The nine-piece Maine Marimba Ensemble: 18 hands on deck. (Photo courtesy Kellie Bigos)
Have lots of fun for a really good cause: The Maine Marimba Ensemble’s upcoming concert on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. at Darrows Barn at DRA Round Top Farm in Damariscotta looks like a really fun time. And the ticket price – $10 at the door – will go to benefit the Meals on Wheels program at Spectrum Generations Coastal Community Center in Damariscotta.
The nine-piece group will give a concert titled “Magic of Marimba” on an assortment of marimbas, featuring both traditional and contemporary Zimbabwean music. Dancing, I have been told, is highly encouraged.
“The Maine Marimba Ensemble is a unique percussion band based in Portland,” said Kellie Bigos, the nutrition and volunteer coordinator at Spectrum Generations Coastal Community Center. “Marimbas are huge wooden xylophone-like instruments. The marimbas the ensemble uses are handmade by lead marimba player Jacob Wolff and created from a variety of woods.
“The music the ensemble plays is based on traditional Zimbabwean music from the Shona culture, used to call ancestral spirits for guidance,” said Bigos. “It incorporates great rhythms and inspires foot-tapping, hip-swaying, and dancing that appeals to all ages.”
Besides Wolff, the Maine Marimba Ensemble consists of Kevin Caron, Rob Cimitile, Chris Fletcher, Elliot Heeschen, Peter Himmer, Zebulon Kelley, Matt Wasowski, and Tchukki Andersen. Learn more about the group (and listen) at mainemarimbaensemble.com.
Portland filmmaker Tonya Shevenell photographs day eight of her father’s two-week trek from Quebec to Biddeford. (Photo courtesy Tonya Shevenell)
Refreshments will be available at the concert. Call 563-1363 for more information.
“The Home Road,” continued: The other night, I had the pleasure of watching “The Home Road,” the new feature-length documentary film by Portland filmmaker Tonya Shevenell that will be playing at Lincoln Theater at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23 (see my interview with Shevenell in this issue). Like the historical documentaries made by Wiscasset filmmaker, composer, and musician Sumner McKane, such as “The Northeast by Eastern,” which I wrote about earlier this year, Shevenell’s new movie is historically accurate, tells an engaging story, and features a soundtrack that is, well, lovely. McKane creates and performs the soundtracks for his films and he did so for “The Home Road,” a wise choice on Shevenell’s part.
As it happens, Shevenell has known McKane for quite a long time. In addition to being a filmmaker, she is an electric bass player and has played music with McKane on past occasions.
I am including a couple of photographs here from “The Home Road” that I particularly like and did not use in my article about the film.
Go see “The Home Road.” It is inspired and inspiring.
Enjoy!
(Email me at clbreglia@lcnme.com or write me a letter in care of The Lincoln County News, P.O. Box 36, Damariscotta, ME 04543. I love to hear from readers.)
