Founder and Musical Director – Ronnie Pulley

Ronnie has been an avid student and teacher of  Communications and West African Music since 2002.  Being enamored with West African drumming, he has been blessed with the opportunity to train with several Master Djembefolas including Aly Camara, Fode Camara, Mohamed DeCosta, Mohamed Diabi,  Bolokada Conde, and Mamady Keita. After going through a comprehensive 2 year training with the Tam Tam Mandigue (TTM) International School of West African Music, Ronnie received his certification from TTM Proferssor Bill Scheidt in 2006.  Ronnie’s training curriculum uses the TTM Pedagogy teaching style, created by GrandMaster Mamady Keita. Since then Ronnie has taught hundreds of students to become a better teacher and to help others become better drummers and musicians.

To put his training into real life application, Ronnie helped to form the West African performance group Rhythmicity who performed in numerous venues for over 15 years and most recently in 2017 he founded a new group called Dayo Rhythms.  He enjoys playing with his bandmates and bringing joy to others while performing for schools, festivals, churches, senior centers, and special needs groups.

Ronnie’s passion for teaching and helping others drives him to continue taking classes to learn new skills. He has taken several classes from Award winning Drum Circle Facilitators Jim Donovan and Kalani and attends the Drum Circle Facilitators Guild. Ronnie is a trained Health Rhythms Facilitator and has worked with Hospice, the UNC Children’s Hospital, and the United Way. Ronnie has found that when people drum together and express themselves through the spirit of the drum, healing tends to occur on many levels. People become connected at the heart level and real magic happens. As Mamady Keita says, “The Djembe knows no boundaries. It is not restricted by gender, age, creed, social status, or religion. The Djembe speaks the universal language of joy and love.”

Everyone has a heartbeat. Everyone has rhythm.

Fill your life with the joy of community and the power of rhythm.  Contact Ronnie to register for the next drumming class or get on the mailing list. Group classes and private classes are held on a regular basis.