School Features

The Endeavour Elementary marimba band had so much fun performing for a school play in March that they were thrilled when music director Linda Wooding set up their first concert.

The band – made up of all fifth graders – performed at a Hilltoppers luncheon on Tuesday, Apr. 27, at the Mukilteo Presbyterian Church for about 60 seniors. The concert was the band’s second performance.

The Hilltoppers, a fellowship group for seniors, meets the fourth Tuesday of every month at the church for lunch and a program, including performances by student bands and choirs from the Mukilteo School District. 

“When I counted it off, they were nervous,” Wooding said of the concert.  “They were kind of quiet at first, but then they started relaxing, and by the end, you could tell they were OK.  They were getting into it and really hitting those bars.”

The band played about 10 songs for the seniors on their marimbas or xylophones, including one from the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

They took turns playing the soprano, alto and bass xylophones throughout the performance, while Wooding played various percussion instruments.  One student, Emily Olason, played the recorder for a song.

“It was amazing,” Hilltopper Bea Kenoyer said.  “I didn’t think the kids could play so many different instruments.  They just seem so talented.  And it looks like they were having a good time.”

In the past, Wooding taught two marimba bands in before and after-school classes at Endeavour. But with a full teaching schedule at Endeavour and Columbia elementaries, this year she only has time to teach the one marimba band twice a week at lunch.

Students in the marimba band meet Tuesdays and Thursdays during their lunch and recess times to rehearse.  They practice for 30 minutes in the music room, located on the school’s stage, and sometimes like to open the stage curtains and perform for the students eating lunch.

“They eat together, and then we start playing one by one, as soon as they finish,” Wooding said.  “Some of them will eat as fast as they can and rush to the marimbas.”

Fifth grader Sarah Hill said she is OK with giving up her lunchtime recess twice a week for marimba band.  She likes playing the xylophones too much to care.

“I’m in the marimba band because I wanted a chance to learn how to use the xylophones, and a chance to play with other fifth graders,” she said. “I like how we all get to play different parts for different music.”

Fifth grader Shun Yoshizawa said he was really excited for Tuesday for the band’s second performance and because it was his birthday.  The band celebrated Yoshizawa’s 11th birthday and a well-done concert with cookies, brownies, watermelon and lemonade, courtesy of the Hilltoppers.

“It’s really fun to play in the marimba band,” he said.  “I was really happy when I heard that I was going to be in it.  I play the trombone in band, and my teacher says I’m pretty good, so I wanted to try xylophones too.”

The marimba band is popular with the fifth graders, so much so that Wooding needs to hold a drawing for the lucky 16-20 students who get to be in the class. 

The beauty of a marimba band is the student’s don’t need to be experienced musicians to be able to join in, Wooding said.  She has them play the melody, harmony, bass or percussion line that best fits their skill levels.

She teaches the students one new song a week, so that by March they’ve got enough songs memorized for a concert.

Wooding said she is working to set up more opportunities for the band to perform at Endeavour and for the community, including a concert at the school’s PTA meeting May 20.

“The kids get so much out of it,” she said.  “In fact, some of the kids that were in my marimba band in fifth grade are graduating this year, and they’re all [still] doing very musical things.”