top of page
MF2023Awards-W-113_edited_edited.jpg

OUR 2024 TEAM

The Marimbafest Australia team is a non-profit organisation of volunteers from around the world

 who aim to deliver a world class marimba festival experience in Perth

THE MISSION

Marimbafest Australia is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the growth and promotion of education in the percussive arts across Australia.   

Founded in 2018 by Adam Tan, the Marimbafest Australia organisation aims to provide a platform for percussion performance and education for all percussionists, with an emphasis on representation, diversity and inclusion of new voices in the Australian percussion world and beyond.

Marimbafest Australia's most popular event is the annual Marimbafest marimba festival and competition. With its inception in 2019, this world-class event provides an opportunity for local and international percussionists to interact with and learn from international and Australian faculty members, while also showcasing their own performance abilities in a real-world concert environment. There have been four Marimbafest festivals now, with over 150 participants who have enjoyed the Marimbafest experience and shared their percussion journeys with us in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Marimbafest Australia also hosts other programs throughout the year to encourage the growth of percussion in Western Australia, including Percussion All-Stars.
 
Percussion All-Stars is a bi-annual concert series aimed at giving emerging percussionists the opportunity to perform in a live venue with high-quality instruments and a receptive audience. Percussion All-Stars has seen over 170 pieces performed by over 120 students since 2018. This series also gives local educators a chance to showcase their work with their students.

Percussion All-Stars concerts include Percussion All-Stars (2018), Percussion All-Stars Season 2 (2019), Percussion All-Stars Season 3 (2019), Percussion All-Stars 4: Spring 2020 (2020), Percussion All-Stars 5: Road To Marimbafest 2021 (2021), Percussion All-Stars 6: Comeback Stage (2021), Percussion All-Stars 7: Culmination (2022), Percussion All-Stars 8: Road To PASIC 2022 (2022), Percussion All-Stars 9: SPECIAL/STAGE (2023), Percussion All-Stars 10: ANNIVERSARY (2023).

THE MARIMBAFEST 2024 STAFF TEAM

Marimbafest's 2024 team is made up of a diverse team of enthusiastic people from across Australia, bringing years of experience to the organisation. We have also built a history of legacy members across the last 6 years, who have gone on to do even greater things in their own musical paths.
Adam coffee 1.jpg

ADAM TAN

Founder, Executive Director

Marimbafest Executive Committee

Perth, Australia

Adam Tan (he/him) is a percussionist, composer and educator from Perth (Boorloo), Australia. Known for being a content creator since 2016. Adam has performed and presented across the world, and his compositions are performed by thousands around the world annually. Adam is a Marimba One Premier Artist, Encore Mallets Signature Artist with the Adam Tan series of mallets, Salyers Percussion Concert Artist, Black Swamp Percussion Artist Endorser and Soundbrenner Artist. Adam is also the creator of 'THE TRAVELLER By Adam Tan', a mallet backpack designed in collaboration with HAOSEN Instruments in Taiwan. Adam's compositions are published by Edition Svitzer. Adam has been Executive Director of Marimbafest Australia since its inception in 2018.

MORE INFO

IMG_20231206_173449_889.jpg

LI-JENE GAN

Operations Officer

Marimbafest Management and Operations Committee

Perth, Australia

Li-Jene Gan (she/her) is currently studying in University of Western Australia (UWA), majoring in piano performance. Li-Jene started playing piano since she was 6 and began her studies in Yamaha Music School in Malaysia before moving to Australia in 2016. Besides piano, Li-Jene also picked up drum kit at the age of 14 in Malaysia. Li-Jene is now a tutor at Muso Music Academy. Outside of music, Li-Jene has also taken up leadership roles throughout school such as head of class, student councillor and president of ROTEX (Rotary Youth Exchange Alumni). Li-Jene was Operations Officer in 2021 and returns to the Marimbafest team in 2024.

Tim White photo.jpg

TIM WHITE (OAM)

Principal Artistic Advisor

Marimbafest Advisory Committee

Perth, Australia

Tim White OAM (he/him) is the Co-ordinator of Classical Music and Senior Lecturer in Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University, where he leads WAAPA's classical music and percussion programmes.Tim has over thirty years full-time experience as an orchestral and solo percussionist, including Principal Percussionist of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra for 28 years,  Principal Percussionist of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with all ten of Australia’s professional symphony and theatre orchestras. Tim joins the team in 2022-2023 as Artistic Advisor and is Principal Artistic Advisor for 2024.

MORE INFO

carissa.jpg

CARISSA SOARES

Associate Director - Legacy

Marimbafest Legacy Team Members

Perth, Australia

Carissa Soares (she/her) is a percussionist and educator from Perth, Western Australia. Carissa was the 1st Prize winner of Marimbafest 2019's Marimba Competition and also received the people's choice award that year. Carissa is also a casual percussionist at the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and performs with Kaboom Percussion. Carissa has been Associate Director at Marimbafest Australia from 2022 to 2023 and General Manager for 2021.

