Bios

Abdul L, Jr., Age 14

Abdul comes to Shumba from a rich and diverse background. He draws from his Puerto Rican, Native American, African and Caucasian roots as inspiration for his music. Abdul has studied marimbas intensively for seven years with Sheree Seretse, as well as with several other Zimbabwean marimba greats. He has composed three peices that Shumba performs; Mombe Dzinufuru, Mombe II and Grandad's Mix, which he dedicated to his late grandfather Kent Marshall.  Abdul loves the feeling he gets when he looks into the audience and sees the joy Shumba's music brings to others. His other interests include football, restoring his 1966 VW Bug, and science. Abdul feels very fortunate to be a part of the great extended Shumba family.

Ben J, Age 15

Ben was born in Seattle and has played marimba since he was in second grade. He joined Shumba in 2005. Ben says that he loves the feeling that playing marimba gives him: “It sends me to a different place and fills me with vibrations." Ben  has played piano since he was 8 , and has taken up guitar, mbira and jazz vibraphone.  He composes his own music and is plays jazz vibes  in his high school band. Shumba and his marimba friends feel like an extended family to him, and he feels very fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful group.

Gabriel S, Age 13

Music has always been an important part of Gabriel’s life. He started playing marimba when he was five, and was very excited to have the opportunity to join Shumba in 2005. He loves the community of Shumba and appreciates how supportive all the members are of each other. “Shumba has taught me a lot about focus and discipline. Performing gives you a feeling of really accomplishing something,” Gabriel says. In addition to playing marimba, Gabriel plays piano and drums, and has performed extensively with Broadway Bound Children’s Theatre.

Janak J-P, Age 12

Janak was born in Bombay, India and has always had a passion for music. He has been studying marimba intensively with Sheree Seretse since he was five years old, joining Shumba in 2004. He says: "When I play marimba, all of my other thoughts get pushed out of my mind and I go to a zone where I simply bask in the beauty of the music." Janak has composed one marimba piece that Shumba performs regularly called Chiedza, which means “first light of dawn”. Janak has also been playing piano for five and a half years and has been studying Zimbabwean mbira music for about a year and a half. In addition to music, he loves baseball, musical theater, reading and writing, video games, hiking, and hanging out with friends and family.

Jesse S, Age 15

Jesse was born in Seattle and has played marimba since the age of six. He joined Shumba in early 2004. Jesse loves playing marimba and feels very fortunate to be working with this talented group of players with whom he is very close.  Aside from marimba, Jesse plays various other musical instruments, including piano and guitar, and has been composing for a couple of years. He has also performed in numerous musical theater productions.

Maya H-S, Age 17

Maya has been playing marimba since the third grade. She is of Swedish and African-American descent and has lived in West Africa, where she is looking forward to returning. She has been with Shumba since it began six years ago. In addition to marimba, she plays guitar and played vibraphone in a school band. Maya is also a very serious dancer and dances both hip-hop and modern. She wants to be a professional dancer and run her own dance studio. Also in her free time Maya likes to make films, and has even traveled to participate in a film festival in Southern California. Mostly, though, she loves to hang out with friends.

Sam F, Age 14

Sam was born in Chicago to a family of diverse musical talents and interests including classical, jazz, rock, pop, and musical poetry, and is always surrounded by music. After three years of studying marimba in school with Sheree Seretse, Sam joined Shumba in 2003 to push himself further. Sam likes playing in Shumba because “we are all friends and everybody works together really well.” When not playing marimba, Sam enjoys reading, listening to good music, playing soccer, baseball, and video games. One of Sam’s favorite parts of Shumba is “when we perform and the crowd cheers us on, it makes me feel proud of the work I have done to play the music the way we do.”

Stella P, Age 13

Stella joined Shumba in 2006 after studying African marimba with Claire Jones at Music Works Northwest in Bellevue for over a year. She has also studied percussion with Ryan Dignan and Gunnar Folsom at Music Works for 6 years and has been a member of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras for the last three  years. She is also a member of her schools jazz band. Stella loves the energy and tradition of African marimba ensemble music and enjoys listening to a wide variety of traditional and contemporary African music. Outside of music, Stella is a member of the Kamiakin  math club, enjoys reading, and playing with her two cats.

Honorary Member:
Gabriel J, Age 15

One of Shumba's original members, Gabe J. has moved to Colorado. Gabe will always be a part of this ensemble through his incredible spirit. Our band would not be who we are without you!