Acclaimed trumpeter Joan Paddock knows the soothing value of rhythm.
Paddock, professor of music and band director at Linfield College since 1994, has always loved teaching. Now, she is extending her lessons to the McMinnville community, leading drum circles and therapeutic sessions for individuals living with mental illness.
Paddock began exploring the positive benefits of drum circles in her freshman Colloquium course at Linfield. She said the results of the activity were life-changing and empowering, for her students as well as herself.
Paddock saw the same positive impact when she began leading drum circles with the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The community drum circles are made up of individuals living with mental illnesses as well as those who are not. Drumming helps individuals feel, allowing them to simply share something that is joyful with other people.
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