JOIA, The World Percussion Ensemble  has been performing together since 1990.  It is made up of people from all walks of life:  teachers, college professors, video producers, students, legal assistants, and businesspeople. Under the leadership of Rick Kramer, Joia has performed at all types of venues, including; street festivals, parades, shopping malls, nightclubs, private clubs, conventions...in fact,  anywhere there is a crowd.  We entertained 64,000 St. Louis Rams fans at four consecutive games in 1996.  Joia demonstrates how positive and successful  teamwork can be created through percussion.

Unity Through Percussion (UTP) is the teaching arm of Joia.  We use drumming to strengthen communication, community and teamwork.  Drumming is how humans originally communicated.  It is communication at its most primal level.

UTP utilizes this analogy:  building a percussion ensemble is similar to building a community.  By looking at the analogy, participants discover that when one area of their life is out of sync with the rest of their life, it creates a ripple effect making them less productive and less successful.  UTP workshops quickly shift communication,  getting to the foundation of a community then rebuilding it to demonstrate how each individual creates the whole  community.

Why Participate in a Unity Through Percussion workshop?
Society is changing rapidly,  In this environment it is important to support teamwork, community, problem solving, stress relief, healing, and self expression through non-verbal communication. How?
 
 

First	We put the participant into a fun, creative environment.  Then we give them percussion instruments and  teach  them simple rhythms. Then we create a percussion ensemble.
Second	We create the community using the analogy of the percussion ensemble. We discover together what it takes to create success for each individual and therefore the group as a whole.
Third	Our workshops are so unique that people will be talking about that "crazy" percussion workshop for a  long time. However, the "unity" the group achieved through percussion will be the true long term influence.

Our workshops are fun, creative and designed for non-musical people.  It is an easy and painless way to get to the core of  participation,  responsibility and team.
 

UTP workshops are also an excellent method for alleviating stress when a participant is undergoing a transition.  By introducing new instruments into the newly-created ensemble, we demonstrate how this alters the group and how each person and the group as a whole must adapt to create something new.

Joia takes great pride in the clients we serve. We are dedicated to the success of our clients’ function.  We are proud that our name is continually selected to represent clients who wish to inspire excitement, creativity and unity within their respective communities.

E-Mail Rick Kramer
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