Augie Peltonen
Location: Brigantine, New Jersey
Village Music Circle Trainings
April 2001 - First met and played with Baba Olatunji, Arthur Hull, Mickey Hart, and other drum community celebs at the Baba Celebration in Middletown, New York
Summer 2001 - Hawaii Playshop
Summer 2002 - Hawaii Playshop
2003-2007 - Mentor at next four Hawaii Playshops, and one near Havre de Grace, Maryland
April 2002-2005 - Seattle World Rhythm Festivals
September 2002-2006 - Baltimore International Rhythm Festivals (BIRDS)
September 2005 - Landmark Training Conference NYC - facilitated 600 Landmark attendees
July 2009 - Facilitated major Peace Pilgrim celebration, Egg Harbor, 2009 - Hawaii Mentor
VMC-Certified Facilitators
- Aden Firdaus Jam'an
- Alan Bruni
- Alison Surridge
- Ashley Tisdale
- Augie Peltonen
- Ben Flohr
- Bill Knutson
- Cameron Tummel
- Eunmi “Emily” Kwak
- Gail Jackson
- Harshil Filippo Chiostri
- Heather Hodorowski
- Helga Reihl
- Jane Bentley
- Jeni Swerdlow
- Jim Boneau
- John Fitzgerald
- John Hagedorn
- John Hayden
- John Yost
- Jú Linares
- Jung-jin (Jun-Jun) Lee
- Karou Sasaki
- Katy Gaughan
- Kumi Masunaga
- Lars Kolstad
- Louis-Daniel Joly
- Lucas Coffey
- Lulu Leathley
- Mary Tolena
- Mathias Reuter
- Myounghun “Song”
- Nancy Brauhn-Curnes
- Nellie Hill
- Nu Zhang
- Pau Gimeno
- Paul Dear
- Peta Minter
- Rhonwyn Hagedorn
- Roberto Narain
- Sarah Bussell
- Simon Faulkner
- Steve Hill
- Steve Turner
- Syed Ibrahim
- Tomoko Yokota
- Tomonori “Chappy” Ueno
- Vasundhara Das
Augie Peltonen
is a retired art teacher in the Atlantic City, New Jersey area. He has also been a drummer in local rock and jazz bands in South Jersey.
Augie has a master’s degree in art and has studied creativity in several major Universities. He was also a teacher of gifted and talented kids for many years.
In April of 2001, he first met Baba Olatunji as well as Arthur Hull at a celebration for Baba in Middletown, New York. At that event Arthur told Augie he should go to Hawaii that summer to attend the annual Village Music Circles Playshop.
He went that summer and the rest was history. He became hooked on rhythmaculture. Since then, he has been to the Hawaii Playshop eight times and five as a mentor. He has also mentored at the East Coast Playshops in Maryland.
Augie does healing drum circles at a local rehabilitation hospital in Pomona, New Jersey on a monthly basis. He as facilitated youth at risk, works in the African American Churches in Atlantic City, and does assembly programs at local schools. In the summer Augie holds weekly drum circles on the beach in his home town of Brigantine.
Augie continues to develop programs for community drum circles in the area of New Jersey and surrounding states. He is a member of DCFG (Drum Circle Facilitator’s Guild) and attends all of their annual conventions. He also a member of PASIC (Percussion Arts Society International Conference) and has attended several of their conventions.
