Expression Through Music

A Glimpse of Josh Dunigan's Work as an ACT Teaching Artist

Josh Dunigan is not only a fantastic drummer and hard-working professional musician in the west Michigan music scene, but he has also been an active Teaching Artist since 2005. He was introduced to ACT through our festival at Pine Grove Elementary. He has been a steadfast supporter of the ACT community ever since, teaching several drumming residencies in special education classrooms as well as leading our drum troupe, the ACTion Drummers.

“I tell people I teach expression and communication, and I use music to do that,” says Josh. “We have a lot of students who don’t use words to express words and for those of us who do use words to express ourselves, we can be inhibited by our knowledge surrounding those words. Music makes it easier for people to express themselves outside of those boundaries.”

Josh began teaching at McCall’s Chapel, a long-term facility for adults with disabilities in Ada, Oklahoma and has since taught at a number of schools, non-profit organizations, and is currently a member of 5 different bands. When asked about what ACT has brought to his life, Josh stated, “Through ACT I have created a community in GR. The ACTion drummers are my community and I am lucky to have a place like ACT where I can hang out with my friends and make music every week.”