Congratulations to Sonoma County’s Arts Educator of the Year, Tobais Sparks!
LBC and Creative Sonoma announced that Tobias Sparks, founder of Play Marimba! in Sebastopol, has been selected as Sonoma County’s 2026 Arts Educator of the Year. Sparks was honored on March 26 at the Arts Education Alliance Mix-and-Mingle reception at Mitote Food Park in Santa Rosa, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm.
The selection committee received three separate nominations for Sparks, including one from Sonoma County Superintendent Amie Carter. Besides a presentation of his award, Sparks also received a $500 honorarium and a $500 gift card to a local arts store of his choice for classroom supplies.
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“I’m honored by this award," Sparks said. "I shareit with the dedicated teachers, students, parents, and schools who together, have built something remarkable. We're not just teaching music — we're building student’s
confidence, they’re making friends, and they’re learning how to stand tall in the world. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing these kids playing together, performing in our community, and knowing how happy and proud it makes them feel.”
Sparks is a master percussionist, recording artist, and the founder of Play Marimba!, which provides enriching and educational world music experiences to local students. He began his professional career at 15, developing a reputation for his innovative style and improvisational skills. He studied with master musicians in India, Egypt, and Turkey, toured internationally across Europe, Asia, and South America, and has recorded on more than 30 albums. In 2016, he founded Play Marimba! Sparks builds hundreds of handmade instruments and personally trains teachers for the program. Sparks also leads Grita Marimba, advanced ensembles for 6th–12th graders.
Teachers who received honorable mention awards and a $100 stipend include Carolyn Niehaus-Owen, music director at Lawrence Jones Middle School and music camp director for Cazadero Music Camp, and Irene Gilchriese, Santa Rosa City Schools Elementary Music Teacher and lead teacher for Play Marimba!
Play Marimba! offers joyful music-making for children in a technology-free, social environment to help them thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. It offers quality world music programs for local schools and summer camps, and it partners with schools to provide instruments and training. Play Marimba recently earned U.S. Congressional, California State Senate, and Los Cien awards for its “extraordinary leadership and dedication to uplifting the Latino community in Sonoma County.”
Sponsored by Daniels Chapel of the Roses, the Arts Educator of the Year Award honors professional arts educators working with the K-12 population — in particular, arts and classroom instructors who teach visual art, music, drama, dance, or multimedia arts. It recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of arts education over an extended period.
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Loaned Instruments, Lasting Impact – Student Musicians Take the Stage
LBC’s 5th annual Music Appreciation Day next month will celebrate the accomplishments of the 900+ students who were able to play in their school band or orchestra this year because they had access to LBC’s free Music for Schools instrument lending library.
Music Appreciation Day
Free!
Saturday, May 9, 2025
9:00 am to noon
Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, LBC campus
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“It’s always heartwarming to see families, friends, and market patrons come together to celebrate these young musicians,” said Tracy Sawyer, Community Partnerships Supervisor. “And for some returning
performers, it feels like old home week, adding to the sense of community and shared joy.”
The bands performing throughout the morning include LBC’s Mariachi Los Toritos and the Mariachi Chilaquiles, Mark West District choir, band, guitar, and strings students, and Wright Charter School advanced band. Musicians from the LBC Adult Guitar Class and dancers from our ballet folklórico class also will perform.
LBC’s Music for Schools Instrument lending library maintains and houses more than 1100 musical instruments, most of them donated from community members throughout the North Bay and Bay Area. LBC works with local schools in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, and Lake counties to loan the instruments for the school year and at no cost to students.
“Music Appreciation Day gives student musicians the chance to perform in public, many of them for the first time,” said Tracy. “A live performance provides that extra motivation for students—of all ages—to stay dedicated to their practice and truly commit to the music.”
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Luther Burbank Center for the Arts is planning future Professional Development opportunities for educators and teaching artists and we would love your input!
Participants in the survey will be entered to win a free registration to any 2026-2027 Professional Development offering at LBC (you must provide your name and email to be entered in the survey). The drawing will take place April 30, 2026.
Our Professional Development programming is organized into three tracks:
Tools for Teachers: Arts integration workshops for classroom educators, with CEUs available
Teaching Artist Training: Professional learning focused on instructional skills and best practices for practicing artists who teach
IDEA in the Classroom: Trainings for educators and artists centered on inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in education
We are gathering feedback to better understand what Professional Development opportunities you currently have access to, what formats and timing work best for you, and what you would most like to see LBC offer in the future. Your responses will help shape upcoming programming.
Take the survey for your chance to win a free LBC Professional Development registration for next year!
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Ada Twist, Scientist & Friends
by TheaterWorksUSA
Monday, May 4, 2026
9:30 am* & 11:30 am
Grades K-4
When Ms. Greer’s classroom field trip goes awry, three out-of-the-box thinkers must pull their STEM skills together to save the day! Meet Rosie Revere and her engineering dreams, Iggy Peck, with her relentless passion for architecture, and Ada Twist, whose science curiosity leads her to some adventurous problem solving. In this live musical performance, our heroes face the ultimate test of their problem-solving skills—a test that can only be conquered through teamwork. Don’t miss this fun musical based on the Andrea Beaty books, Rosie Revere, Engineer; Iggy Peck, Architect, and Ada Twist, Scientist, which spotlight the STEM curriculum (focusing on science, technology, engineering and math).
*Limited availability at 9:30 am.
Scholarships available at 11:30 am!
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Don't miss the 2026-27 School Show sneak peek coming in our May newsletter!
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Information about scholarship opportunities is available here.
#YourLBC #ArtsEducation #ArtsMatter
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Education & Community Engagement Department
707.800.7504
lutherburbankcenter.org/education
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Mark Adams/Whitestar Group Amaturo Family Foundation, Inc.
David and Deborah Ballati*
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Gordon Blumenfeld*
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Stacey Carlo
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Counterpoint Construction
Services Inc.
William Daniels
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Charitable Giving*
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Marc Hagenlocher and
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Gary Heck/The Heck Foundation*
Harry Hubbell
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Jeff Hudson and Ann Lobdell Hudson
Christopher and Amy Hunsberger Jay Hunsberger and Chad Hostetler Jeff and Barbara Ireland*
In memory and honor of Selma Mayer
Isenberg and her son, Jean Isenberg Ariel and Tim Kelley/
Global Sports Foundation
John and Jessica Kilcullen
Edward and Myra Kirk
Chris Krankemann
Kellie and Tom Larson
Stephen and Carol Latimer
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Susan Leary
Amelia Sanchez Martinez and
Salvador Martinez in memory of Maria Guadalupe Sanchez
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Myrna and Andy Mejia
Lewis Meyers*
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Walter and Barbara Parkes
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Cesario Perez, Jr. and Alicia Perez Peter Michael Winery
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Carlo Proto and Sheila Abdallah
in memory of Nathan Abdallah Proto
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Bonnie Raines
Susan Reese and Tom Hirt
In memory of Grace Kayla
Davis-Marcheschi
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Rosenberg Enterprises*
Russian River Watershed Association Dalya Sachs and Ben Bentzin
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Mack Schwing,
in loving memory of Joan*
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Sonoma Clean Power
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Restaurants
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