Drums and More: Support Group Donates Percussion Instruments

The Steinmühle Friends Association donated an entire classroom set of high-quality percussion instruments, including large drums, for use in hands-on music lessons.
At the beginning of the year, Frank Wemme, educational director at Steinmühle and a music teacher, had the idea to expand the practical component of music instruction. Since Steinmühle already offers plenty of hands-on experience through its wind ensemble, concert band, bagpipe group, and musical theater program, the focus was now to shift more toward rhythm. “For this reason, we visited a percussion instructor in January while she was working with a samba group,” reports Daniel Sans, who not only performs as a concert tenor on many stages but also teaches music at Steinmühle. Impressed by the drums and the instructor, Kerstin Itzenhäuser, they decided to integrate this rhythmic practice into the 10th-grade curriculum.

Total value of approximately 3,500 euros
Daniel Sans stayed in touch with Kerstin Itzenhäuser. She visited Steinmühle over the summer, in part to help with the planning for the purchase of the instruments and to ensure that all aspects were taken into account.
After summer break, the Steinmühle was able to get started with the new samba drums, with a total value of around 3,500 euros. Kerstin Itzenhäuser now visits our school at regular intervals to help the 10th graders learn to drum professionally. However, the drums are not intended solely for this project but for the entire school community and can also be used for musical performances, among other things. Our photo shows the chairwoman of the Steinmühle Friends Association, Jasmine Weidenbach, together with Principal Bernd Holly, music teacher Daniel Sans, and young Steinmühle students who were allowed to try out the instruments—at least for the photo.