Candomblé Percussion Workshop

This four-week series of free workshops will focus on the rhythms and playing techniques that are unique to the Afro Brazilian cultural practice of Candomblé. The first two classes will be taught by CMC faculty member Robert Lopez to act as an introduction to the rhythms and the last two will be led by Brazilian master drummer Jorge Alabê. The final class will culminate with an opportunity for students to accompany an experienced dancer in the tradition. This will give students a deeper sense of the rhythms they’ve learned by using these in context. While it is important to learn the rhythms themselves, these workshops will stress the visual significance conveyed in the music. Participants will register for the full series of 4 weekly workshops. The group will be invited to participate in a song in your May 3 performance through SFIAF.

This project exists to strengthen ties between CMC and the existing communities around the Mission district that have been studying and performing Brazilian music for decades. While there has been extensive work with Brazilian popular music in the Bay Area, there has not been an equally matched study of its folkloric traditions. These classes will allow those in the community the necessary exposure to the practices of Candomblé. We are thrilled to be able to facilitate these communities working together.

These workshops are supported by a Community Music Center (CMC) Partnership Grant, these workshops will be of no charge to attendees.

4-week series: March 30; April 6; April 13; April 27
Sundays @ 10–11:30am
CMC Concert Hall
FREE - space is limited, please register in advance

Participants will register for the full series of 4 weekly workshops*. Some percussion experience is preferred but not necessary. Select "series participant" option of the March 30 date.

A limited number of conga drums and sticks will be available for attendees, but please bring your own if you are able (Repique sticks or nylon sticks for samba reggae)

*attendance to all workshops is not mandatory, however priority will be given to those that can attend the complete series.

Audience/Observer tickets will also be available for individual workshops for those who would like to watch and learn from the sidelines.

Robert Lopez is a drums and percussion faculty member of CMC, teaching private lessons and a .

Robert Lopez is a percussionist, composer, curator and educator based in Oakland. His background in various types of music such as folkloric traditions of Brazil, Ghana and Cuba, alongside contemporary chamber music and free improvisation, allow him to maintain a malleable approach to sharing musical ideas. He holds a Bachelors of Music from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at Cal State University Long Beach and a Master of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Improvisation from Mills College. Since 2011, he has been an active member of the Bay Area music community working with groups SO AR, the Oakland Active Orchestra, Quattour Elephantis, Grex and Jordan Glenn’s BEAK among others. He has been a dance accompanist at Mills College, UC Berkeley, ODC and Sonoma State. Since 2014 he has maintained a close relationship with master drummer Jorge Alabê. This partnership has led to awards from the Fulbright US Student Program for projects “Cultural Transmission through the Music of Candomblé” (2022) and “Investigating the Language of Candomblé Drumming” (2020), a grant from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (2018) and first-place in the Brazilian category with Grupo Samba Rio in San Francisco’s Carnaval (2018 and 2019).

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Community Music Center, 544 Capp Street, San Francisco, United States