tebfuary 18.2000 * Just M t 33
T
/Motherlode
The pros of being amateur
20-Year Anniversary
Concert/CD Release
Marimba-philes aren ’t In it for the money,
they’re in it for the joy of making music ’
by
Sat., March 4
8 p.m.
New location! Hollywood Theater,
4036 N.E. Sandy
J)
K aty D avidson
aise your hand if you’ve ever performed
in public before.”
Kite Giedraitis, a local musician
i who has been teaching marimba
ssons for more than eight years, scans his
;ment studio in search of a single
pstretched arm.
The only response is a collective “who me?”
xpression until one woman finally asks, “Does
clarinet recital in grade school count?”
Its apparent these musicians are not in it
or the money. They will never get any major
edia exposure, they will never do a stadium
our of the world, VH1 will never go behind
heir music. So why on earth would they want
o devote time to playing marimba?
“It’s just beautiful,” says Sethyn Bryan, a 38-
ear-old woman who works by day in a chil
dren’s services
Anderson takes a whack at playing the
office. “Marimba
is physical; it’s meditative and melodic.”
Judging by the ever-increasing number of
people who populate Giedraitis’ classes, Bryan
is not the only one who feels this way.
The marimba, an African instrument simi
lar to a xylophone, originated in Zimbabwe
and was developed by the Shonah people,
according to Giedraitis. During the late 1960s,
a man named Dumi Maraire moved from his
native Zimbabwe to Seattle and began teach
ing marimba at the University of Washington.
The term “marimba” can be used to
describe the actual instrument or the style of
music. The African songs are melodically
kinetic, their rhythms are buoyant and upbeat,
and they create an optimistic atmosphere.
Players bang vigorously on the marimbas with
mallets, and the sound they make is similar to
loud drops of water.
“Marimba is fanciful and high-energy,”
Giedraitis says. “There are many melodies
going on at once— it’s polyphonic and
polyrhythmic."
Giedraitis himself started playing in 1987
with a group called Boka Marimba, did some
part-time teaching for a few years, then took a
yearlong trip to Africa in 1991. Now he’s a full
time teacher who holds classes four days a week
in his multiculturally decorated basement in
Southeast Portland.
Interestingly, about two-thirds of Giedraitis’
students are women, several of whom identify
as lesbian.
Lea Shapiro was first inspired to join a
marimba class when she saw a concert last year.
“I saw so many middle-aged women doing
it, it made me want to do it,” she says. “I was
kind of a couch potato back then, but a lot of
the women encouraged me to join."
Shapiro, a 43-year-old “mother of two cats,”
says the feeling of community keeps her going
back every week. '
“There’s a lot of positive energy in our
group. It’s given me a lot to know I can con
tribute,” she says.
After playing for a few months, Shapiro
used her own persuasive powers to convince
her friend Tey Morris to play. Morris says the
major allure of marimba is its therapeutic
nature and the ease of learning it.
“You can pick it up from sight and sound,”
she says. “You don’t have to practice that much
to sound good.”
Part of marimba’s simple, carefree air comes
from the actual music itself— the songs are
melodic, fast and catchy. But some
marimba-philes
say the best
part is playing
in a community
of musicians,
working togeth
er to combine
sounds and
rhythms.
“Marimba pulls
community
together. Even
though [the
music] is from far
away, it’s very
inclusive. People
rotate among the
instruments, they
play lead and sup
marimba
porting roles. It’s
actually a kind of
model of society,” Giedraitis says.
Sethyn Bryan was first introduced to
marimba in the late 1970s. She believes one of
its most fascinating aspects is the seemingly
psychic communication the musicians have
while playing together. During each song, the
group follows the lead of one player at a time.
The leader gives cues within her melody that
indicate when a change is coming.
Giedraitis’ students, in collaboration with
many other marimba groups from around Port
land and around the state, will perform a Fami
ly Marimba Concert and Dance at the end of
February. They will be joined by Nabi Camara,
a West African who now lives in Seattle, and
Joe Hlupheka Bayana from South Africa. Both
musicians have been playing marimba their
Join us as we celebrate 20 years
together with the release of our new
CD, "Motherlode - Live and Laughing"
AND a Motherlode video
ASL interpreted
Tickets available now at all Fastixx locations (224-8499) and
It's My Pleasure (236-0505). Available 2 weeks before
the show at Hollywood Box Office. $14.50 advance, $17/door.
* Limited seating . . . get your tickets early*
l l a r c d l e XV P ro d u ctio n s p resen ts
the fourth atinuaC
La Tetnim+TlusxM ‘Pageant
A ‘Pageant to Choose the
Most Q[amorous Putt figured
femaCe Impersonator in the World
Sunday, March 19th, 2000 • Pageant 8 pm • $0
D a r c c llc XV S h o w p la ce
Est 1967 • 208 NW Third Ave • Portland, OR 97209
Ticket info:(5031 222-5338 •
FAX (5031 248-6771
• www.darcellexv.cityMarch.com
anaeek s vvrv vision
and bewitching score provide an
uplifting celebration of the life force
in this dark table.
I his is no “ Disnev
version of lite in
the woods— but a true lesson of what
it means to be human as taught by a
menagerie of forest animals.
entire lives.
Even playing with these professionals,
Giedraitis’ students don’t think they’ll get too
nervous.
Morris says: “We take it seriously, but we
have fun with it. It’s a release, an escape.”
■ The F amily M arimba C oncert and D ance
mil be held from 6 to 10 p.m . Feb. 26 at the Echo
Theatre, 1515 S.E. 37th Ave. Admission is $5 far
adults, $3 for those under 18, and free for children
under 12 who are accompanied by an adult.
For more information about the concert or join
ing one of Kite Giedraitis' classes, call
(503) 775-9039.
K a ty D avidson considers herself a short-
haired hippie.
Sung in English • Portland Civic Auditorium • 7:30 pm sharp!
March 25, 27, 29, April 1
FOR TICKETS CALL
(503)241-1802 or (503) 790-A R T S
Tickets also available at all
outlets including GI Joe’s, Meier & Frank,
the PCPA and Portland Opera Box Offices. • www.ticketmaster.com/Oregon • Tickets from J2S
Groups of 10 or More SAVE up to 20% • Call 241-1407
Carol Franc Buck
Foundation
svww.portlandopera.org