Drum Circles at Landis: A Transformative Experience

By Louise Polli

We’re going to build a lit­tle momentum…It is sort of a trans­for­ma­tive expe­ri­ence, every­thing in our lives is so inte­grat­ed … you have to let go and get into a zone,” 

Zep and Denise explained. He not­ed that he had some record­ed music. 

It gets us off the run­way a lit­tle bit … for self-dis­cov­ery, freedom.” 

With the help of a well-cho­sen instru­men­tal playlist, every­one picked up and began play­ing, unchore­o­graphed, a per­cus­sion instru­ment they brought or passed around the cir­cle, con­gas, mara­cas, claves, even five-gal­lon buck­ets. Days of rain had sub­sided, the Arbore­tum’s birds danced over­head, cedar waxwings and a scar­let tan­ag­er soared, and the drum­mers set­tled into the rhythm of the night.

We can thank Vijaya for the drum cir­cles and much more. She is the vision behind the Shan­ti Vun Med­i­ta­tion Gar­den and its pri­ma­ry bene­fac­tor, aid­ed by many hours of vol­un­teer labor. A trib­ute to her par­ents, Vijaya’s gar­den and pavil­ion are a spe­cial addi­tion to the Arbore­tum’s land­scape. Per­fect for a fam­i­ly pic­nic or a peace­ful retreat from the stress­es of every­day life, Shan­ti Vun was planned and exe­cut­ed with metic­u­lous detail. And, yes, it’s the ide­al back­drop for a drum circle.

Just as Vijaya was deter­mined to cre­ate the Med­i­ta­tion Gar­den, she also con­vinced Zep to bring his drum cir­cles to Lan­dis. It was the chai, ” he said, beam­ing, Her chai led me in here.” Vijaya’s home­made chai, rich with the spices of her Indi­an home­land, charmed Zep and per­suad­ed him to work with her to estab­lish a series of drum cir­cles at the Arbore­tum the first and third Thurs­day nights of each month, from 7 to 9 PM, through the sum­mer and into Sep­tem­ber, weath­er permitting.

Par­tic­i­pants new to drum cir­cles were unsure what to expect, but any hes­i­ta­tion quick­ly dis­si­pat­ed with Zep’s wel­com­ing approach and encour­age­ment. He imme­di­ate­ly con­nect­ed with the group, put every­one at ease, and solicit­ed feed­back between sets. By the end of the evening, the group was smil­ing know­ing­ly, relaxed and con­fi­dent enough to per­form with­out accom­pa­ni­ment. Every­one instinc­tive­ly con­tin­ued to play, to find their own sound. It might just be some­thing the oth­er per­son came to hear, ” Zep told us.

We made our own music, our own peace, that mem­o­rable July evening. Come and find yours in the seren­i­ty of the Med­i­ta­tion Gar­den and Pavil­ion. You might want to bring some chai.

Tap to view full size


Fall 2021

Volume 39 , Number 3

Share this

The Latest from Landis

Mar 14, 2023

Picturing Landis through the year

Scenic Landis Arboretum just begs to be captured by photographers, professionals and amateurs alike. Enjoy... read more

Mar 14, 2023

2022 Annual Report

View or Download read more

Mar 14, 2023 | Nolan Marciniec

Re-thinking Garden Pests

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything... read more

Mar 14, 2023 | Fred Lape, founder of the George Landis Arboretum

Barn Swallows

In this poem, Arboretum founder Fred Lape calls our attention to the “commonplace” miracle of... read more

Mar 14, 2023 | Anita Sanchez

Things Are Looking Up

Tree canopy -- Anita Sanchez Long ago I worked at a nature center, leading walks... read more

Mar 14, 2023 | Laurie Freeman

S-L-O-W Birding: A Primer for Beginners

Are you considering birding? Perhaps you’ve heard that birding is a great way to enjoy... read more

News Archive