September 2013

Arcata, California USA
September 2013
Duo Wins Prize, Gets Dutch Tour
An unusual combination--a woman
from Asia and a man from Europe,
both marimba masters--won a
prestigious prize that netted them a
nine-concert tour of the premier halls
of the Netherlands.
Playing as the Joint Venture
Percussion Duo, Rachel Xi Zhang
of China and Laurent Warnier of
Luxembourg have brought together
a blend of musical and cultural
influences, a common ground through
percussion despite their contrasting
backgrounds.
They were awarded the Bernard
Haitink Prize, plus a scholarship,
during the Vriedenkrans Competition.
The tour takes them on the stages of
Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and
Eindhoven’s Muziekgebouw, among
others.
Recent performances of the duo
were at such venues as the Beijing
National Center for Performing Arts
and the Shenzhen Symphony Hall,
in addition to recitals at numerous
conservatories.
During a recent trip to the United
States, they performed in Arcata,
California, home of the marimba
one® instruments they use. They said,
“We played our own arrangments of
music by Mihail Glinka, Maurice Ravel
and Frank Zappa, and premiered a piece
by composer Igor Iofe who wrote it
especially for our duo.”
They focused a talk on the
musical life of a duo, on how they
work together and the necessity to
enlarge the marimbist’s repertoire
Online Lessons With Lynn Vartan
The marimba one artist
provides percussion lessons that
are live and interactive over the
web.
The lessons are held every
Tuesday at 6 p.m. Pacific
time (that’s 1 a.m. GMT).
Subscription is $20 a month.
No skype necessary.
®
►
in every direction, from making
transcriptions to commissioning
new pieces.
“It was an amazing learning
experience for us...Our favorite part
of the tour at marimba one® was to
observe the amount of passion and
dedication that you can see in each
part of the factory to just make a
great marimba.”
In This Issue
Tuning Clinic..........2
Marvelous Steve.....2
New Artist...............3
Round Sound..........3
M1 In The World....4
Our Exclusive Service
Marimba One Tuner Makes A House Call
In three days, master tuner Brian retuned 15 keyboards. And he did it all in Luxembourg.
He was there because of the International Katarzyna Mycka Marimba Academy (IKMMA) at the Conservatoire
du Luxembourg.
At marimba one®. our master tuners tune each and every bar by hand--and not just in our shop. The goal
is to maximize the potential of each piece of wood by
relieving the internal stresses. This handcrafting takes
longer, but it is worth it because the result is a warm,
deep sound, evenly balanced across the keyboard.
“We decided that the master tuner could come to you,”
explains Ron Samuels, founder and owner of marimba
one® “This is a better way to service our instruments
and keep them tuned.”
As marimba one® artist Shoko Sakai said, “My bars got
refreshed. Such beautiful sound.”
Because it serves musicians so well, marimba one® will
continue with tuning clinics throughout Europe and Asia
in 2014-2015.
The next one is scheduled to take place in Germany,
probably in the spring.
Would you bring your keyboard to a tuning clinic if it was held near you? Tell us what you’d like. We’re
here to serve you and your marimba. Email denisef@marimbaone.com.
The Engineering Marvel
The unlikeliest of settings
brought Steve, the mechanical
engineer, into contact with Ron,
the founder of marimba one®
Their separate gardening needs
had them both shoveling manure
at a nearby stable eleven years
ago.
Putting down their shovels,
they began talking about how to
engineer Ron’s designs to build a
better marimba. Steve envisioned
turning some of Ron’s dreams into
reality and offered his services as
a consultant.
Steve believes in the engineering
mantra which says, “If you
marimba one®
control the process, you control the
product.” And over the eleven years
of their collaboration, the controls
have gotten tighter and tighter.
Highly skilled craftspeople, with
the aid of computer analysis, still
tune each marimba by hand.
Steve, who is recognized by his
Salvador Dali-like mustache, says
the best part of of his job is the
variety of the work, citing as one
example his secret design of the
double-wrap winding of marimba
one® mallets.
A lover of the George Frederick
Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach and
other composers of baroque music,
Steve wields a dial caliper
Steve sits on the board of the Eureka
Symphony. He loves marimba
music, too.
September 2013
Our Newest Discovery: Alexej Gerassimez
After racking up a number of first place awards
at various competitions, Alexej Gerassimez is
marimba one® ‘s latest Discovery Artist.
He grew up in a musical family--his parents,
two brothers and a sister all play--and he went to
concerts as soon as he took his first baby steps.
He was “captivated” by percussionists.
“I started to pilfer cooking pots, tin cans and
other stuff, which I could use to build my own
percussion set, and I used chopsticks giving my
first solo concerts at home.”
Of his playing now, Gerassimez says, “I like to
go to the dynamic threshold. I like playing very
soft and trying to let the marimba sing.
And I like playing very powerful for a clear, solid,
deep sound, but with few overtones.”
He cites three factors for the high-class quality
of marimba one® instruments. “A strong, smart
PA S I C 2 0 1 3
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Great attack from middle
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“...this product is awesome!”
-Jesus Martinez, Percussion Educator, TX
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SUPERIOR sound
Lightweight mallet with warmth & articulation
RS5 (soft)
Lightweight yet produces
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Financing Available
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RS3 (medium)
Perfect balance for
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frame which is flexible at the same time, a balanced and
brilliantly tuned keyboard, and well-considered and perfectly
adapted cases.
“And, by the way,” he adds, “it looks pretty good, too.”
Amazing performance
The mallet that works to make you sound great
MSR $34.95
NoteWorthy Federal Credit Union, known as
‘the artist’s credit union,’ specializes in making
musical instrument loans. Fixed rates range from
6.95% APR to 8.75% APR, for 36 to 120 months,
and your instrument is the collateral. USA only.
Deposit of 10% required.
The Round Sound Mallet is double-wound for durability.
PASIC 2013
Add it on the list of required mallets for your students
707.822.9570
t o l l f re e 8 8 8 . 9 9 0 . 6 6 6 3
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* 10 marimba one® artists at the show
* 4 marimbas for you to play on
* mallet sale
September 2013
Around The World With marimba one®
Clockwise from top left: Ivana Bilic
at Dubrovnik Festival; IKMMA 2013
at Conservatoire du Luxembourg,
marimba one® founder Ron
Samuels, Beverley Johnston,
Katarzyna Mycka, Shoko Sakai and
marimba one® master tuner Brian;
Eriko Daimo in Japan; and Mexico’s
Javier Nandayapa.
Share your experience!
Send comments and photos to
nicoler@marimbaone.com
Lastly, A Customer Review
“Yesterday I played the premiere concert for my marimba, and it was totally unbelievable! I’m so happy that you made me such a great instrument.
Thank you so much for all your great work!”
--Martin Skoog, Sweden
Frame: 4000-series / Keyboard voicing: enhanced / Resonator voicing: basso bravo
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Marimba One • PO Box 786 • Arcata CA 95518 • +1(707) 822-9570 • www.marimbaone.com