The performance workshop offers students a chance to work up close with their heroes and expand their percussion horizons beyond just pan.
The Percussion and Steel Band Session is a two-week residential music academy for ages 13-19 at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center. Thousands of students have attended the camp since its opening in 1976.
Located in idyllic Door County, Wisconsin, the tranquil atmosphere provides a haven from outside stresses. The environment inspires students to focus on improving their percussion skills with the added benefit of creating bonds with other students as well as the camp’s amazing faculty. Areas of study for the camp went beyond the steel band to include concert percussion, percussion ensemble, drum set, world percussion and composition for percussion.
The Birch Creek Percussion Center is led by Prof. Dan Moore. 2021 marks his 23rd year as a Birch Creek faculty member and has served as Director of the Percussion & Steel Band Program since 2016. Dr. Moore is Professor of Percussion and Director of the award-winning percussion program at The University of Iowa where he recently received the Iowa Regents Award for Faculty Excellence.
Top-Tier Guidance
The student faculty ratio is two to one, allowing all students to have one-on-one time with top-tier, passionate musicians. The rustic performance center is uniquely unconventional yet beautiful as concerts are held in a barn surrounded by picturesque farmland.
One of the most amazing features of the Birch Creek workshop is its faculty of nationally-recognized artists and educators. The steelband program is led by Liam Teague and Scott McConnell. Well known as an innovator of the steelpan, Teague is Professor of Music and Head of Steelpan Studies at Northern Illinois University (NIU), where he also directs the renowned NIU Steelband. McConnell is a steelpan/percussion performer and educator in the Chicagoland area who holds Bachelors, Masters, and Performers’ Certificates in Percussion, Steelpan and Recording Arts from Northern Illinois University. The two guide students through challenging pieces, many of which are their own compositions or arrangements.
“Liam and Scott are amazing mentors and they make the learning process a lot of fun,” 2021 student Keira McNamara said. The commitment is evidenced by the fact that 2021 marked Liam Teague’s 26th year teaching at the camp. He calls Birch Creek a “magical place” and is passionate about passing along his love for the steelpan to new students.
Growing Up
“I love seeing the students grow. Most students who come to Birch Creek have never played the pan before and when we tell them that within three to four days they are going to be playing a concert on the steelpan, people are in shock,” Teague explained. “But every year it happens and it’s a testament to the students who come here, their hard work and their vision.”
Concerts draw Door County tourists as well as locals thus creating new aficionados for the pleasing tunes of steelpan. Many audience members have their eyes opened to the instrument they previously may have associated strictly with certain genres. “A lot of people may have heard about the so-called steel drum, but many do not know how versatile it is,” Teague added. Faculty, alongside Birch Creek students, play a wide range of songs every year in order to showcase the steelpan’s ability to excel in every genre, ranging from traditional soca music to rock and pop.
Registration for the 2022 Birch Creek workshop begins in December of 2021. It will take place from June 19 to July 2, 2022. If you know a student who would honor the opportunity to work alongside amazing professionals and learn about steelpan from the top-notch educators, be sure to pass it along.
Listen to samples from the camp here: https://www.birchcreek.org/about/audio-video/
