| As
with most things in life, this organization began with a
chain of events that seemingly had no way of turning out
the way it did. In the fall of 2000, Sherry began the Master
of Liberal Arts program at St. Edward's University. During
the course of her studies, in a class on Spirituality & Work
with Dr. David Trott, she began to identify what types of
events or practices stimulated her connection to spiritual
feelings. What came out of this exploration was the realization
that rhythmic activities, such as drumming, dancing, or listening
to rhythmic music, had the most impact on her. Dr. Trott
encouraged her to explore this area and, as a result, she
was able to spend two semesters doing research and creating
a short video called "Numinous" which explored
the internal experience of a rhythmically induced trance
state.
The response was overwhelmingly positive to this work
and Sherry was able to take her work to the next level,
a one-hour video about the uses of rhythm for healing and
spiritual practices. Immersing herself in drumming culture,
she found a thriving drumming community with a large contingent
in the Austin area. Since 2000, she has attended many drumming
events, performances, classes and workshops. The people
she has met have been immensely supportive, allowing themselves
to be videotaped and interviewed. The final project, "Journey
Into Rhythm," could not have been created without
their willing assistance. Much thanks is extended to all
those who took part.
During all of the research, a huge amount of information
was compiled and, as a thank you to the community, Sherry
and her partner Michelle (mostly Michelle) created the
Drum Report, a weekly email newsletter about drumming events.
This endeavor grew phenomenally until it became too cumbersome
to continue as an email list. That project evolved into
Rhythm Connection, through which we plan to bring even
more drumming information, events and products to the drummers
out there in our community. |
A Journey into Rhythm
a research study by Sherry Scott
Master of Liberal Arts Program
St. Edward's University
|
