EP #170 How Drum Party Brings Rhythm Therapy To Seniors And Youth

A drumbeat can be more than background noise. Sometimes it’s a shortcut to feeling safe, steady, and connected again. We’re joined by Stephanie Spreeman, a certified drum therapy practitioner, neurodiversity coach, and the founder of Drum Party, a Fredericksburg-based nonprofit that brings rhythm therapy into the community in a big, hands-on way.

We talk about what Drum Party actually looks like on the ground: elder outreach in senior communities with music that sparks memory and joy, youth outreach through partnerships with schools and nonprofits, and work alongside brain injury services for people recovering from accidents, surgeries, and trauma. Stephanie also clears up a common misconception. This is not a quiet, predictable “drum circle” setup. She recreates the feel of a full percussion room with big drums, cymbals, a table of instruments, and music choices that meet each group where they are, from the Beach Boys to K-pop.

Stephanie shares the personal turning point that led her here, including her own head injury and PTSD after being hit by a drunk driver, and how she later realized rhythm had been helping her heal all along. We dig into why drum therapy can feel so accessible compared with traditional instruments, how rhythm can help “recalibrate your mind,” and how neurodiversity coaching focuses on strengths, passions, and communication in families with both neurodivergent and neurotypical members. If you’re curious about drum therapy, trauma recovery tools, community wellness, or team building with real impact, this conversation delivers practical insight and hope you can use.

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Stephanie Spreeman

Drum Party

drumparty.org

stephaniesdrumparty@gmail.com

(540) 288-6765

Transcript

Welcome And Meet Stephanie

Speaker 1 0:01

This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.

Speaker 0:13

Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I have a special guest joining us today. We've got Stephanie Spreeman joining us. She is a neurodiversity coach, certified in drum therapy. She is also the owner of Drum Party. Stephanie, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 2 0:36

Thank you, Dori. I'm so happy to be here.

Speaker 0:39

Well, I'm really excited to learn all about you and what you do. And I am so curious about your business. So let's start

What Drum Party Does

Speaker 0:48

there. Share with us what is Drum Party?

Speaker 2 0:51

So, Drum Party is a nonprofit. We have several programs running right now. We have an elder outreach where we go into senior communities and take drum therapy, and we have a lot of fun with that with 50s and 60s music. We also have a youth outreach where I have partnered with other nonprofits to have events with our youth. And examples of that are public schools, and we go to a local orphanage and work with some church groups. So we have fun with that. And I've also done some work with brain injury services where we go in and actually help people to recover from brain injury, whether it be a car accident or surgeries and things like that.

Speaker 1:36

Amazing. So walk me through for someone who has never been to one of these events, walk me through what someone could expect.

Speaker 2 1:46

Well, you know, that's a tricky question because Drum Party is a customized immersive percussion experience. That being said, I would have a consultation with someone, and it could either be as big as a huge community drumming event, or it can be as small as a one-on-one session where we go through what drum therapy can do to help recalibrate your mind. So it really just depends on the

From Percussionist To Nonprofit Founder

Speaker 2 2:13

individual event.

Speaker 2:15

Okay, excellent. Excellent. So can you share with me maybe a specific um circumstance where uh you have gone in and had one of these events and kind of what the outcome could be?

Speaker 2 2:33

Okay, so um when I take everything in, there's a couple of different places that I've done this. I will work at local resorts where we just have community drumming, and I have worked at different um, like the Lions Club we had their picnic in Old Mill Park. And what I've done is basically recreated the drum room in high school. So if you think about a marching band when they come in and they take their drums off and put them on stands, and you have big bass drums, and you have snare drums, and you have percussion instruments, it's that kind of thing that I have recreated. And it gives people the opportunity to experience these instruments what they might not have access to normally. So it can be a lot of fun, it's a loud thing. I bring a couple of JBLs in, I have a sound system, and I have lighting, and and so it can be a loud, fun thing just depending on the situation.

Speaker 3:31

Very cool. I love it. So tell me about your background. I want to learn how you got into this.

