Lincoln Elementary Marimba Band

The Lincoln Elementary Marimba Bands are two ensembles of fourth and fifth grade students from Lincoln Elementary School in Kennewick, Washington. Students rehearse 2 days a week before school for an hour each rehearsal. The Marimba Bands not only play for their school, but also the broader community.

1. To provide a high-level performance ensemble for the students of Lincoln Elementary
2. To teach leadership and teamwork skills through music
3. To give performance opportunities to students and performances for the community
4. To teach and show students what can be accomplished with determination and hard work

Students of Lincoln Elementary School – These performance groups are designed to give students the opportunity to be in a high-level ensemble experience.

The Community – These groups are designed not only to showcase high achieving students, but also to bring joy and pride to our community. Community members gather often to see the bands and listen to familiar tunes. They take great pride in seeing young members of our community working hard to create a unique experience.

I began teaching at Lincoln Elementary in 2018. Despite having a large collection of Orff instruments, the school lacked marimbas. Inspired by other local elementary marimba bands, my principal negotiated a trade with another school. We gave up our xylophones and we received a set of marimbas.

Over the summer of 2019, I completed Walt Hampton’s “Hot Marimba” course through World Music Drumming. I learned the basics of marimba and learned how to run a marimba band. The following fall, I launched the Lincoln Elementary Marimba Band with a small group of 12 students. We only had 12 instruments at the time.

School closures in spring 2020 prevented rehearsals, and the hybrid learning model implemented in fall 2020 limited practice time. We finally reunited as a full group in spring 2021 and had one performance for the school.

As we’ve been building the program and are back to normalization of school, we have performed at a variety of venues. Performances include: The Mid-Columbia Library, Sagebrush Montessori, Summer’s HUB in Kennewick, The Kennewick School District Mallet Festival, Tri-City American Hockey Games and the KSD Walk-tober Event. In spring of 2024, we took a tour to some of those venues.

These are the key figures who have helped the initiative:

Tony Langdon: Tony was my first administrator. He negotiated the trade for the marimbas and encouraged me to start the groups.

World Music Drumming: I took Walt Hampton’s “Hot Marimba” course through World Music Drumming. This gave me the training and skills needed to start the marimba groups.

Lincoln Marimba Band Parents: The support and dedication of our parents have been essential to the program’s success. They volunteer with chaperoning trips and moving equipment.

LEAP (Lincoln Elementary Parent-Teacher group): LEAP has been a consistent and collaborative partner, providing support and resources to the marimba program.

Lincoln Elementary Teacher: The teachers at the school are big supporters of the band. They encourage students and are supportive and generous towards the bands.

We started the program with 12 handcrafted instruments built by makers Sarah Spark and John Eikelman. These 2-octave diatonic marimbas are modeled after traditional Zimbabwean design. When Lincoln received them, they had been used for over twenty years, and had been played by thousands of students.

Recognizing the need for instrument maintenance and expansion, I enrolled in a marimba building class with Tom Bourne in fall 2021. This experience equipped me to repair our existing instruments and started me on a path to build my own. In the summer of 2023, I designed and built 25 practice marimbas for students to take home, generating additional funding for the program through a small rental fee. The students’ abilities increased exponentially with these practice marimbas.

The following year, I constructed three full-sized marimbas for Lincoln Elementary. This expansion increased student participation, with 17 students now actively involved in each band. With these additional marimbas, we no longer have to take turns with marimbas in the general music classroom.

Another valuable resource in our program is the music we play. We began with Walt Hampton’s ‘Hot Marimba’ books, gradually progressing to the more challenging arrangements by Doug Edwards. Today, our repertoire includes a blend of these two collections, along with my own compositions and arrangements. Collaborating with students on new pieces has been a rewarding experience. The collaboration between myself and students really gives a higher level of connection to what we are performing.

Social Media
Social media posts by our School District. Our school and district Facebook page have shared videos of the bands to promote music education. Our music has been featured in a social media ad by a local restaurant. Everywhere we play, our initiative gets shared more and more.

Public Performances
Anytime we play in public, we have many people watching and listening. We have signs up saying who we are. Because of this we get contacted for more performance opportunities

Both of these strategies have significantly amplified the effect of our advocacy initiative.

These strategies have not only increased awareness of the marimba program but have also created significant community interest and support for music education

We initially traded the marimba for equipment we already had, so the instruments came at no cost to our school. We have had to purchase additional equipment:

• Mallets: $450
• Drum Set: $500

While the Marimba Bands have been successful, we’ve also encountered issues. One large issue is transportation of the equipment. My school does not have a trailer like vehicle to move them. It was difficult to play gigs away from our school and ultimately we were having to turn down some performances. We are in the process of fundraising for a trailer. We overcame this by parents stepping up to help. Multiple families have either rented U-hauls or used their vehicles in moving the equipment.

Another one of the challenges we faced was rejection. After applying to perform at the Washington Music Educators Association Conference, we were unfortunately not selected. While this was initially disheartening for students and families, it ultimately served as fuel for growth. We used this experience as motivation to strive for higher standards and set a new goal: to perform at a state-level conference.

Using performances as data, the initiative has been successful. When we perform in the community, our concerts are heavily attended with 100+ people watching. Younger students in the school aspire to be in it, and will take further their education by taking lessons outside of school. It is building music as something that matters to our school and community. Nearly all of the marimba students have gone on to continue their music education in middle and high school.

The initiative has made an impact in a number of areas.

Lincoln Elementary Music Program: It has boosted my music program to a high level. Kids see the marimba groups and aspire to be the ones playing. They are excited for music class and love getting to play the marimbas. It sets high expectations in all aspects of the school’s music program.

Lincoln Elementary: It has given our school a unique aspect. Most elementary schools due minimal performing in the community. We are able to provide music to event such as assemblies, and carnivals at the school.

Kennewick School District: When we perform in the community, we represent our district. We are also another Marimba Band to showcase in the Kennewick District Mallet festival

Kennewick Community: We have given the community a free musical group. We have put on community performances at venues such as The Mid-Columbia Libraries, The HUB in Kennewick, Sage Brush Montessori, The Tri-City American Hockey Games, The Kennewick School District.

Don’t stop working! My program took a long time to get it where I wanted it. You have to keep looking forward. Oh, and don’t forget to practice whatever you are doing. Some kids are excellent musicians and you need to be there in order for them to be challenged and to get better. Keep pushing!

There are a lot of things I would’ve done differently, but all of them have been a learning opportunity. I often learn “don’t do that again”.

If there was one thing, it would be to not underestimate kids. They can be such incredible young musicians. Give them time to digest material and keep going.