ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Sarah Thawer is a self-taught drummer based in Toronto, Canada. She started playing drums at age 2 and her first stage performance was at age 5. She is currently freelancing, touring, recording and performing with international artists playing various genres including jazz, fusion, latin, gospel, funk, r&b, hip hop, indian and world music.
She studied jazz and world music at York University and was the recipient of the Oscar Peterson Scholarship, the highest award given by the institution, in addition to graduating with the Summa Cum Laude distinction.
Sarah has shared the stage and performed with many popular artists including AR Rahman, Robert Sput Searight, Jane Bunnett, Charlotte Day Wilson, Ruth B, Osman Mir, Shweta Subram, Jeremy Ledbetter, Salim-Sulaiman, Benny Dayal, Thompson Egbo-Egbo, Roger and Sam Grandison to name a few.
Sarah endorses Vic Firth, Evans, Yamaha, Zildjian, 64 Audio, Gruv Gear and ProLogix. Sarah is also the Brand Ambassador for the company Remitbee.
ABOUT THE CLINIC: Exploring Indian Rhythms on the Drum Set
When it comes to indian rhythms, the first thing that comes to mind are complex rhythms and syllables such as “Ghe Na Dha Ge Na”. This specifically comes from the indian classical side, which has two distinct traditions: North Indian/Hindustani and the tabla, and South Indian/Carnatic side along with the Mridangam. Bols (tabla) and Solkattu (Mridangam) are syllables that represent each hit on the drum. While this tradition is incredible and what I studied as a kid and continue to study, I would like to take a slightly different approach to indian rhythms. My topic will cover Indian rhythms from a groove, feel and pattern perspective. Just like how you have a “mambo” in a Cuban setting, “shout” in a Gospel setting or James Brown grooves in a Funk setting. The world is very aware of music from the indian classical side, but there is not much awareness of the thousands of grooves that come from this tradition. Please see the PDF attached to my detailed session description.