Speaker 2 3:40

Well, you know, it's kind of an interesting story. So I kind of hit the scene around here in Fredericksburg a couple of years ago when I got my real estate license. And this was after I raised my five children, and everybody was out of the house, and I became empty nester, and so I started messing around a little bit locally in real estate. But one of the things that I kept getting in the networking was find a way to do what you love, you know, go with what makes your heart sing and what is your why and that kind of thing. And although some people are really good at real estate, it kind of wasn't my thing, you know, because growing up I was um pretty involved in music. And I was a competition uh percussionist and and have um awards and trophies, big trophies sitting in the high school, you know, they're I'll never see again. But I really got into music and percussion. And back in the time when I graduated school, it was one of those things where you either continued on to become a music teacher or you were gigging with Van Halen. So I started raising my family pretty young, and those opportunities weren't there for me, so music kind of went to the back burner. Well, when I figured out that real estate was really not my thing, I looked up drum therapy, just Googled it one day, and that's how I found Pat Giswaldo. So Pat back in 2006 formed drums and disabilities, and this came from some of his own experiences with um uh motor skills issues and uh severe dyslexia. Well, Pat went on to become a clinical studio percussionist and musician, but also formed drums and disabilities. And it was actually Pat that suggested that I go in a nonprofit direction with this so that I would be able to help serve more people instead of just becoming, you know, somebody local that you hire for things. Nonprofit situation lets you get out to more people and do more community type events. So he actually encouraged me to go in this direction with it.

Speaker 5:42

Amazing. Amazing.

How Locals Can Support

Speaker 5:44

So, as a nonprofit, what can local, the locals or local businesses, what can we do to support what you're doing?

Speaker 2 5:55

Well, I think that funding is a big thing, and that's an issue for any nonprofit. You know, we work really hard to get these programs off the ground, and then you know, just keeping them going. So donations go a long way towards, you know, helping to keep these programs going for senior communities, for youth. I've managed to in the last year partner with multiple nonprofits in order to bring um, especially to our youth, there's a lot of things that um that youth groups can benefit from this kind of thing because it is such an excellent nonverbal way of communicating joy. Uh, music can really help a lot of people with recalibrating their mind and in a way that sometimes they may not want to talk about things. But you know, if you're having anxiety, if you're having anger, if you're having any kind of issues like that, I mean, there's nothing better than beating drums to music that you love. It's just really a lot of fun, and it goes along all age groups, so um young children, uh, teenagers, it doesn't matter what the age is, parents, seniors get into this. I mean, pretty much it helps anybody with a brain. So that's one of the things that is so amazing about this, and just donating either your time or funds or in contact me if you have a youth group or a senior community or anything like that that you want us to come into, we'd be happy to partner with somebody with that.

Speaker 7:30

Amazing. Are you finding that there are any misconceptions about what you do?

Beyond The Drum Circle Myth

Speaker 2 7:37

Well, I think that when people think about drum circles or something along that nature, you kind of get a vision of, you know, people sitting around kind of kumbaya with some hand drums, and that's it. What I do is completely different. I bring in big drums, big toms, cymbals, snare drums, a whole table of percussion instruments, and a big sound system where we can explore different types of music. And music choice is a big thing. You know, it helps in the senior communities. If you play, you know, the Beatles or the Beach Boys, all of a sudden, you know, memories come back and it just really sparks joy. So another example of that is we went into um a Stafford County school system recently. Well, you know, a lot of kids are into the K-pop. You just have to really research and find, you know, what speaks to people and what they respond to because the energy level comes up, you know, you get pumped with all kinds of endorphins and feel-good chemicals, and you're moving your body and you're enjoying music. And it's just one of those things that really uh connects people in a really good nonverbal way.

Speaker 8:51

I love it so much. It sounds like an absolute blast. I need to try it.

Speaker 2 8:57

It is a lot of fun, yes.

Trauma Recovery And Neurodiversity Coaching

Speaker 9:00

So I understand you have a new certification. Tell me all about it.

Speaker 2 9:05

Oh, I really appreciate that question. Um, so I want to go back to how this all started. Um, I had told you that I was very involved in music. Well, I actually walked to school every morning around 6:30 for 7 a.m. before school percussion sectionals every day in high school. Well, one of these mornings, uh unfortunately, I got hit by a drunk driver and it shattered my left leg and caused a pretty bad head injury. So, you know, I've been very fortunate to have one of these aha moments because it wasn't until I got the certification with drums and disabilities that I had this epiphany that my natural affinity for playing along and tapping and doing whatever it is to when music comes was actually helping me to recover and heal from the bad PTSD and also the brain injury itself that I suffered. Because rhythm therapy and drum therapy actually helps to recalibrate your mind. So when I got the certification, then it just fascinated me because I didn't even realize that I had been doing that for myself all this time. And I don't want people to just take my word for it. The studies are out there, all of the studies on rhythm therapy and drum therapy have been done, but nobody's really doing it. Nobody's talking about it. You don't really see it a whole lot in the mainstream as far as how to help people recover from certain things. And I think that because it's not one of these things where I'm gonna prescribe you a medication and you have to come back to me, once I explain how this works, you can do it on your own. You don't have to come to me. So then it became like, okay, I've really got to get this out there. And and I started really researching about how the brain works and that type of thing. So I ran across this neurodiversity coaching course. And the further I got into that, the more I love it because it takes folks where they are, it looks for strengths and passions, and it's a good thing to help, you know, find a life that is more structured for them. Instead of trying to look for a problem and fix a problem, we're gonna be working on what somebody's strengths are and what it is that they have a passion for and what they might be really good at and help to guide them in that direction. And then the other thing, the way I want to combine the neurodiversity coaching with drum therapy is sometimes within families, you may have neurodivergent people and you may have neurotypical people, which is you know the everyday folks that that don't have issues in society. And sometimes the difficulties is just in the different communication styles. So I'm hoping to do some intensives with families, you know, to help everybody communicate and just uh explore how drum therapy might help in that regard. So I'm really excited about it.

