Ana Nitmar and Ixim Tinamit Marimba Ensemble Present: The Guatemalan Marimba A Free Workshop! Saturday, April 25, 2009 10:00 am to 3:00 pm The central goal of this project is to promote Guatemalan Music through the interpretation of folkloric, popular and art music on the marimba. The workshop will emphasize the act of creating music as a collaborative effort. The Guatemalan marimba is an idiophone similar to the xylophone. The instrument is made with wooden bars stroked by mallets played by several musicians. It has its roots planted especially in the south of Mexico and Guatemala. The workshop will involve the presentation of several styles and genres from the repertory of Guatemalan marimba music, along with demonstrations of how the music is structured through hands-on activities. The Workshop will be lead by Guatemalan musicians Francisco Morales Senior Francisco Morales Jr., Gary Davila and Julio Landoni. This project has been made possible (or, made possible in part) by a grant from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, in partnership with the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation.