September 10, 2025
Linda Blaser
Helen Bond brings West African drumming to Bemidji, featured on PBS
Helen Bond, lecturer in music at Lake Forest College, was featured on Lakeland PBS for leading a weeklong artaist in residency series of West African drumming workshops in Bemidji, Minnesota.
Bond traveled with visiting guest artist from Guinea, Fode Camara, to work with students at the Boys & Girls Club of Bemidji Area. The residency concluded with a family concert led by the students, followed by additional community programming. Events included a presentation on Bond’s nonprofit organization, Motherland Rhythm Community, and wrapped up with a public West African drum class and community drum circle at Headwaters Music & Arts.
The residency was made possible through grants from the Boys & Girls Club of Bemidji Area, the George W. Neilson Foundation, the Bemidji Area Arts Endowment, and the Carolyn F. Jacobs Cultural and Humanity Fund, with additional support from Bemidji Headwaters Music and Arts.
Bond, who has traveled to Guinea for more than two decades to study the art form and bring home authentic, locally made drums, also teaches West African drumming at Lake Forest College.
Lakeland PBS featured her work in its In Focus program, which aired August 22 across northern and central Minnesota. Bond and Camara will also bring their collaboration to Lake Forest College on October 8 for Daily Life and the Role of Music in Guinea, a public program featuring conversations, a meal, and a drum demonstration.