MASAMBA SAMBA SCHOOL
School, Youth & Community Workshops
About our Workshops
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Samba is one of the most accessible musical art forms available to all ages. It’s fun and easy to understand, and it’s a great gateway to music making for anyone.
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Using some simple clapping games and conveying these onto the instruments, within minutes all students will have instruments in their hands, and in just a half hour, the whole class will be playing with confidence as a samba band. Every student’s contribution will be valued, as they contribute to the overall team effort.
Once the foundations have been learned, adding a series of simple structured musical breaks and ‘call and response’ drumming will result in a finale of energetic drumming and a satisfying feeling of achievement.
We use a variety of authentic percussion instruments, sourced ethically in Brazil. From the Surdo (large bass drum) to the Tamborim (small tambourine), our instruments are the same as played in the famous Rio carnival.
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This active-learning samba workshop can be tailored to suit any age or ability and can be structured over a longer period.
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Projects can be stand-alone or run over several weeks, working towards a school show, a multicultural day or another public performance.
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All of the required instruments are provided and the workshops are run with energy and enthusiasm by our vastly experienced team.
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Through samba drumming, participants can develop the following skills/abilities
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Learn about the structure of music
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Interpersonal & Intrapersonal Skills
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Communication Skills
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Collaboration
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Cultural Diversity
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Social and Emotional Learning
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Inclusion
A day can consist of: up to eight 30-40 minute samba workshops with up to 25 in each group. A half day could consist of a morning or afternoon with three 30-40 minute workshops.
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In addition to our highly successful percussion workshops, we also offer some alternatives:
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Dance workshops with live percussion. The focus here is on Afro-Brazilian dance, enhanced by the addition of live percussion, creating an authentic and enjoyable for students. We can provide percussionists to play for the dancers, or run parallel drumming and dance sessions, bringing everyone together for a dynamic performance at the end.
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Cardio Drumming. Cardio drumming enhances physical and mental wellbeing through drumming along with popular songs. The group can choose the songs they like, and our facilitators will work out energetic routines to accompany them.
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Recycled and Sustainable Percussion Instrument Making. As we all become more aware of the need to reduce waste and reuse and recycle, we have designed a series of workshops whereby participants create shakers, chimes and sound effects, from everyday waste materials such as bottle tops, jar lids, coffee capsules, tin cans, etc. If required, we can design a performance incorporating these instruments, or create a small ceremony where instruments are placed in situ in a garden, school yard, etc.
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The Instruments
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MaSamba is proud to use only the highest-quality instruments in our workshops and performances.
Unlike many other ‘samba’ groups, all of our instruments are sourced from Brasil, in sone cases directly from the factories and workshops where they are produced.
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We are proud to have the support of the following companies who support our work through the provision of instruments, accessories and advice:
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Contemporanea Instrumentos Musicais – Brasil’s premier producer of samba percussion instruments, based in downtown Sao Paulo. www.contemporaneamusical.com.br/
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Sabian Cymbals – Canadian based, master cymbal makers, who combine the highest quality products with a down-to-earth approach. www.sabian.com/
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Liverpool Drumsticks – based in Santa Catarina, Brasil, Liverpool produce specialist sticks and beaters for the samba community, as well as a wide range of ‘mainstream’ drumsticks. www.baquetasliverpool.com.br/
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The Tutors
Simeon Smith
Simeon Smith is a community musician, based in Dublin.
He has achieved a BA is English and Sociology and an MA in Community Development, both from NUIG, and in 2007 achieved a primary qualification as a counsellor in Reality Therapy/Choice Theory. In 2023, Simeon was awarded a PhD in Arts Practice from University of Limerick, on the theme of music education.
Simeon has been playing samba for 30 years, and is a founding member of MaSamba Samba School. He has received formal and informal training from many of the top practicioners in the field, and facilitated many top samba artists to visit and teach in Ireland, and has developed a repertoire of many of the popular styles of Afro-Brasilian music.
Simeon delivers over 500 workshops a year, primarily with children and young people. Recently, he has delivered programmes for the National Concert Hall Music in Mind Programme, Creative Ireland, and Music Network, amongst others.
Simeon also performs regularly with his band, Masamba Samba School.
Niall Gregory
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Niall started his music career around 1990 in Drogheda Ireland. At first playing drum set, then entering the world of percussion by joining Ireland's first Samba school. He has performed with and studied extensively with Brazilian master drummer “Dudu Tucci”. He has also made several trips to the Caribbean to study with some of Cuba’s master drummers. While in Cuba he met and studied with members of Clave Guaguanco, Afro Cuba de Mantanzas, Rumberos de Cuba etc.
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On his return he has become one of Ireland’s most sought after teachers of Afro Latin percussion. He currently leads his own Latin percussion group “Cachimbo” who have just released there latest album “Si Emi Ilu” (Spirit of the drum) .
He has toured internationally with Dead Can Dance and is a member of Sully Erna of Godsmacks solo group . Their first album Avalon made its debut at no 22 in the USA billboard charts and the group have toured the USA and Canada in support of the album.
Dan Whelan
Dan Whelan is a Dublin-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, improviser and educator working across a diverse range of settings including folk, jazz, Afro-Brazilian, electronic and improvised music.
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He holds a BA in Jazz and Contemporary Music Performance from DCU and is currently active teaching, performing and developing new works supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.
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Dan works with MaSamba Samba School supporting community development projects aiming to promote wellbeing, creativity and personal development through collaborative arts.
Fernando Basqueroto
Fernando Basqueroto has been immersed in the world of samba since his adolescence, learning many of the fundamental aspects of samba and pagode.
In the early 2000s, he completed an intensive course in percussion at Unidos de Vila Maria, gaining insight into the foundations of all instruments comprising a samba school drum section. He contributed to the Unidos de Vila Maria drum section in São Paulo for three years, from 2005 to 2007, under the leadership of Master Mi, playing the malacacheta and repinique.
In 2008, he led a carnival block in the local community for one year.
In 2015, he moved to the USA and became part of the samba and pagode group, Samba BRO, performing across the state of Florida and opening for renowned Brazilian artists such as Claudia Leite, Molejo, and Marquinhos Sensação.
In 2022, he relocated to Ireland and joined the 353 Samba Club, the leading pagode group in the country. The band has been performing throughout the country, and will soon undertake a short tour of Portugal.
In 2023, Fernando joined the team at Masamba School of Samba as a tutor, where he remains to this day. In this journey, he takes pride in working as part of a team of colleagues deeply committed to preserving and disseminating the rich tradition of Brazilian music. Together, they impart knowledge with respect and fidelity to the teachings they have received, thus cementing a lasting legacy in the international musical culture.
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Kelly Baldonado
Kelly Baldonado has formal qualifications in Tourism Studies and Health and Fitness, but began her dancing career at the tender age of 10, performing at small festivals, theatres and school shows. By the age of 16, Kelly was teaching Afro-Brazilian dance at a gym, where she worked for two years.
In 2005, Kelly moved to Ireland, mainly to improve her English, and quickly became involved with the MaSamba Samba School. Since then, she has taken part in three St Patrick’s Day parades (2 as Queen of the Drums), as well as numerous TV shows, promotions and festivals such as the Lord Mayor’s Parade in Belfast, Oxygen and the Electric Picnic.
Kelly has also appeared in ‘Fair City’ and ‘The Tudors’ and has done numerous photoshoots for many of Ireland’s leading promotional agencies.
Kelly is the Dance Director at MaSamba Samba School and has performed with us throughout Ireland, the UK and Germany.
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