Since the dawn of human culture, musical instruments have served as tools for communication, creativity, and connection. In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore the rich legacy of Pre-Columbian sound technologies by learning about indigenous ceramic instruments—and creating their own.
By shaping clay into flutes, we deepen our appreciation for ancestral cultures and awaken a felt sense of connection to the natural world. This process invites us into embodied presence, cultivates creative expression, and fosters a
sense of community.
Working with earth and sound side by side, we remember music not only as art, but as a vital thread in the fabric of human experience—joyful, grounding, and timeless. All are welcome, and no previous experience with clay, instruments, or music is necessary. Everyone can enjoy turning mud into music!
Intended Audience: Adults
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Melissa Hyatt Foss is an instrument-maker, musician, composer-performer, and teaching artist who co-creates with an ever-growing collection of instruments she handcrafts from clay. Her instruments, which are both visual and sonic objects, both sculptural and functional, recreate and reimagine Pre-Columbian sound artifacts of the Americas through the lens of personal narrative and regional mythology.
Melissa received her training in Argentina under the tutelage of composer and educator Alejandro Iglesias Rossi and musicologist and educator Susana Ferreres, and developed her career as a performer, instrument-maker, teaching artist, and researcher for nearly a decade in connection with the National University of Argentina. There she completed her master’s degree in Musical Composition, New Technologies, and Traditional Arts, taught in the Bachelor’s program in Indigenous, Classical, and Popular Music of America, and performed as a soloist for seven years with the Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments and New Technologies.
Melissa has created and delivered innovative, bilingual educational programming with the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, Yale University, UMBC, the Enoch Pratt Libraries, Creative Alliance, and Baltimore Clayworks, as well as numerous early childhood through 8th-grade classrooms across Maryland.
Catalog of work: catalogue.
Payment and Cancellation Policy: Payment is due online at the time of registration. Cancellations made 14 or more days before the event will receive a refund minus a 5% processing fee. Cancellations made within 14 days of the event will not receive a refund. Events and field trips with fees of $25 or less are non-refundable at any time unless canceled by NHSM. NHSM retains the right to update or change these requirements at any time.
Registration
Levels:- Member : $90
- NonMember: $105