Fine Arts Center Receives Gift of New Marimba

The Fine Arts Center is proud and honored to acknowledge the receipt of a Musser four-and-a-third octave Concert Grand Marimba. The marimba is a gift of Ken and Lori Payne of Fountain Inn. (Daughter Rebecca is a second year voice and music theory student at the Fine Arts Center.)
The Payne family recently endured a house fire and has been in the process of moving out their belongings in preparation for the several months of repair. In clearing out their home, Mrs. Payne, a multi-talented instrumentalist and music teacher, realized that she had not played her marimba "in over a year." Paraphrasing Mrs. Payne, she wanted it to be played and to have a "good home."
This gift comes at a crucial moment for the Fine Arts Center percussion department. With six FAC percussion students currently preparing marimba works for our May 10th recital, we have been in short supply for high-quality performing instruments and lesser-quality instruments to send home with students for practice. (More on this below.) We now have enough instruments to accommodate student practice during studio hours and the loan of a few instruments for home practice.
Additionally, we look forward to moving into the new Fine Arts Center in either August or, more likely, in January of 2007. Though our budget has allowed for much new infrastructure such as musician chairs, music stands, and computers, we are still looking for funds for new instruments. The Payne's gift insures that two of the percussion studios will have industry-standard instruments for practice and to prepare for college auditions.