Elementary band plans music CD

Staff Report

Following up a busy winter of performances, the Tucumcari Elementary's ORFF Ensemble band plans to record a music CD as their next project.

The ORFF Ensemble is comprised of students from the fourth and fifth grades who play on instruments made from recycled material, said Andrew Kesten, music/band director.

"These children have done an amazing job performing on the road and at home," Kesten said. "There is a lot of projects in the works that will add to the ensemble's musical performances."

Kesten said local artist Rick Haymaker is going to assist the ensemble with the recording of the CD. He said the CD's playlist will be the musical tracks that the group has performed.

"The children are excited about the idea of making a CD," Kesten said, adding that the ensemble has performed four times this winter with three of those concerts in Tucumcari, including the Dec. 9 performance at the Tucumcari Train Depot. He said on Dec. 12, the children performed at Buchanan Hall at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales.

"The children have put a lot of work into their performances," Kesten said. "Assistant Director Paul Gibson has worked equally as hard to make the ensemble such a success."

Kesten said thanks to a $5,300 grant from the McMullin Foundation and matching funds from the school district, the ensemble will purchase nine marimbas. He said marimbas are traditional Zimbabwe percussion instruments consisting of a set of wooden bars struck with mallets, sending sound through resonator tubes.

Kesten said the marimbas will be built in Oregon and will have a different musical tone (soprano, alto, tenor and bass). He said the marimbas will not be completed until the spring.

"There is a possibility of the ensemble performing with the ENMU steel drum band using the marimbas," Kesten said.