“It’s therapeutic.”
Ben Carlson and Ronok Tanvir were talking about the Drum Circle Club at Carlmont High School.
Founded by Carlson, the club provides students with a space to express themselves and take a break from daily stress.
“We know ourselves better as people,” Tanvir said, reflecting on how the club has helped him grow.
Founding
Carlson founded the Drum Circle Club after an unsuccessful audition for Carlmont’s Jazz Ensemble. He didn’t want to give up on music or join the Concert Band.
“I wanted to continue music meaningfully without participating in the band program,” Carlson said. “Then, give the same opportunity to others.”
The club’s size grew after Tanvir, one of the first members, attended a meeting and was inspired to join. After hearing Carlson hit a drum, Tanvir felt the urge to attend the next meeting.
“Ben showed me the bag of so many drums. And I was like, ‘I know exactly the people to bring this to,’” Tanvir said.
Tanvir then invited about five of his friends to join.
Heritage Fair: applying
The club, now including mostly seniors, performed in the last slot of the Heritage Fair before more than 1,000 members of the Carlmont student body.
The application process began when club member Dahren Quan emailed the Associated Student Body, full of enthusiasm.
“It was a challenge because ASB didn’t have enough time,” Quan said. “But you’ve got to stay persistent. We said that our performance would make a lasting impact on this community.”
The club followed up with about five emails to various ASB members to secure their performance slot.
Heritage Fair: performing
Drum Circle Club members were told they were not allowed to play the gong while moving. They did it anyway.
“When Ronok came out of the thing and banged the gong, I could already see a few smiles in the audience,” said Jiho Park, a junior in Symphonic Band and Drumline.
Park decided to join the Drum Circle Club’s performance about an hour before their concert. Because rehearsal spots were full, he wasn’t able to practice beforehand.
Park liked his performance with the Drum Circle Club more than his other two Heritage Fair performances. He liked the casual atmosphere and the freedom to “just play anything.”
Looking back on Drum Circle Club’s time during the Heritage Fair, Park said the performance could have involved the audience more and been better tied into the Heritage Fair’s theme.
For the other Drum Circle performers, their concert was a uniting force.
“I felt like we were all that big drum in the center,” said Carter Hendrix, a Drum Circle performer.
The future
Reflecting on what could be improved and how to grow the club’s popularity became important following the Heritage Fair.
“Moving forward, it’d be better if they played outside,” said James Bohac, the Drum Circle Club adviser, a physics and engineering teacher at Carlmont. “They could recruit more people because people would be curious and interested in hearing the music.”
Bohac became the adviser of the club after the original one became unavailable. He had Carlson as a physics student and wanted to support him.
“I hope it continues because having this separate outlet for people who may be intimidated by getting into the music department is a good thing,” Bohac said.
The Drum Circle Club has more to come, with members planning to perform outside of school as well.
When asked if he would continue participating in the Drum Circle Club and join their next gig at Hometown Days in San Carlos, Park said yes to both.
“Drum Circle gives a community that is more free,” Park said. “This needs to be widespread.”
