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It’s no fresh news that Christchurch is going through hard times at the moment. I was in Christchurch for a few days last week and our beautiful Garden City is in a state of upheaval after months of earthquakes and aftershocks. Mother Earth and Father Heaven have their own rhythm and rhyme regarding these matters and for us mere mortals, well, we get the opportunity to make the best of it that we can – to create our own rhythms and find some joy amid the glorious but often enigmatic reality that is life!

There is an African proverb that runs, “If thine enemy wrong thee, buy each of his children a drum.” You get the drift…

If this is how our good friend Doug Brush got his start in the world of percussion instruments, his parent must have done a terrible amount of wrongin’ and Doug must have been an only child because the lad seems to play every type of drum on the planet! I jest about his parents of course, but not only is Doug a huge percussion instrument talent, he is also a community minded dynamo when it comes to drums and drumming – a real ambassador for the percussive branch of the sacred music tree. And in times of crises such as the current earthquake situation in Canterbury, what better way to calm the nerves and bring people together than through music?

Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
   – from The Mourning Bride by William Congreve.

So why not make music? Why not take up a new instrument or rekindle your interest in an instrument that you used to play? Perhaps drumming is your thing but you just don’t know it yet! Perhaps you need the inspiration and encouragement of a drumming community. If this rings a little bell inside you, get in touch with Doug Brush. Doug and his friends have been very proactive in keeping their percussive activities alive despite the earth’s recent percussive activities in the South Island of New Zealand. Here’s the latest from Doug:
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