Kimberly M. Roberts began her steel band journey at the University of South Carolina back in 1992 when she took "Steel Band" as an elective. It was rare for a college to have a steel band and completely unheard of for an elementary school to own steel drums. A lot has changed in the world of steel drumming. Most colleges and now many high schools have full-sized steel bands. In South Carolina alone, there are more than a dozen elementary schools with full-sized bands and even more with classroom-sized Jumbie Jam steel drums. Without a doubt, steel drums have moved from the realm of novelty to something that is becoming just as popular as Orff in an elementary classroom.
Steel drums are becoming common-place, but this does not mean that knowing how to successfully teach students to play steel drums is common knowledge. In fact, a lot more goes into successfully teaching steel drums than most people realize. The saying, "You don't know what you don't know" definitely applies to starting a steel band. For 25 years, Mrs. Roberts has been a part of the "steel band movement," helping schools with grant writing, instrument acquisition, and serving as the artist-in-residence for the instructional part of start up- both in the U.S. and now abroad, bringing Hong Kong their country's first steel band program!
Mrs. Roberts works closely with many steel band companies and she serves as the education consultant for Panyard, Inc. Her consulting work on the Jumbie Jam and the methods taught in her Beginner's Guide to the Jumbie Jam led to this classroom-sized drum receiving multiple prestigious NAMM Awards of Best Tools for Schools and Best in Show. Kimberly M. Roberts has literally "written the book on it" and would love to help you integrate steel drums into your music classroom.
If you are starting a steel band program at your school or just want to look into starting a band, Kimberly M. Roberts is the person to contact. Her real-world steel band performance experience, educational background, deep understanding for steel band teaching methods, and rapport with students, makes her an excellent resource that will start your new program off with the foundation it needs for success.
Steel drums are becoming common-place, but this does not mean that knowing how to successfully teach students to play steel drums is common knowledge. In fact, a lot more goes into successfully teaching steel drums than most people realize. The saying, "You don't know what you don't know" definitely applies to starting a steel band. For 25 years, Mrs. Roberts has been a part of the "steel band movement," helping schools with grant writing, instrument acquisition, and serving as the artist-in-residence for the instructional part of start up- both in the U.S. and now abroad, bringing Hong Kong their country's first steel band program!
Mrs. Roberts works closely with many steel band companies and she serves as the education consultant for Panyard, Inc. Her consulting work on the Jumbie Jam and the methods taught in her Beginner's Guide to the Jumbie Jam led to this classroom-sized drum receiving multiple prestigious NAMM Awards of Best Tools for Schools and Best in Show. Kimberly M. Roberts has literally "written the book on it" and would love to help you integrate steel drums into your music classroom.
If you are starting a steel band program at your school or just want to look into starting a band, Kimberly M. Roberts is the person to contact. Her real-world steel band performance experience, educational background, deep understanding for steel band teaching methods, and rapport with students, makes her an excellent resource that will start your new program off with the foundation it needs for success.
Want to start a steel band and don't know where to start?
Mrs. Roberts can walk you through the process from start to finish. She will present you with the pros and cons that should be considered when choosing the type of steel drum and type of program best for your school.
1. Do you want this to be used in the general music classroom?
2. Do you want to start up an afterschool program?
3. How often to you hope to perform off-campus?
4. How often do you plan to practice and how many students do you hope to have participate?
5. What grade levels do you want to incorporate?
6. Where will the drums be stored?
These are just a few examples of the many, many questions you will need to consider when choosing the type of band and type of steel drum that is best for your school.
1. Do you want this to be used in the general music classroom?
2. Do you want to start up an afterschool program?
3. How often to you hope to perform off-campus?
4. How often do you plan to practice and how many students do you hope to have participate?
5. What grade levels do you want to incorporate?
6. Where will the drums be stored?
These are just a few examples of the many, many questions you will need to consider when choosing the type of band and type of steel drum that is best for your school.
Fill out a contact form and Mrs. Roberts will call you for a FREE steel band consultation.
Serving as the artist-in-residence for Kellett- the British International School in Hong Kong, Mrs. Roberts worked with both with the prep school at Kowloon Bay Campus and Pok Fu Lam Campus to integrate Jumbie Jams into their music curriculum, making Kellett the first school in Hong Kong to experience steel drums! She also worked with the upper school of Kowloon Bay to establish Hong Kong's first full sized steel band.