Marimba! SHS acquires new instrument

After legendary Springfield High School music teacher Isabella Erickson died in 2016, current music teacher Jim Chlebak wanted to do something special with the memorial funds donated in her honor.

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Isabella Erickson

Marimba! SHS acquires new instrument BY KAREN ENGDAHL, The ShopperApril 6, 2017 music SHS music teacher, Jim Chlebak, plays the marimba. Photo by Karen Engdahl. SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – After legendary Springfield High School music teacher Isabella Erickson died in 2016, current music teacher Jim Chlebak wanted to do something special with the memorial funds donated in her honor. “I thought about it for a long time,” said Chlebak. “I wanted to get something durable – something that would last and be used by students for years to come. She was a pianist above all else, so I wanted to get something with a keyboard, a beautiful instrument. The marimba fits the bill perfectly.” Chlebak noted that while the marimba is traditionally part of the percussion section, many music students make use of the marimba. “We’ve used it to play jazz and Nashville chord progressions,” he said. “The keys are big and easy to identify so it’s a great introduction to the keyboard for beginners. We’re featuring the marimba in our Spring Arts Festival Concert on May 18.” Chlebak and his wife have commissioned their son, Nicolas Chlebak, a noted musician/composer in his own right, to write a marimba concerto for the event. “The concerto is for marimba, snare, and timpani,” said Chlebak, “and will feature students A.J. Aldrich, Lina Geyer, and Ben Parent.” The marimba is a percussion instrument consisting of a set of wooden bars struck with mallets to produce musical tones. Resonators suspended underneath the bars amplify their sound. The bars of a marimba are arranged like the keys of a piano, with the groups of two and three accidentals raised vertically, overlapping the natural bars to aid the performer both visually and physically. The marimba was developed in Central America by African slaves and descended from its ancestral balafon instrument, which was also built by African slaves. Marimba is now the national instrument of Guatemala and Costa Rica. “It has a great sound,” says Chlebak, “and we’re excited to present it in a world premiere concerto this May. I think Isabella Erickson would really like it.”