Our Vision
"The Women's Drum Center envisions a world in which women drummers- as performers, teachers, students- are a driving force for promoting joy, inclusiveness, respect, and unity in community."
Our Mission
The mission of the Women's Drum Center is to provide opportunities for women and girls to learn, teach, and play percussion together and to energize the community at large through our performing.
Our History
In 1989, Colleen Haas founded Drumming Our Fill, a percussion studio committed to providing a wide range of percussion experiences for women. Here, women could find artistic and emotional safety to pursue drumming--an art form where society marginalized women. Haas also started Drumheart, an ensemble of advanced Drumming Our Fill students.
In 1996 Haas relocated to Winona, Minnesota. The members of DrumHeart reorganized Drumming Our Fill into the non-profit organization DrumHeart Studio, Inc. In 2001 DrumHeart Studio changed its name to the Women’s Drum Center (WDC). The center continues to provide a home base for DrumHeart as well as classes and events for women and girls in our community.
At the Women’s Drum Center we emphasize:
-the joy of drumming rather than drum competitions
-an encouraging environment for beginners to explore drumming
-drum and percussion technique training
-learning from women drum instructors
-performing compositions arranged or written by women
-opportunity to grow both in drum skills and personally
-the communal nature of drumming
-world music
