AR Marimba Camp 2025
The University of Arkansas Summer Marimba Camp was created to provide young percussionists with an opportunity for intensive instruction in the mallet keyboard instruments, particularly 4-mallet marimba. Our camp is intended to benefit students who are just starting out, as well as those with a significant amount of experience, through a mix of group classes, small ensembles, and individual instruction.
Topics will include:
- 4-Mallet Technique – We will discuss how to hold the mallets and how to identify and use the basic stroke types. Instruction will focus primarily upon the Stevens Method, with some discussion of Burton and Traditional grip. Students are not required to play any one grip to participate in the camp.
- Warm-up Techniques and How to Develop a Good Warm-up Routine
- Practice Techniques – Topics will include time management, how to break pieces of music down, how to structure a practice session, tips for memorizing, and preparing for performance.
- How to be an effective member of a chamber group – Each student will have the opportunity to rehearse and perform as a member of a small ensemble.
- History of the Marimba/Mallet Percussion Ensemble
- Mallet Making and Wrapping
Eligibility
Open to any percussion students having completed grades 6-12 with at least 1 year of instruction. Students are expected to be able to read with some fluency in both the treble and bass clefs.
We are at least as interested in a good work ethic as we are in previous percussion experience. Contact information for a Band Director or private instructor who can provide a reference is required.
Students are asked to submit a video of a prepared work of approximately 2-5 minutes to determine music selection and placement in an ensemble.
Students are expected to provide a set of 4 marimba mallets (IP Soloist 240 or equivalent; a medium-hard mallet) and are encouraged to bring any solos they are currently working on or have recently completed.
Date
June 10 – 14, 2025
Times
See the tentative schedule below
Location
Epley Band Building & Billingsley Music Building, U of A Campus, Fayetteville
Click here for maps and directions.
Fee
| $379 | Includes instruction, materials, and lunches. | |
| $240 Optional Lodging Package | Includes 4 nights dormitory lodging and meals. |
Note: Day campers are welcome to attend dinners and evening activities.
All campus food providers are now cashless; a debit/credit card is needed to attend dinner.
Registration
Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express accepted.
Registration is CLOSED
All fees must be paid in full by 5pm on May 23, 2025 to hold the camper’s enrollment.
Video Requirement
After registering for camp, submit a 2–5 minute video. This video allows us to assess your current skill level, ensuring personalized and effective coaching during your time with us.
A complete solo is not mandatory – an excerpt is perfectly acceptable. Participants without a solo may opt to showcase their abilities through the performance of 2-3 technical exercises. If you lack experience with 4-mallet techniques, a performance using 2 mallets will do just fine.
Begin your video by introducing yourself and your piece. To allow ample time for coach preparation, submit your video by June 1, 2025. We can’t wait to witness your musical journey unfold!
Scholarships
The mission of the Community Music School is to provide enriching programs to all. If the program fee is a financial burden, complete a scholarship application. Scholarships are awarded based on financial need, as long as funds are available. Applications must be submitted by midnight on April 30, 2025. Applications will be reviewed and notifications sent to applicants within three business days of submission.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellation requests must be submitted using this form and will only be processed once the form is completed. Email requests will not be accepted.
Requests received by May 21, 2025 are eligible for a refund of fees paid, less a $120 administrative fee.
Requests received after 5pm on May 21, 2025 are only valid with a written physician’s document.
Valid cancellations after 5pm on May 21, 2025, are eligible for a pro-rated refund of fees paid, less a $120 administrative fee.
Refunds are made only to the original payers and may take up to three weeks to process.
No refunds are available for campers asked to leave camp due to rules violations.
Campus Parking
Tuesday – Friday
Day and overnight campers who will have a vehicle on campus must obtain a visitor permit at the PARKING WEBSITE.
Be sure to purchase a 4-day permit. All parking areas are monitored with license plate recognition (LPR) technology. The license plate itself is the identifying marker for your parking permit. Do NOT back in; the license plate must be visible. Visitor permits are valid in the following lot types: yellow staff / faculty lots, green student lots, orange remote lots, and red resident reserved lots.
Saturday
Families and guests who park on campus to pick up campers and/or attend the final performance on Saturday should park in the Stadium Drive Parking Garage (SDPG on this interactive campus map). The garage also shows up as “Intermodal Transit & Parking Facility” on some maps. There is no charge for parking in numbered spots in the parking garage on campus on weekends. Please read signs carefully for reserved parking in and around the parking garage.
More Information
Registration Nastassja Riley: cms@uark.edu or leave message at 479-575-6491
Curriculum Lynn Francis, Camp Director: lynn.r.francis@gmail.com
Tentative Schedule
Tuesday, June 10
11:00 A.M. – Noon
Check-in for All Campers
Noon – 1:00 P.M.
Lunch at the Band Building (all campers)
1:00 – 4:30 P.M.
4:30 – 5:15 P.M.
Individual Practice & Private Lessons
5:15 – 5:30 P.M.
Student Pick up from Band Building (More details leading up to camp)
Wednesday – Friday, June 11 – 13
7:00 – 8:00 A.M.
8:15 – 8:30 A.M.
8:30 A.M. – Noon
Noon – 1:00 P.M.
