Drum circle participants create a symphony of sound at Roots To Rhythm in Marietta.
Photo by Makenzie Bowker

The weather was surprisingly frigid and snowy in Marietta, but it didn’t stop Toni Kellar and her 12 students from letting loose with some drumming. Kellar, the founder and director of Roots To Rhythm, started the rhythm-based business in 2002 after leaving her fulltime job as an assignment editor at a Connecticut paper. After more than 20 successful years in the newspaper business, the sudden career change may seem peculiar to some. However, Kellar began playing the drums at the tender age of 9 years old. “I was always picking up sticks and tapping out rhythms,” she said. “It was a natural passion.”

She continued her drumming in her high school marching band, serving as the drum major in her senior year. The Ohio University alumna stopped playing in college to focus on her studies, but her love for drumming was quickly re-ignited with a hand drumming class in 1994, nearly 13 years after high school. “That experience was life changing,” she said. “Being able to express rhythm directly from my body and hands to the drum head – and expressing innate rhythms instead of something written on a piece of paper and thought out in my head – was very powerful.”

After the hand drumming class, Kellar sought the help of some of the most experienced hand percussion teachers in New York to further her education. Two years later, she facilitated a women’s-only drumming circle. Soon after, the requests for Kellar to facilitate began to rapidly increase and she made the bold move to pursue drum facilitation professionally. “Something was guiding me to pursue this new passion, and so I took a leap of faith, quit my career job, sold our house, and moved to Southeast Ohio to focus on and develop Roots to Rhythm full time.”

Southeast Ohio Magazine sat down with Kellar to ask her more about her journey and the Roots to Rhythm program.

SEO: What led you to Southeast Ohio?
KELLAR: My family roots are from this region. I always wanted to come back, and when I had the vision to pursue this work full time, I recognized that there were plenty of drum circle facilitators in the Northeast, but none in this region of Southeast Ohio. I felt a huge draw and purpose to fill the void. It was a natural move to come to here. Once I landed, Roots To Rhythm experienced a rapid organic growth, mostly by word of mouth. This reinforced the feeling that I was in the right place.

SEO: How many drum circles have you led since founding Roots To Rhythm?
KELLAR: Probably nearly 500.

SEO: In what way(s) do you believe drum circles can be beneficial for the people of Southeast Ohio?
KELLAR: I don’t just believe it. The evidence is clear. Drum circles help people discover innate rhythmic abilities they didn’t know they had; the expression of this rhythm brings about a sense of wellness; the sharing of this experience with others brings about great joy; and it’s fun! Additionally, there are scientific studies that have shown the wellness benefits of group drumming. It’s a great way to relieve stress, tap into authentic human expression, and go back to our first sensory experience as human beings – our mother’s pulse.

SEO: What is your favorite part about leading others in a drum circle?
KELLAR: I experience incredible joy in the process of helping people feel empowered to do something they thought they couldn’t do, and then get out of their way so they can do it on their own. Facilitating is really about making things easy, to flow. My purpose is as a servant leader. I want to make myself obsolete by the end of the program.

SEO: Do you provide the drums during a drum circle?
KELLAR: I provide all the drums and percussion instruments needed. I can supply instruments for at least 300 people. I don’t know how many drums I actually own. I continually add drums and instruments to my kit, and I haven’t counted them in a while.

SEO: How long does the typical drum circle last?
KELLAR: Most programs are about an hour and a half long; 45 minutes for school programs. However, I’ve done programs as short as 20 minutes, and as long as two to three hours.

SEO: What is the average size of a drum circle?
KELLAR: The sizes vary depending on the program. A nice size for a community drum circle is about 15 to 20 people, but smaller ones of 8 to 10 participants are also really nice. Sizes for developmental and leadership programs vary from around 10 to 100. A typical conference keynote size would be 150 to 300 people or more.

SEO: What advice would you have for someone looking to break into the drum circle world?
KELLAR: Experience as many drum circles as you can with different facilitators. Once you really understand the participant experience, take as many professional drum circle facilitation training programs as you can. There is a lot of technique and program development involved with creating a really good drum circle experience, so training is key. Then, get started! It is a continuous-learning, continuous-improvement process. I learn something new every time I facilitate a program.

Check out more photos from Roots To Rhythm on Flickr!