The teachers, for their part, are starry and diverse. In addition to Zeltsman, those at Colburn will include Jack Van Geem, principal percussionist of the San Francisco Symphony and a Colburn faculty member; Amy Knoles, executive director of the new-music group the EAR Unit and a founder of CalArts' department of electronic percussion; and Emil Richards, a renowned vibes player with a distinguished jazz career and about 2,000 movie and television soundtracks to his credit.
Whatever appeal teaching in general holds for these performers, it was Zeltsman's infectious drive that secured their participation.
"She has a tremendous amount of energy," says Van Geem, who has been associated with the festival since its inception and helped bring it to Colburn.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday, July 08, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 26 words Type of Material: Correction
Marimba byline: An article in Saturday's Calendar about the Zeltsman Marimba Festival carried an incorrect byline. The article was written by David Mermelstein, not David Mermelste.
"Steve Mackey, the composer and her ex-husband, once said that she had an unnatural zeal for organization. And it shows."
Zeltsman also has a very open mind, at least according to Knoles, whose interest in avant-garde music helped push the limits of this year's event. Although acquainted, she and Zeltsman had not previously worked together. Yet Zeltsman was willing to let Knoles shape her own curriculum.
Electronic sounds
"When Nancy called to ask me to teach marimba, I suggested malletKAT," says Knoles, referring to a sort of electronic marimba with rubber pads instead of wooden keys. "I plug it into a computer and can have any sound I can imagine. I know I'll like working with Nancy because anything goes -- whatever you really want to do is fine with her. She's very trusting. And look at the diversity!"
Further praise comes from Richards, who at 76 is not just the oldest member of the faculty but also the only one to have worked with Arthur Fiedler, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. He too wants to broaden the worldview of this year's participants.
"I want to expose these kids to more than just concertizing," he says. "Nancy has had jazz players on the faculty before, so I assume she wants her students to understand that they can move beyond the classical vein. The more they learn about popular music or jazz on their instrument, the more it will broaden their careers."
Yet one of Zeltsman's main goals is to secure a future for marimbists on the concert stage. Well before the festival was born, she was part of a duo with violinist Sharan Leventhal called Marimolin. Among its accomplishments were the premieres of nearly 80 works, several written for a competition that she and Leventhal sponsored.
