Dana C. Maguire

Born in Boston, Dana was the son of the late Charles Maguire and Beverly (Ennis) Hurley, and the adopted son of Gertrude Noumi.

Dana graduated from Brockton High School, attended Bridgewater State College, and Lesley University, and trained in massage therapy at the Bancroft School of Massage Therapy in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was a teacher’s aide in the Warwick School Department.

Dana’s lifelong passion for music and African drumming lead him to study djembe in Mali, in West Africa. His philosophy was, “if you have a heart, you have rhythm,” and his mission was to get drums into the hands of as many people as possible. He accomplished that through teaching drumming at private and public schools; in adolescent treatment facilities; and through countless drum circles and experiential learning workshops for nearly 30 years through his Rhythm Kitchen program. Drumming brought him to South Africa, where he toured with the Pomfret School choir, and to Portugal, where he drummed with Plan International. Dana also drummed for Archbishop Desmond Tutu during a prayer service at the Cathedral of St. John in Providence in 1999.

He used both drum playing and drum building to teach social skills, community service, and core academics in creative custom integrated curriculum programs. He used native harvested Rhode Island woods to craft his DMD hybrid ashiko cajon drums. In 2017 he was inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame as a member of Plan 9. Dana was also a percussionist in the bands Desert Rain and Quahog Jack.

Dana is survived by his son Samuel Maguire; his nephews, Michael, Mark, and Christopher Carroll, and many beloved siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held November 1 at 1pm at Club Jogues, 184 Boston Street, Coventry, Rhode Island.