Joey Eng.jpg

JOEY ENG

Operations Manager - Legacy

Marimbafest Legacy Team Members

Perth, Australia

Joey Eng (he/him) is a freelance percussionist and composer based in Perth, Western Australia. As a soloist, Joey won 2nd Prize in Marimbafest 2021's Open Class solo division, was a semi-finalist in the 2020 WAAPA Warana Concerto Competition and a semi-finalist in the inaugural 2019 Marimbafest solo marimba competition. Joey is a Marimba One Discovery Artist. Joey was the Operations Manager for Marimbafest Australia from 2022 to 2023.

jackson.jpg

JACKSON VICKERY

Operations Officer - Legacy

Marimbafest Legacy Team Members

Perth, Australia

Jackson Vickery (he/him) is a percussionist from Perth, Western Australia. Jackson specialises in contemporary and world percussion and has studied and performed internationally with several world-class musicians including Steve Schick, Sō Percussion, Keita Ogawa, Marcelo Woloski and Paulo Stagnaro, to name a few. Jackson was an Operations Officer for Marimbafest 2019 and 2021.

Euphina Yap.jpg

EUPHINA YAP

Operations Officer - Legacy

Marimbafest Legacy Team Members

Perth, Australia

Euphina Yap (she/her) is a percussionist from Perth, Western Australia. Euphina has studied and toured extensively around the world, completing her Masters degree at the prestigious Boston Conservatory in the United States, and was a graduate of both the University of Western Australia Conservatorium of Music and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Euphina was an Operations Officer for Marimbafest Australia for 2021.

Mercedes headshot 3.jpg

MERCEDES SLACK-SMITH

Operations Director

Marimbafest Executive Committee

Perth, Australia

Mercedes Slack-Smith (she/her) is a percussionist and educator based in Perth, Western Australia. Mercedes is the Drumline Director of the Perth Thundercorps Drumline and is an experienced battery instructor in Australia. Mercedes performs with D2 Drumline and holds a Master of Music from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).

Claire.jpg

CLAIRE ORMAN

Operations Officer

Marimbafest Management and Operations Committee

Perth, Australia

Claire Orman  (she/her) is a percussionist based in Perth who uses her classically-trained background as a stepping point for sound exploration. She has previously played with Resonant Fields. She is currently interested in experimental, improvised and exploratory art, with a focus on metallic-based sounds and found objects in conjunction with electronic textures. Claire is an Operations Officer for 2024.

Robert Oetomo 2021.jpg

ROBERT OETOMO

Artistic Advisor

Marimbafest Advisory Committee

Sydney, Australia

Robert Oetomo (he/him) is a renowned Australian marimba soloist and composer whose artistic practice sees him performing around the world on a regular basis. His compositions are some of the most popular works in the marimba repertory. Robert is a Marimba One Premier Artist, has a signature line of mallets with Encore Mallets Inc. and endorses Sabian Cymbals. Robert's works are published by Edition Svitzer and Tapspace. Robert has been Principal Artistic Advisor for Marimbafest Australia from 2019 to 2023, Composer-In-Residence from 2021 to 2023 and Artistic Advisor for the life of Marimbafest.

MORE INFO

Maddie Colvin 2022.jpg

MADDIE COLVIN

General Manager - Legacy

Marimbafest Legacy Team Members

Perth, Australia

Maddie Colvin (she/her) is a portfolio career percussionist working as multi-disciplinary artist and performer having just graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Amongst her work as a percussion teacher in local Perth schools, Maddie also plays with the Perth Thundercorps and was the General Manager of Marimbafest Australia from 2022 to 2023 and Operations Officer for 2021.

Lee, Gabrielle.jpg

GABBY LEE

Operations Officer - Legacy

Marimbafest Management and Operations Committee

Perth, Australia

Gabby Lee (she/her) is a percussion educator, freelance percussionist and composer based in Perth, Western Australia. From her studies at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in the Bachelor of Music Honours, Gabby holds a wide range of skills from percussion, composition, electronic music production and events. Along with performances, she has been providing percussion workshop services to holiday school programs around Perth. Gabby was Operations Officer for 2023.

MORE INFO

20181004-1.jpg

WILSON NG

Finance Director - Legacy

Marimbafest Legacy Team Members

Perth, Australia

Wilson Ng's (he/him) insight and knowledge as an M&A Associate Director allows him to assist the Marimbafest team in financial modelling and valuation responsibilities. Wilson was the Finance Director of Marimbafest Australia for 2019 to 2021.

MORE INFO

bottom of page