Congratulations to Florosa Elementary School’s music teacher, Sarah Theres, for securing $6,700 in grants to bring two handcrafted marimbas to her classroom and provide students with a hands-on learning experience with instrument building. The funding came from multiple sources, including $2,500 from the Country Music Awards Foundation after Theres was selected as one of 10 music teachers of excellence nationwide. A company called Altered State doubled the grant to $5,000, and the Okaloosa Schools Foundation provided the remaining $1,700.
The marimbas were built by Thomas Bourne in Washington state. He disassembled them, shipped them to Florida, and flew in to reassemble them with help from students. During his visit, Bourne conducted presentations for third, fourth, and fifth graders, teaching them about instrument construction and tuning. Bourne, a former music teacher who has been building marimbas for about 25 years, said he has made approximately 2,000 instruments and shipped them across the United States and Internationally.