Jim Donovan Drums

Rhythmic Motivation : College Orientation Programs
Break the ice and get your students interacting right away with this unique, high-energy group-drumming program. Your students will quickly become a massive percussion symphony while listening to each other, releasing stress and forming new bonds with each other based upon this exciting shared experience.

Drums and percussion are provided for up to 600 participants per session.

with Jim Donovan
Award winning teacher, performer and founding member of the multi-platinum band Rusted Root

Rhythmic Motivation is an engaging, group music-making program in which your students will learn to focus on building purpose and connection with each other, while deepening their listening skills and releasing stress. Rhythmic Motivation is fun, 100% interactive and provides lasting lessons about working with others that your students can use everyday.

Rhythmic Motivation shows your students how to:
1. Quickly and effectively release stress.
2. Focus on any task they have to increase the quality of their work.
3. Realize the power of cooperation working with a team.


I bring an assortment of:
African drums, frame drums, hand held percussion and boomwhackers.

Anyone regardless of musical ability will benefit from and enjoy this experience.
Your students will leave the workshop feeling peaceful, invigorated, and alive.

Requirements:
Chairs for all participants
Wireless lapel microphone/amplfication
Load in/out assistance

About the artist:

Jim Donovan is an award winning teacher and performer. He was a founding member and driving force of the multi-platinum band Rusted Root from 1990-2005. In 2008, Donovan was named Drum Circle Facilitator of the Year by the readers of Drum! Magazine.

He is the author of the soon-to-be-released inspirational book "Serving the Groove".

He has studied and played African drums with various master drummers such as Congolese master drummer Elie Kihonia and Mamady Keita. He also studied African music with noted scholar Kwabena Nketia from Ghana.  He has researched traditional African music for over 20 years via performance, readings and field recordings, and has continuously integrated his findings into all his music both as a solo recording artist and with Rusted Root.

As a solo artist and teacher, Donovan has released 6 highly acclaimed solo CD's as well as 4 instructional drumming CD's. Including his newest release Rhythm Seeds : Jam Along Audio Tool CD.

Fulfilling his desire to share the power of rhythm first hand, Donovan built a series of educational drumming workshop programs that he teaches across the US and Europe at universities, festivals, schools, corporations, and specialty venues. He is a full time instructor of music at Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA, the current director of the Saint Francis University World Drumming Ensemble. and the director of The annual Summer Rhythm Renewal Drumming Retreat.

Donovan is also a featured monthly columnist in Drum! Magazine.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:
It was a pleasure to have Jim on campus. He puts on the type of interactive event that easily gets students involved.  Jim is a total professional; he quickly puts people at ease and soon has the entire group drumming in unison.  Programming at a two-year college can be difficult.  Jim’s event grabs everyone’s attention. We had busy, stressed-out nursing students take the time to join Jim for two sessions!  He’s great!
-Eoin Kinnarney
Director Student Activities Gloucester County College

"Rhythmic Motivation was more successful than I could have imagined. I was really impressed with how the workshop was for all of our employees. The learning curve as well as any employee apprehension melted away as the group started drumming in unison. Jim is truly a gifted leader, teacher and facilitator. Six months later employees are still talking about the workshop and referencing the common metaphors. The workshop serves many valuable lessons from Active listening to avoiding 'paralysis by analysis' and just trying new challenges. I wholeheartedly recommend this workshop."

-Drayton Foltz
Director of Production and Technology
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center University of Maryland

"During this session I felt a major release of all that was troubling me. It was a unifying experience where I felt like there was only me and one other person in the room. This alone was comforting because I usually have trouble with performance in front of as many people there as there are. The beat, the rhythm, and especially the sound all contributed to this unifying and I felt that there weren’t any more problems. No problems with pain, no issues at work or home, no issues with anything. I could beat it into oblivion where it belongs – like nothing else matters. That’s the ultimate feeling I had…that nothing else mattered.
-Stacie Tkach
Student Saint Francis University

"Extremely engaging and enlightening; when the students finally "got it," you could see it on their faces and feel it in the room."
-Dex Tuttle
Assistant Director for Programming PA College of Technology

Uplifting, Stress-busting, Smile-making, Groove-finding . . . what more can I say? The Rhythmic Motivation drum workshop exceeded even our highest expectations. At the outset, it was clear that Jim Donovan’s deep-seeded love for drumming was going to be infectious. What was a surprise, though, was that he was able to turn a ragtag band of carpenters, timberframers, architects, engineers, and designers into a rock-solid ensemble weaving complex rhythms into a single, powerful groove.

When we first booked the drumming workshop, there was a lot of trepidation from the non-musicians in the group, and more than a little hand-wringing from some who questioned the intrinsic value of a drum workshop for a company that designs and builds houses. In the final analysis, though, the hand-drumming appealed to virtually everyone. As a part of our events committee, it was really gratifying to see all that trepidation and hand-wringing dissolve into easy smiles and confident participation.

In short, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this event to anyone, anywhere. Was it worth the investment? Unquestionably, yes! But more than that, it was just a blast. The only question now is, “When can we do it again?”
Erik Walker 
Benson Wood Wapole, NH

Feedback from staff was great.  They felt that the majority of the
students really enjoyed the presentation.  When you consider that this
place was designed to deal with the most violent, disruptive students in
the PA Juvenile Corrections system, they did pretty well.  I think that this type of programming
really enhances what we do here.
We really enjoyed having you there and we look forward to doing it
again.  
-Mike Burke
Director: Cresson Juvenile Corrections Facility

"It's obvious from his performances the Jim Donovan has a way with drums; even more impressive is his way with people.
By the end of the evening, our students were pounding out complex rhythms and having a great time doing it!"
-Dave Maslar
Director, Student Activities Broome Community College