Viewfinder: School's Drum Circle Plays Symphony Hall

recently had the opportunity to perform at Allentown Symphony Hall in celebration of Youth in Education Arts programs.

The group's advisor, , reported that "the Youth Education in Arts program had us beginning our day as the youth performance group performing in the lobby as people came in to the theatre."

Director of Allentown's Urban Arts Center (UAC) Eric Kitchenman then invited Amani Djembe to come onto the main stage and be the opening performance group for the evening.

"(The UAC) program is a subsidiary of Youth Education in the Arts (YEA!), a youth agency committed to supporting the development of young people to magnificent human beings through their participation in the performing arts, and is a nationally recognized arts program," Carawan explained.

Amani Djembe were led by their drumming instructor Maureen "Moe" Jerant, who founded the Lehigh Valley Drum Circle and is active in many bands throughout the area.

"The kids played for well over an hour and had a blast, even getting the audience to sing along to one of the African tunes they performed," Carawan reported.

Members of the group who participated in the June 7 performance included Dylan Leibensperger, Marissa Miller, Kate Warnke, Cameron Butera, Mackenzie Butera, Kyle Coronado and Zoie Coronado, in addition to Carawan and Jerant.