The combined school's marimba troupe have auditioned and been selected to perform at Specfest as part of the Department of Education's 40th Anniversary Schools Spectacular taking place at Sydney Olympic Park on November 24-25.

The School's Spectacular is an iconic cultural event incorporating students from diverse backgrounds and communities from across the length and breadth of the state.

Marimbas are xylophone type instruments based on traditional south-west African designs that can be played by multiple people at once.

They are constructed from a variety of materials including hard and soft woods, PVC pipe, rope and a number of other basic hardware items and have been constructed by the school community including teachers, students and families.

The instruments feature large keys with labels signifying notes so that formal musical training is not essential - however a lot of practice sure is.

The students (supported by five teachers across the three schools) have been preparing for this event for most of the year.

They each underwent a selection process to be part of the combined school's marimba troupe and then had to audition as a group and impress the School Spectacular Specfest selectors to gain a spot at this major cultural event in Sydney.

They have gone on to spend many hours of their own time rehearsing and learning songs for the marimba showcase.

Combined school's marimba troupe representative and Parkes East teacher Mrs Chloe Faulkner said that this project aims to promote the arts and provide a cultural exchange among students, develop their skills in music and performance, and enhance their confidence and social skills.

"We five teachers are so proud of the troupe and the time they have committed to rehearsing for Specfest," Mrs Faulkner said.

"The tyranny of distance has meant that we've all had to rehearse independently at our respective schools, however we recently all got together for a full rehearsal and the sound was magnificent."

"The troupe initially learned 12 songs but have had to narrow the repertoire down to 7 to deliver at their 4 separate performances across the 2 days of the Spectacular," Mrs Faulkner said.

"The expense of transporting a coachload full of Central West students and their instruments to Sydney for 4 days and accommodating them for 3 nights is significant.

"As such, we applied for the Northparkes Mines (NPM) Community Investment Program and are very fortunate to have received a grant from NPM to assist families to offset costs and ensure that our troupe can get to Sydney and shine brightly at this spectacular event," Mrs Faulkner said.

"We are all so grateful to NPM for providing this program to strengthen cultural pursuits within our communities and to help give these kids such an amazing opportunity that they will remember forever."

Their journey to the School Spectacular hasn't just been about musical prowess; it's been a lesson in determination and community support.

Despite geographical distances, the recent collective rehearsal was a harmonious testament to their hard work, resonating with the rich and vibrant sound of the marimbas.