About Us
Since our founding in 2014 we have been working to advance the marimba art form, and reach as many audiences, students, performers, and composers as possible.
Mission & Vision
The mission of Heartland Marimba is to reach many audiences in order to support and advance the classical marimba art form, its music, and its composers and performers. This is accomplished through four components: community outreach, educational experiences, generating new repertoire, and opportunities for professionals.
marimba
a Latin American percussion instrument consisting of a set of hardwood plates placed over tuned metal resonators, played with two soft-headed sticks in each hand
Heartland Marimba has been committed to creating a viable market for the classical marimba art form since 2014. Embedded in this platform is a deep passion to bring marimba performance to communities of all sizes, especially small towns, and under-served communities.
HM has produced more than 200 concerts in more than 50 cities since 2014. Thousands of children have experienced educational presentations by HM groups, more than 20 composers have written for HM groups, and at least 30 young artists have been employed by the HMEnsemble. We are focused on the future of the marimba art form. We hope you will join us along the way with your support!
“Watching the 16 mallets fly across the bars was a delight”
History
.webp)
What started as a summer marimba festival & workshop has grown into 200+ concerts, multiple festivals, many commissions, and 80+ publications. Thousands of students have been reached with our education initiatives. Our passion and commitment to the marimba art form has gotten us here today, and will continue to drive us into the future.
Ensembles
Heartland Marimba Quartet
The Heartland Marimba Quartet (HMQ) was established in 2016 by acclaimed marimba soloist Matthew Coley and has done more than 140 concerts since its inception. The group seeks to give a platform to the music of American composers in its programming and continues to expand its repertoire with works from composers worldwide. Comprised of four distinctly creative forces (Matthew Coley, Hunter Gross, Ryan Pearson and Marco Schirripa) HMQ exemplifies Heartland Marimba’s mission to develop and disseminate the classical marimba art form in both academic and community contexts.
Heartland Marimba Ensemble
The Heartland Marimba Ensemble is one of two touring groups of the Heartland Marimba organization. HME typically performs concert tours throughout the heartland states in May–July and December. The 2020 pandemic has enabled HME to develop new parts of its programming. You can view several remotely produced performances on the HM YouTube Channel, and these artists now participate in the annual Spring and Autumn Masterworks projects.
The HM artist roster constitutes a dynamic membership of accomplished performers from the US. HME performs a selection of diverse classical repertoire spanning many styles and genres. The music includes classical arrangements, jazz, tango, ragtime, Americana, pops, holiday favorites, modern, and circus!
Concert Programs
Whether we are filling a storied concert hall or elementary school gym filled with 300 5th graders, we can accommodate any space or any audience. Take a look at our offerings and let us know what concert or program you are interested in. Have something special in mind? Send us a message and let's talk about it!