Marimba Project Residency Begins at the Hotchkiss K-8

Fifteen students at a time will enjoy a participatory marimba ensemble session each day of the residency. The students will also have the option to be a part of an after-school class for those who would like more playing time and an extra musical challenge. At the end of the residency all the classes and after-school groups will share what they’ve learned in a performance for parents, teachers, other students, and community members on March 22nd in an in-school assembly and at 6pm with a performance at the Hotchkiss K-8.
The North Fork Valley Embodying Rhythm Marimba Project’s mission is to create a joyful, safe, and creative environment for students of all ages to delve deeper into their personal relationship with rhythm, music, themselves, and their community. We facilitate musical experiences to help participants acquire a visceral memory that learning music and playing music is fun, uplifting, and inspiring. All instruments and materials will be provided.

The marimba residencies allow students to learn to play music together and work together for the common good in a non-competitive, fun, engaging, and educational group activity. Playing music in an ensemble utilizes the whole student’s capacity in ways that other school activities cannot and focuses on communication and team building. The marimba experience would not just be offered to current music students, all students in the grade levels offered would get the chance to participate. There is a fast return on the student’s time investment because the basic sounds are easy to achieve instantly; the musical complexity comes with rhythmic syncopation, the layering of the parts, the implied music theory, the group feel, and the human interaction and cooperation behind it all. Much of the music we teach on the marimba is traditional music of the southern regions of Africa. We also teach improvisational techniques, contemporary melodies, and original compositions. All the participants involved will get to perform the new fun music that they’ve learned during the residency together, sharing their newfound love of working together as a team playing marimba music with their school-mates, friends, and teachers.