This Showcase Concert will feature the performance of traditional music from Costa Rica performed on its national instrument: the marimba. The concert will consist of standard repertoire for the instrument within the culture, as well as compositions written directly for the ensemble by Costa Rican composers. The primary goal of presenting this ensemble is to enlighten the percussion community at PASIC as to the importance of the marimba within the cultural fabric of Costa Rica, as well as to share a part of the historical development of the marimba in Central America. The members of the ensemble are all musicians with jobs in different organizations, as well as a home base in the “Escuela de Etapa Básica” in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste. Through this institution, they have organized a performing group with some of the best traditional marimba players in Costa Rica for various activities in the country and abroad. Their primary interests are to share the beautiful marimba tradition of the country with a wider population, and to cultivate a passion and love for the preservation of the cultural heritage that this instrument has created in Costa Rica.
The Showcase Concert by "Ensamble de Marimbas y Percusión Guanacaste" will feature the performance of traditional music from Costa Rica performed on its national instrument: the marimba. The concert will consist of standard repertoire for the instrument within the culture, as well as compositions written directly for the ensemble by Costa Rican composers. The primary goal of presenting this ensemble is to enlighten the percussion community at PASIC as to the importance of the marimba within the cultural fabric of Costa Rica, as well as to share a part of the historical development of the marimba in Central America. As first-time presenters at PASIC, this group will perform music that will celebrate their Costa Rican heritage and highlight the growth of the marimba from its roots to the instrument we know today around the world.