Florosa Elementary School’s music teacher Sarah Theres, secured $6,700 in grants to bring two handcrafted marimbas to her classroom and provide students 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.

“I’ve had this dream for 14 years,” Theres said. “I tried to do this in other counties and I couldn’t get it done.”

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.

“When I send these out, they’re a little bit sharp and they need a little bit of attention to every single one of these bars to bring them exactly in tune,” Bourne explained while demonstrating the tuning process to students.

The wooden instruments are designed with portability in mind, featuring wheels and collapsible legs that allow them to be easily moved and stored in small music classrooms.

Theres said the instruments will enable one-to-one instruction in her classroom, ensuring that every student can participate. “Every kid can play one simultaneously,” she said.

Theres, who has been teaching for 16 years with four years in Okaloosa County, credited Principal Dawn Massey for supporting her vision.

“Principal Massey is the most supportive admin I’ve ever had,” Theres said. “When I bring her a dream, she says, ‘Yes, how can I support you?’”

The marimbas are made primarily from Padauk wood for the bars, which Bourne described as having superior musical qualities compared to other available woods. The frames are made of maple, oak and plywood.

Bourne emphasized the importance of music education, particularly programs that involve collaboration.

• “The thing that I like about music in schools nowadays is, especially with an instrument, we’re going to get kids up on their feet and doing something and doing things that are collaborative with one another in a way that they don’t always get in a classroom,” Bourne said.

Theres hopes the project will inspire students who might not be interested in performing music to explore other aspects of the field.

“Maybe there are kids who don’t really like performing music, but realize they can build instruments,” she said. “Music is so much more than just the performance aspect of it. You can be an engineer, you can be creative, you can do woodworking. It’s more like the STEM process.”