Courses
Workshop for the Percussion Curious
Clinician: Celene Yohemas Ross
September 12, 2026: 9:30 to 11:30am
1315 - 7 Street SW (Mamdani Opera Centre)
Cost: $25 Westwinds member; $30 non-Westwinds member
Have you ever wondered what happens at the back of the band in the percussion section? This fun, hands-on course is perfect for the percussion curious—no experience needed, just a willingness to explore and try something new.
In this 2 hour session you will learn how to hold sticks and mallets, have access to trying out snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, timpani, and mallet instruments of all stripes. This class will have some guided instruction on how to safely play each instrument as well as unstructured "try it out" time while our professional percussionist answers questions and guides playing.
This session will include some introduction to reading rhythms and introduction to treble clef reading for mallet instruments. Auxiliary instruments will be out to try, too. Let it be a bit of a "try it, enjoy it, see if you would like to join percussion in band" opportunity!
The Big 3 - Snare Drum, Bass Drum and Cymbals
Clinician: Celene Yohemas Ross
September 12, 2026: 12:15 to 2:15pm
1315 - 7 Street SW (Mamdani Opera Centre)
Cost: $25 Westwinds member; $30 non-Westwinds member
This session is intended to introduce and expand your ability to play and read music for snare drum, bass drum and cymbals.
Workshop focus:
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Rudiments for Snare Drum: what they are, how to read them, what they look like in music, and how to play some of the essential 10 snare techniques including single strokes and rolling basics (or to expand what you already know)
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Bass Drum Techniques: singles, rolling, dampening, how to play on time with a wind band
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Crash and Suspended Cymbals: How to use cymbal stands, where to roll on suspended, how to play crashes, how to read cymbal notation
Mallets, Timpani, and More!
Clinician: Celene Yohemas Ross
September 12, 2026 from 2:30 to 5:30pm plus moving time
1315 - 7 Street SW (Mamdani Opera Centre)
Cost: $35 Westwinds member; $40 non-Westwinds member
This session will begin with introduction to mallet playing and timpani , how these two instruments are related, how to work on tuning for timpani, and playing on the instruments. This session ends with learning to pack up equipment and transfer to our storage facility.
Workshop focus:
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Basic treble clef reading, 2 mallet single strokes, 2 mallet roll techniques, and how to flow on the instrument
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For more advanced students, Stevens Grip 4 mallet techniques may be introduced but limited depending on how many students are in the advanced group
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Bass clef reading for timpani, how to sort out parts and tunings, re-tuning tips, and how to tune with relative pitch (sol-fege)
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Timpani techniques such as tuning, where to play, how to roll, dampening techniques
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Auxiliary instruments are as needed, will cover triangle, tambourine, shakers. They will be out to explore and will guide based on Q&A
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Creating a percussion station and set-up guide
Register for all three sessions and automatically receive a $10 discount!
Vibrato Workshop for Strings
Clinician: Christina Visy
January 10, 17, 24 and 31, 2026 from 1:00-1:55 p.m. (violin/viola) and 2:05-3:00 p.m. (cello/bass)
River Park Church (3818 14A Street SW)
Vibrato is an advanced string technique intending to add a beautiful warmth and variety to your sound. During this series of workshops, you will learn how to vibrate on your instrument until it becomes your "new" norm. The workshop is intended for Blue and Bronze-level string players who can already play beyond 1st position and who are quite secure with their intonation. We hope to see you at the workshops!
Member price: $50
Non-member price: $60
Rhythm and Counting 1
Clinician: Kevin Willms
October 1, 2025 to October 22, 2025 from 7:00pm to 8:00pm (Wednesday)
William Aberhart High School - portable 1
Have you ever wished your director could spend more time on some of the fundamentals (or perhaps you dread those moments!)? Perhaps you’re in rehearsal and you are hoping to “just hear how that goes one more time – then I’ll get it”? Or maybe you just realize that the reason your sight-reading isn’t great is because your focus is on the notes, but the rhythms are all over the map! If any of that sounds familiar, or if you just want to get ahead, this course is for you, regardless of what level ensemble you perform with (including beginners).
This course will focus on the essential components for successful rhythmic performance:
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developing a system for consistent timekeeping (pulse)
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understanding rhythmic values of sounds and silences (notes and rests) in musical notation
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adopting a consistent and methodical approach to tracking rhythmic values
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applying this knowledge and approach to everyday practice and performance
Please bring your instrument and a pencil (with an eraser). Other materials will be provided.
Practice Methods 1
Clinician: Kevin Willms
October 1, 2025 to October 22, 2025 from 8:00pm to 9:00pm (Wednesday)
William Aberhart High School - portable 1
To be or not to be ----- effective, efficient and, ultimately successful and satisfied. Do you practice? Do you practice effectively and with intent? Yes, there are methods to this madness.
This course is a hands-on interactive experience where Kevin will participate fully by modelling and demonstrating the concepts (not limited to the list below). The focus of the course will be on the elements of successful practicing:
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how to structure a practice session regardless of available time
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prioritizing – you might be surprised
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tone and endurance
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techniques for learning technically challenging passages
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the differences in learning styles – how to know yourself and challenge yourself positively
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how to familiarize yourself with the unfamiliar
Please bring:
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your instrument
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a pencil (with an eraser)
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a piece of music you are working on – this can be solo music, an etude, band/orchestra music – really anything you want to work on
Learning to Solo - Starting with the Blues - FULL
It is not just making it up! Learn a step by step process to construct solos. Open to all levels and all instruments.
Week One: The Blues - learn the tunes! How to use melodies, key centers, and motivic development.
Week Two: The Blues - learn the changes! How to use chord tones and guide tones.
Week Three: The Blues - learn the language! How to transcribe and use Jazz language.
Week Four: The Blues - play the blues! Apply what you have learned to any song.
Dates: Saturdays, January 24, 31, February 7 and 21, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (January 24 is 9:30-11:30 a.m.)
Location: Summit View United Church (3303 Capitol Hill Cres NW)
Price: $60 members/$70 non-members
Materials: your instrument, some staff paper, and a music stand
West African Drumming Workshop - COMPLETED
Are you intrigued by rhythms? Has drumming of any kind ever interested you? Don’t miss this opportunity! No experience or musical knowledge is required for this course. Not even music reading!
We will be using djembe drums and dunduns from the West African Drumming tradition, much of which stems from Guinea and nearby countries. There are drums available to rent for a nominal fee, or you can bring your own djembe if you have one. No experience needed, but the best part of this kind of music, is it’s easy to provide more of a challenge to those who come with some experience or keep it simple for whoever needs it.
This opportunity is open to members and non-members; this is a great opportunity to drum with family members or friends provided they are 18 or older. If you are a teacher and have djembes in your school but no real experience with drumming, this is a great opportunity to pick up some techniques and rhythms which you can apply immediately in your classroom.
Jane has taught West African drumming since 2005 to hundreds of students and adults of all levels and abilities, participated in a performing group for 7 years and attended a variety of workshops put on by West African Master teachers, such as Mamady Keita, Famoudou Konate and Nansady Keita.
Monday evenings, January 8th – February 12th (6 weeks)
7:00-9:00 PM
$90, $80 for Westwinds members
$15 fee for djembe drum rental, if required
January 8th, 22nd, 29th, February 5th, 12th:
William Aberhart High School Band Room
3009 Morley Trail NW, Calgary, AB
January 15th:
Living Spirit United Church
629 - 49 Ave SW, Calgary, AB