Digital Business Card — Matthew Coley

What is a marimba?

ma·rim·ba noun / məˈrim bə /

: a musical instrument, originating in Africa, popularized and modified in Central America, modernized and brought into classical music in North America, consisting of a set of graduated wooden bars, often with resonators beneath to reinforce the sound, struck with mallets.

ma·rim·bist noun / mə-ˈrim-bist /

: a marimba is played by a marimbist. There are many marimbists, including whole families, that build and play the traditional instrument in Central America. Around the world, there are also many players who perform on the instrument in a contemporary classical music tradition. This practice, however, is only about 110 years old. It began with the influence of the Bethancourt and Hurtado families, well-known Central American marimba families touring the US in the early 1900s. Players such as Clair Omar Musser, Celso Hurtado, and José Bethancourt, and instrument builders such as J.C. Deagan and Ulysses G. Leedy promoted the instrument to the general public and brought it to major classical music halls in North America in the 1920s and 30s.

Who is Matthew and why does he play the marimba?

Thank you for visiting my digital business card page. I am originally from SW VA. I grew up in rural VA, instead of being bitten by another tick, I got bitten by the marimba bug! 😉 I fell in love with the marimba as a high school student. It was the combination of the aural and visual that drew me in. The dance of the mallets and performer in combination with the enveloping, warm, and, in some ways, mysteriously resonant sound captivated me around 1995, and I still feel that same level of adoration 30 years later. Please check out this website, www.HeartlandMarimba.com, and our social media accounts to learn more about my passion.

What is Heartland Marimba?

I began HM in 2014 with a summer workshop (the first HM Festival) at Iowa State University. I had long imagined a world where I could practice my art at the same frequency of other classical musicians. From 2003-2009 I was active in the Chicago area working with dance companies and new music ensembles. My experience then, as well as the influence of living in the wide-open spaces of the Midwest, inspired me to create HM. Each year, after the initial formation, I added components to the company. In 2015, we started the HM Ensemble with a tour that led up to the start of the HM Festival. In 2016, we formed the HM Quartet, and those performers have been some of the busiest marimba chamber musicians in the business since then. (See photo gallery below.) In 2017, the organization was incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit and we added the HM Publications branch, which now has a catalog of nearly 90 pieces! From there, we have done five HM Festivals, three Composer LabFests, and regular tours each season.

My excitement for creating a world where marimba players have busy professional lives is still there and every day that drives all of our work for HM.

Every season since 2018, we have seen incredible and unwavering energy and excitement from our artists and supporters for what’s next! We have received grants from New Music USA and the Iowa Arts Council. We have premiered works with the Cheyenne Symphony and Dubuque Symphony Orchestras. We have performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention twice, and our third one is this fall (2024)! We’ve increased the repertoire and visibility of keyboard percussion chamber music in a substantial way, as we’ve worked with more than 30 composers over the years.

For our 10th season, we are excited to reconnect with our home state of Iowa! But we are also busy at work preparing the trajectory for the next 10 years. In 2024-2025 we will be performing in Michigan, Canada, Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. We will add Marimba Orchestra concerts to our regular annual offerings. We will connect with hundreds of students and community members across Iowa, and add the world’s first contra-bass marimba with the range of F1-F3 and clear resonators to our instrument fleet. The lowest bar will be a 3-foot-long piece of rosewood!

Why should I hire the Heartland Marimba Quartet or Ensemble for a performance?

The HM Quartet is beloved wherever they perform. In the spring of 2021, we were the guest soloists with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra in Dubuque, Iowa. With ticket sales the best they had been for the orchestra’s whole season and the audience acclaim raving for all three concerts, there was no hesitation for the orchestra to contact us about coming back for the 2023-2024 season! Immediately following a concerto performance with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra and a chamber concert in town the next day, the conductor approached us about commissioning a new concerto for an upcoming season. We’ve had these experiences at most of our events over the years. The visual excitement of the performance paired with the sonic majesty wins over all listeners. We love to perform! We love to teach! And we love to meet new communities and bring them into the marimba world as new fans!

We hope you’ll reach out about hosting HMQ or HME for a concert, school program, community outreach event, or collaboration. We can’t wait to hear from you!

H.M. QUARTET/ENSEMBLE will undoubtedly produce an amazing event for you. Here are some more great aspects of our work:

• Engaging & masterful artists

• School presentations

• Thrilling collaborations with orchestras, choirs, bands, dance, visual arts, & student ensembles

• Composer workshops

• Master classes & coaching