Dancing Bohemian Ukulele Team starts school of uke

Community Church of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff founder and minister Tom Dickelman had never played the ukulele in his life, and although he’s played a “little bit” of guitar, he wasn’t a musician.

So it was a surprise to him when a few years ago he attended a wedding where the groom played a song on the ukulele for the bride, and immediately thought, “I want to learn how to play the ukulele.”

“I thought it sounded cool,” Dickelman said. “[And] I thought it would be fun to do with some other people, especially people who were good musicians. I asked [my friend] Fred [Koch] and a couple of other people.”

Within 10 days, Dickelman asked seven of his friends if they wanted to learn how to play the ukulele together, and they all said yes. Now, the eight men — Tom Dickelman, Tom Pasquesi, Fred Koch, Daryl Beese, Terry Moran, Elliott Delman, Bobby Newman and Ken Hall — are known as the “Dancing Bohemian Ukulele Team,” and, beginning in October 2012, the men have not only learned how to play the instrument, but have performed at church services, parties and other special events. They play old rock ‘n’ roll favorites, such as the Rolling Stones, The Doors and Jimmy Hendrix, and even original songs.

Dickelman said that the other men either make their living or part of their living as musicians, except for him.

“It’s more like seven musicians and a minister, who plays very quietly,” Dickelman said, laughing.

Their group has been so popular that people at the church had started asking about learning how to play the ukulele.

“We just had a blast playing together and I think people tuned into that. We decided, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to start a Dancing Bohemian School of Uke?’” Dickelman said. “I sent out a few emails to people in the church, and much to my surprise, two weeks later we had 30 people signed up for classes.”

That was about two months ago. The “Dancing Bohemian School of Uke” has been teaching 30 people, every week, for the past five weeks, in the Community Church’s office at 117 E. Scranton Ave. in Lake Bluff. Anybody who wants to learn how to play the ukulele can join the classes, which are six weeks long and are taught by Dancing Bohemian Ukulele Team member Elliott Delman. The six-week sessions are $120 and the church has ukuleles on hand to rent, so students don’t have to invest in the instrument before learning how to play.

Delman said the students — who range in age from 11 to 92 — are fun to teach.

“I used to be a high school foreign language teacher, and it’s nice to teach people stuff they actually want to learn,” Delman said. “People want to learn this. It’s just a blast.”

On March 10, eight ukulele students sat around the table in the upstairs room of the church’s office, strumming chords and singing along to “This Little Light of Mine,” while Delman excitedly instructed them and played along.

Lake Forest resident Kay Waltman said she heard about the ukulele classes through the church and thought it sounded like fun.

“As you get older, they say the best thing you can do is learn a language or learn to play a musical instrument to get your brain recharged,” Waltman said. “I realized it is a good exercise.”

Her classmate, Graham Wilson, said he started learning how to play guitar six months ago. When Wilson heard that the church was offering ukulele lessons, he jumped on board.

“It’s a strange instrument for strange people,” he said, laughing. “I thought it would match. I’m loving it. I’m really having fun with it.”

After these classes end, the School of Uke will continue with six weeks of beginner’s ukulele lessons after Easter, and possibly an advanced class as well, Dickelman said. He is excited about the School of Uke.

“It’s a win-win — it’s a chance for people to get together and have fun, it’s how people get to know each other in the church,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for Elliott, a master teacher, to use his skills. It’s a win on multiple levels.”

As for the Dancing Bohemian Ukulele Team, Dickelman said the group will probably take an “adventure in music” trip to New Orleans and play at churches there, in the same vein as the church’s “Adventure in Service” and “Adventure in Spirit” trips.

In the meantime, they’ll keep playing, singing, and laughing, and spreading the gospel of uke.