About The Band Dance your way along a musical journey to Africa. Pick Up Sticks Marimba was formed in 2007 in Boulder, Colorado, by a group of like-minded musicians out of a passion for spreading the joy of Zimbawean music. In Zimbabwe, music is often a whole-village affair. Sharing the music is sharing the love. Pick Up Sticks welcomes you to our village. We are: Corey Kirschner, Sandy Kirschner, Diane Michel, Bart Miller, Cory Potash, Lisa Seaman, Alex Truesdale, and Robin Truesdale.

Pick up your ears! Pick up your feet! Pick up your hands! Pick up your hearts!

We met as students at the Kutandara Center, a community-based music school whose goal is to give people of all ages the opportunity to experience the joy of playing African music. "Sticks" seeks to preserve ancient Zimbabwean musical traditions while also promoting contemporary styles.

We perform at music festivals, private parties, night clubs, and schools. Hire us for your next event! For private parties we can even teach you to play the marimbas, too! Our marimba band has performed in cities across Colorado: Denver, Boulder, Longmont, Jamestown, Louisville, Lafayette, Lyons, Westminster, Littleton, Golden, Evergreen, Breckenridge, and Winter Park.

The band's vital enthusiasm goes beyond performance. We also donate to African relief efforts, participate in workshops, and make school presentations.

About The Music

The Shona peoples inhabit sub-Saharan Africa (primarily Zimbabwe but also Botswana and South Africa). Their unbroken music tradition is one of the oldest on earth, going back well over 2000 years. It features complex multiple rhythms and interlocking melodies. Listeners will recognize these as the roots of jazz, gospel, and Motown.

About The Instruments

The foundational instruments of Shona music are the mbira (24-28 key thumb piano), hosho (gourd rattles), a variety of drums, and hand-clapping, in addition to voice and feet. The mbira is played inside a gourd resonator known as a deze. Playing the interlocking melodies of the mbira is considered a form of "praying with hands."

In the mid-20th century the Zimbabwean marimba was added, a variation of the ancient balafon (all in the xylophone family). Our full marimba ensemble is voiced like a choir, with soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass instruments.

The marimbas are about five feet long and stand waist-high, except for the giant bass marimba---which is over four feet TALL and needs to be played from a riser.

A few members of Pick Up Sticks Marimba are also part of the Boulder Bike Underpass Choir. Check them out, too!

Contact and Booking

We'd love to play at your party or event.
Please contact us, we'd love to hear from you!