Speaker 12:10

That's amazing. Congratulations on um on finding this and um what how interesting that you realize that it was helping something that you have been dealing with your whole life. I just I love your story and congratulations on finding also what you love and what you have a passion for because I could feel it when you're talking, you know, that this is something that um lights you up.

Speaker 2 12:39

Well, thank you so much. And I have to tell you, I I really feel like I'm doing something good here. And the reason I say that is not just about me, it's just the reactions that I've seen. Um, there's an orphanage that I go into where these kids have gone through a lot of trauma, and just to see the joy in that moment, you know, when they hear a favorite song and they are they're all playing together, and there's some kind of a connection that happens. Now, sometimes it sounds like popcorn. It doesn't matter. I tell people, listen, we're not recording the song, we're just playing along with it and having a good time. So there's something magic that happens when people get together and they play along to

Rhythm Tools For Feeling Safe

Speaker 2 13:18

music and they learn to just let go. It's a it's an automatic thing. You really get a lot of frustrations out or anxiety and things like that. And it's a deeper thing that we can go into, like when I start really talking to people about how you can use drum therapy tools to really just find a safe space. Because if you think about it, everyone on this planet started in the mother's womb. And what did they have 24-7? That heartbeat. So when you learn that you can take a shaker or even just do like this on your chest, it doesn't really matter. You don't have to have drums specifically, but there's something into tuning into that rhythm where you can tell your nervous system with a flip of a switch that you are safe. And that can be really valuable, you know, because we go through a lot in life. There's not hardly anybody I know that either hasn't gone through trauma or knows someone close to them that has had some type of trauma, and it can scramble your brain a little bit. But rhythm therapy can help you get that back in order. It's like a I'm calling it recalibrate your mind, you know, because um there's a lot of neat things that you can do to find your center again, you know, and to tell your nervous system that you're safe. It's kind of a little thing that goes along with that.

Speaker 14:41

Yeah, it's fascinating and just so interesting. I hadn't really thought about drum therapy before meeting you. And so this has opened my eyes so much. I just think it's the coolest thing. I love it.

Speaker 2 14:56

Thank you. Thank you so much. What I do love about drum therapy, now there's music therapy, it's a wonderful thing, but some instruments are very difficult. You know, you can't just unless you're a virtuoso and they're out there like playing piano or guitar. Some of those things take a lot of time and can be very difficult, especially for anyone that might be struggling with motor skills or anything like that. But you pick up a tambourine or a couple of drumsticks, and it's what is it they say about the shortest point between two point? You're there, you're playing. You can play along with any song with some percussion instruments. So that's why I love using these tools to help people get to that place. It's an elevated, active, theta meditative state that you achieve with drum therapy.

Speaker 15:42

Wow. Interesting.

Speaker 2 15:44

I know it's a mouthful.

Speaker 15:47

I love it. So, what is something that you wish the listeners knew about Drum Party?

Custom Events And How To Connect

Speaker 2 15:56

Well, I want them to know that it is such a customizable thing. For example, if um, if you have a group that maybe wants to learn how to recover from trauma, I can come in and do a whole thing about brain health, and then we can um use percussion instruments at the end of that. I'm also doing parties. Uh, I can do corporate team building and things like that, where a portion of the proceeds will go to the nonprofit as well. So it can be a therapy application or I can just show up with everything and we can turn the music on and have fun. It's so customizable. It just depends on what people are looking for.

Speaker 16:35

I love it. If the listeners want to learn more about Drum Party or if they want to connect with you, where can they find you?

Speaker 2 16:44

They can find us at www.drumparty.org, and our email is heal at drumparty.org.

Speaker 16:54

Amazing. Stephanie, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing Drum Party with us.

Speaker 2 17:01

Well, Dori, thank you so much. I think it's wonderful what you're doing for our local community and spotlighting businesses, and uh I really appreciate you. Thank you.

Speaker 17:10

Oh, thank you.

Speaker 1 17:12

Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG NeighborsPodcast.com.