About Leigh Howard Stevens
Hailed by Time magazine as "the world's greatest classical marimbist," Leigh Howard Stevens' repertoire ranges from Renaissance music and the Preludes and Fugues of J. S. Bach to original marimba works written by contemporary composers expressly for him. Much of this unaccompanied literature was considered technically and musically impossible by one player until the development of Mr. Stevens' new system of four-mallet technique. Percussionists and marimbists worldwide have adopted his revolutionary approach and his book on the subject of four-mallet marimba technique, Method of Movement, has been translated into six languages.
Considered "revolutionary" at the time of development, many of Stevens' concepts and techniques are now used routinely by players and teachers around the world and, in fact, have become synonymous with contemporary marimba playing. This fresh approach to music-making on the marimba has greatly expanded the instrument's compositional possibilities, stimulated composer enthusiasm for the marimba's use in solo and chamber music and ultimately led to a series of more than thirty world premiere performances by Mr. Stevens. In addition to performing exclusively on an extended-range Malletech Marimba of his own design, Leigh Howard Stevens serves as a consultant and conducts educational masterclasses for Malletech. He taught for many years at the Royal Academy of Music in London, England, where he was Professor of Marimba. He has been awarded four U.S. patents for marimba design. Mr. Stevens can be heard on past releases of the Delos, Musical Heritage Society, Musicmasters and CRI record labels, as well as current releases on Resonator Records.
Mr. Stevens can be heard on past releases of the Delos, Musical Heritage Society, Musicmasters and CRI record labels, as well as current releases on Resonator Records.