Born with music in her blood, Ellen Clegg has been immersed in drumming and rhythm since the age of five. Her journey has involved training at Oberlin College and from traditional drummers in rhythmic traditions from across the globe. These include djembe from West Africa, steel drum (pan) from Trinidad, multiple percussion from Bahia Brazil, taiko from Japan, doumbek from the Middle East, and drum set, timpani, and marimba from Europe and the US.  Her teachers have included Rosemary Small, Twa Mercer of Trinidad, Edwina Lee Tyler, Ubaka Hill, Layne Redmond, Raquy Danzinger, and drummers of the Ballet Folklorica de Brasil while studying in Salvador Bahia Brazil.  She is currently studying with Master Drummer Valerie Naranjo (www.mandaramusic.com).  Studying these various traditions fuel her desire for understanding culture, community, social justice, and the role of drummers in culture since the birth of rhythm.

She developed skills as a facilitator, educator, and certified mediator while earning an MS in Enviromental Education from the Audubon Expedition Institute at Lesley University, after earning a BS in Psychology.  She currently studies the biological, psychological, and neurological effects of rhythm and drumming on the health of individuals and community as well as the historical role of drummers in various cultures, relating both to her work in today’s world.

Through the work of FOUND SOUNDS, Ellen Clegg unites her passion, skills, and training as a percussionist, facilitator, educator, and performer.  She believes in the power of rhythm and drumming, present in all aspects of the world around us, to develop community, to build communication, to find strength in our differences, to nourish health, and ultimately to inspire hope for a healthy and sustainable future.