to this interview with Glen and gain insights to The Habits of Healing and Devotion, and the Feminism in Rhythm:

… and long story short, I “stumbled” upon this DiscussionPercussion.com March 2023 interview with Maestro Glen Velez ~ Frame Drum Master, Composer, Educator and (as a long-standing huge fan for 25+ years), I found the entire interview interesting. I learned more about Glen’s background that I don’t recall hear him discussing before (again, I invite you listen to my WDIY interview with Glen at my Radio Archives page)… most especially what Glen had to say about the role women frame drumming @ around min. 41:27❣️

… when we look back at early depictions of the frame drum, I would say 90% are women with the other percentage including, for example, a few depictions of the ancient deity Eros who played the frame drum in the ancient world. There was the deity Cybele and other Mother Goddess cults that were strong, that were dominant in ancient Mediterranean cultures with the emphasis on feminine energy, the feminine approach. The idea of thinking of deities as female ~ not just male but also female ~ (underscores) the female connection with the frame drum which was used as the primary ritual instrument for ceremonies in the ancient world. So that’s where you see a lot of the art (sculptures, vase paintings, and other artistic materials) depicting ritualistic scenes or scenes with dancing, scenes with movement and most of the time those are women playing the frame drum….. It’s important to note that once you look at ancient frame drumming you see the role of women and, I think, my idea is

there’s a reason frame drumming has come back ~ that is, there is going to be a more important role for women as drummers from here on, because the frame drum has reappeared!

And what does it mean to be a drummer is a big question ~ it is something you can explore philosophically; what that brings out in who you are and what role you play as a drummer… So, for women to start to explore that possibility for themselves is a very big change in the overall atmosphere of what drumming is all about.

– Glen Velez