Musical Marimba Men!

Saturday night (4/4/2009) we had a Marimba Band Workshop in Sedona. A fellow named Bart Brush, who went to our New Year’s Eve Dances of Universal Peace, was inspired by the shared experience of making music in a large group setting and he wanted to offer his favorite type of music and talent, so I told him I could make it happen. He is a teacher in the Prescott Valley, AZ school system and has created marimba bands with his students both there and in other parts of the country. He brought 20 marimbas of various sizes that he hand-made, ranging from a 7 foot long bass tone marimba to some small soprano models. All with beautiful tones and characters.

It was really a LOT of fun – although I found out I was really bad at it~! I just don’t have the manual dexterity to play most musical instruments – but I do love the music, and have a great deal of respect for those who can play well. I really enjoy the sound of the marimba.

Bart did a great job of turning a bunch of novices into a group capable of making recognizable (if not stellar) music in a short, two hour event.

Thank you, Bart, for a very fun and interesting class. Well done!

Perhaps 1/3 of the group were musicians used to playing other instruments. And one of the men who participated, Bradley Blalock, is actually an accomplished marimba musician and piano player. When he called to register, he told me to search his name on YouTube to see his marimba videos. I did – and would like to share what I found with you! BRAVO!

Have a look and listen:

Two Mexican Dances by Gordon Stout, performed by Bradley Blalock



I really had a difficult time choosing which video to feature. There are three, and I enjoyed all of them. Here are two more you may choose to check out:

"My First Dance with Zimbabwe" composed and performed by Bradley Blalock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE882XDs_Gc
Asturias (Leyenda) by Albeniz, Performed Live By Bradley Blalock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biJi5fxelCo

And if you do a search on Bradley Blalock within YouTube, you will find his piano videos as well.

Blessings,
Cathryn
www.moonsinger.com
www.dancingpeace.blogspot.com
"Music is the unified language of the universe. Everything is melody, harmony, strings, and the universe is a symphony. The mind of God is music resonating through 10-dimensional hyperspace." ~Michio Kaku, physicist, author, teacher, advisor for NASA and Star Trek (www.mkaku.org)