MONROE - African music has found an unlikely but enthusiastic home in Monroe at a church among a group of mostly retirees.

The Union Presbyterian Church African Drum Ensemble started in the fall of 2013, after six djembe drums were donated to the congregation in memory of a church member who passed away, Ruth Richardson.

It's a natural fit for the music-loving congregation, said Pastor Jesse Larson. He's also a member of the ensemble.

Now wrapping up its second year, the ensemble has "taken on a life of its own," he said.

It has grown to include about a dozen people from both the church and community. Anyone is welcome to join, no prior training necessary.

On Sunday afternoon, the group performs as part of a free spring concert at the church. The concert is open to the public, with fellowship and cheesecake to follow, Larson said.

Don't call it a drum circle

African music doesn't play by the rules we learned growing up in piano lessons or playing oboe in the school band.

Multiple rhythms and time signatures compete and flow alongside each other. Rhythms are articulated, not counted. Songs are learned via spoken rhythms and phrasing, not notated on sheet music.

These are easy concepts for children to grasp and remember, said Sarah Bodell, instructor and leader of the drum ensemble. She teaches music at Northside Elementary School and leads the fifth-grade African ensemble there.

Adult brains are less malleable. The idea of not counting out rhythms or reading music can be overwhelming.

"The first year, it was battling, "No, we don't count,' and "No, there's no music,'" Bodell said.

On a recent Wednesday night, Bodell led the ensemble through an easy-going rehearsal. At one point she encouraged the group to "trust your hands to do what they're supposed to do."

"The minute you stop to think, you'll lose your beat," she said.

Even though the group generally sits in a circle and drums, Bodell recoils at the term "drum circle." It implies an impromptu, informal gathering.

"This is not informal at all," Bodell said. The songs take discipline, skill and practice. The ensemble doesn't only drum, either. Members also tap out rhythms and melodies on a row of xylophones.

Singing and drumming at the same time looks easy but is actually extremely challenging, the group agreed. Ensemble member Chris Wellington described it as trying to chew gum, pat your stomach and walk in a straight line all at once.

Getting out in the community

Bodell first encountered African drumming about 12 years ago as a student teacher at a school on the far south side of Chicago. On her first day she opened up the cabinet in the music room and found 15 drums. Faced with a classroom full of unruly kids, she had found just what she needed. It turned out to be a great way to keep the students engaged.

Since then she's taken several workshops with Sowah Mensah, a master drummer from Ghana, and completed her Master's degree at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, where Mensah is a professor.

For some in the Union Presbyterian Church African Drum Ensemble, making music is an extension of worship. For others, it's just about the music.

"I just like the feel of the drums and the rhythm of it," said Jonna Heins, who's played with the ensemble for two years.

The group joked about being mostly "AARP eligible," as member Al Hudson put it. Everyone laughed when Bodell told the story of a girl in one of her classes who informed her, "Ms. Bodell, I don't mean to be rude, but you look like the youngest person in that group."

But behind a drum or xylophone, "we all come here equal and united," Bodell said.

Now she'd like to see the ensemble expand and get heard by more ears.

"We want to get out in the community more," she said.