Carlos Copaban taught members of the community how to march to the beat of their own drum last weekend.
The Colombian drummer, who now lives in Innisfail, carried a tune that goes beyond music at his drum clinic hosted by Tom Lindl Music at the Innisfail Public Library on Oct. 19. He was joined by Red Deer-based saxophone player Claude Godin and guitarist Adam Meachem.
Copaban noted there was a place for everybody in music as he scanned a crowd of about 20 participants sitting on couches around the fireplace in the lobby.
“You don't have to be artsy-fartsy or dress a certain way. If you have coveralls and steel-toed boots and you show up to a concert, you are very welcome,” said Copaban. “You are who you are because musicians, we don't judge because we have a hard life and we love it.”
Copaban said the trio performed music from all around the globe with hints of local flavours from each entertainer.
But the idea of using arts and entertainment as a form of education is a topic that remains close to Copaban's heart.
“I think people should know arts in general, and music is an answer to social problems. It's an answer to despair and it's an answer to loneliness because you've gotta be a team player and concentrate during the performance,” he said referring to victims like 14-year-old Aidan Remple, a local teen who recently survived an attack from a gang of teens at Raspberry Park on Aug. 25. “Arts is the answer to many, many things.”
Young people cannot be treated as a collective, Copaban added, they're individuals with their own dreams and expectations that can benefit from learning about arts and entertainment.
“The artistic part is not far away from the political side and the social side,” he said with a chuckle. “There's only been one of the same in Roman history and Greek history. You get philosophers and poets and actors, and usually, you will have a chance to go to an after party of performers, you're going to find senators, politicians, and you're going to find poets. It's like the same gang from Greece but in Canada backstage in a theatre.”
He laughed about the timing of the drum clinic and municipal election, then said there were some lessons books cannot teach. It's all about arts and entertainment, he added.
“Some of the most advanced countries on the planet spend half of the school year in art programs,” Copaban said. “Go to Switzerland, go to Sweden. They do have problems, and there's bullying, but quality of life is absolutely improved by arts and to just deny that makes no sense at all."
However, Godin viewed the demonstration as an impromptu musical lesson with a technical flare.
“I personally wanted to let people know what the saxophone is about, how it fits into music and where it came from. It's been around for many, many years,” he explained. “I thought it was really good. Maybe people were shy, but I think they were really listening. You could tell, they were paying attention and asking questions.”
The Oct. 15 workshop in Innisfail educated participants about music individually with solo performances and explanations as artists with different media. It included questions and answers, as well as a live performance.
“I thought it went really well,” Meachem said after the demo. “There was a decent turnout and it was really fun to do. I'm definitely interested in doing more events like this.”
