Challenging beginnings

Every Beginning Is a Challenge

Every beginning is a challenge.

I’d like to thank the organisers of CMC Črnuče for the invitation and their help with my very first workshop. Even though the turnout was modest — and despite the fact that someone even tried (luckily without success) to lure participants away to outdoor activities just before we started — I can still say the experience was a positive one.

As so often happens, things didn’t go entirely according to plan. Time was tight, and I didn’t manage to prepare everything I had envisioned. After only three hours of sleep, the remaining energy was quickly drained by traffic jams and last-minute preparations. Still, with the help of colleagues, I managed to carry the workshop through from start to finish, received encouraging feedback, and even sent one participant home “armed” with a handbook.

Every beginning is a challenge — and this proved true not only for the workshop itself, but also for the centre and other activities taking place as part of the festival. There is certainly room for improvement when it comes to promotion, but I find it encouraging that even a small number of satisfied participants can make a difference. Those are often the people who return later and bring along new, interested faces.

An additional source of optimism for future workshops and presentations is the fact that general interest has been slowly increasing lately, along with the number of potential new drummers. Quite a few people have surprised me by saying that drums genuinely interest them — not just that they “seem cool.” It’s true that enthusiasm sometimes fades once costs are mentioned, but not everyone needs top-of-the-line equipment when starting out.

For the next presentation, I’ll be moving to a place filled with personal memories: the primary school where I spent eight formative years of my life.

Drum on!