Marrs gives clinics and master classes in Durango, Mexico
On April 15-17, 2024 I had the pleasure of giving master classes and clinics to percussion students and professors from around Mexico (Durango, Zacatecas, Monterrey, Morelia) at the Instituto de Bellas Artes and the Escuela Superior de Música (ESM) of the Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango (UJED) in Durango, Mexico. The invitation came at the request, and due to the determined efforts, of the director of the Instituto de Bellas Artes and percussion teacher at the ESM, Francisco (Paco) Arroyo Cháirez. 
The focus of the 3-day event was Elliott Carter’s Eight Pieces for Four Timpani, which was the subject of a pedagogical DVD I produced originally in 2006. I have since posted much of that DVD material plus new related material to my YouTube channel. As not each of the 20 participants had prepared pieces from the Carter opus, students performed other works or studies as well for the master class part of the event.
Some of the pieces in the Carter can be intimidating and students may be reluctant to take them on. During the clinic sessions, I went over all the Carter pieces that students did not perform to show how these great works can be successfully approached. They also served as vehicles for broader concepts surrounding timpani playing. As the three-day event unfolded, students and professionals alike became more engaged and brought up excellent questions and points of discussion.
On a social level, I was very comfortable, and it was nice to spend some time immersed in a culture that was so integral to my own development, having lived in first Bolivia and then in Costa Rica from 21 to 33 years of age: important developmental years for a young adult. The whole event was so well-organized by Paco Arroyo that the time went by all too fast, smoothly, and seamlessly. And of course, we ended the 3-day event with a typical Latin American barbecue.
Here is some local press coverage: