The 9th Tenerife Contemporary Music International Festival (FMUC) is offering two days of masterclasses by percussion expert Leigh Howard Stevens, a marimba visionary whose ground-breaking methods are used by musicians worldwide. The classes by the US musician are on 29 and 30 May from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Auditorio de Tenerife’s Chamber Hall.

The classes are addressed to Intermediate and Higher percussion students, although musicians and composers in general can also attend as listeners. If you wish to enjoy these classes, please register by writing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Stevens, whose studies have widened the possibilities of the marimba, is giving a concert on 31 May at 7:30 pm at the Chamber Hall in the Auditorio. He is performing a full repertoire of two pieces he composed. Before the concert, there is a talk open to anyone wishing to learn more about this expert, who is known for having developed his own four-drumstick system, as explained in his book Method of Movement, translated into five languages. The talk takes place one hour before the show and is given by percussionist Verónica Cagigao.

Stevens’s repertoire spans Renaissance music, Preludes and Fugues by John Sebastian Bach and original marimba compositions written by contemporary composers specifically for him. A great part of this literature was deemed impossible to perform until Stevens developed his new four-drumstick system.

The 9th FMUC started last Friday, 25 May with the concert “Consecration” and will go on until 17 June. With the participation of leading contemporary percussionists and musicians, it offers a total of six concerts, two masterclasses, five talks and a percussion campus. The festival venues are Auditorio de Tenerife, Espacio Cultural CajaCanarias, Conservatorio Superior de Música de Canarias and Círculo de Bellas Artes de Tenerife.

Besides Leigh Howard Stevens, the bill is rounded off with Wing Marimba Duo and Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic with the Schlagwerk Wien Ensamble. In addition to Cabildo’s, the organisers have the collaboration of the Government of the Canary Islands, CajaCanarias Foundation and Disa Foundation.