1:00 – 4:30 P.M.
4:30 – 5:15 P.M.
Individual Practice & Private Lessons
5:15 – 5:30 P.M.
Student Pick up from Band Building (More details leading up to camp)
5:30 – 6:30 P.M.
6:30 – 9:30 P.M.
Evening Activities/Free Time (Overnight Campers)
Saturday, June 14
7:30 – 8:30 A.M.
8:45 – 9:00 A.M.
9:00 A.M.
11:30 A.M.
12:30 P.M.
Meet the Instructors
Lynn Francis
Camp Director
Biography
Matt Brusca
Biography
Percussion, Gateway Indoor, and the Colt Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, in addition to instructing and arranging for high school drum lines in Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Matt’s performing experiences include a variety of symphonies and professional sports drum lines throughout the Midwest and abroad. He was also a WGI Independent World Class Finalist with Gateway Indoor in 2008 and 2009. Matt is a performing artist/clinician for Mapex drums, Majestic percussion, Sabian cymbals, and Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, as well as a signature artist for Etymotic Research, Inc.
Jackie Tavernaro-Warren
Biography
Jackie Tavernaro-Warren is an alumnus of the University of Arkansas in 2021. She was a Percussion Honors Recital Finalist in 2019, participated in the Arkansas Marching Band Front Ensemble, and played marimba in the open class Indoor Percussion Group “Resistance” for one year in 2019. She has experience as a Front Ensemble technician in Springdale, worked one year as a Music Teacher in Mountainburg, AR teaching General Music as well as served as the Assistant Band Director, and now works as an Elementary Music Teacher in Fort Smith, AR.
Dr. Mark Boseman
Biography
Dr. Boseman is currently serving as the Assistant Professor of Percussion at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, TX. Prior to his appointment at Texas A&M International, Dr. Boseman served as an associate director of percussion studies at the University of Arkansas. During his time at the Eastman School of Music, he established himself as an international performer and educator. This resulted in yearly residencies at the Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo and the Showa Academy of Music in Yokohama, Japan. These residencies include performance, masterclasses and private lessons on a wide variety of instruments and musical styles. Additionally, Dr. Boseman is a member of Scatter Percussion Collective. This percussion septet performs original repertoire that blends popular and classical styles to create a unique and original sound.
Dr. Boseman is the author of Mallets and Music: A Guide to Four Mallet Marimba, a new method book for learning four mallet marimba technique. Mallets & Music combines straightforward explanations, an online video library, and newly commissioned music by world renowned performers and composers such as Michael Burritt, Ivan Trevino, Blake Tyson, Elliot Cole, Aaron Staebell, and Robert Honstein. It is currently distributed through Amazon, Steve Weiss Music, and Lone Star Percussion and it is available in the United States, Canada, Europe, India, Brazil, and Japan.
Dr. Boseman holds a Bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Arkansas, a Master’s degree in music performance and literature from Northwestern University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in music performance and literature degree from the Eastman School of Music. He is also a recipient of the Eastman School of Music’s prestigious performer’s certificate. His teachers have included Michael Burritt, Chalon Ragsdale, Bill Cahn, James Ross, Charles Ross, Rich Thompson and Paul Wertico.
Dr. Boseman proudly endorses Malletech mallets and instruments.
Chalon Ragsdale
Biography
Prof. Ragsdale’s is recognized internationally as a scholar on the life and music of the Australian-American composer Percy Grainger, and has presented Grainger lectures in America, Australia, and Japan. His arrangements of the music of Grainger and others (always featuring prominent parts for vibraphone and marimba) have been performed in numerous significant venues, including the Midwest International Clinic, the College Band Directors National Association, the Western International Band Conference, and many state Music Educators Conferences. His arrangement for Percussion Ensemble of Percy Grainger’s Irish Tune From Country Derry was recorded by the “Woof!” Percussion Ensemble in 2000; the CD was named one of International Record Review’s “Best Discs of 2000”, and received an Aria Awards Nomination for Best Classical CD of 2001. In 2003, Ragsdale was awarded the Grainger Medallion by the International Percy Grainger Society “in recognition of his work on behalf of the music of Percy Grainger.”
Ragsdale is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy (NCPP) ; he and his students served as hosts for the 2017 and 2018 NCPP National Conferences in Fayetteville, AR. Ragsdale is sponsored by Innovative Percussion.
Roxee Boyd
Biography
Roxee Jo Boyd is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Percussion Performance at the University of Arkansas, where she serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Razorback Marching Band. Alongside her graduate studies, she works as an adjunct percussion instructor for Fayetteville and Siloam Springs Public Schools and spends her summers on staff with the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps. She earned her Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Arkansas in 2022, where she served as President of the Collegiate Percussive Arts Society student chapter and performed with the Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Steel Pan Band, Latin American Ensemble, and Razorback Marching Band. Her recent performances include appearances with the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, the SHE: Festival of Women in Music, the Trillium Salon Series at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Chamber Music Recital of Jennifer Jolley. From 2019 to 2022, she performed with several nationally recognized drum corps and indoor percussion ensembles, including Spirit of Atlanta, Sacramento Mandarins, Zephyrus, Monarch Independent, and Resistance.