In addition to performing, I also give a wide variety of presentations designed for a number different audiences.

Over the past few decades, the marimba has assumed a position at the leading edge of the percussion movement - a movement that, over the course of the 20th century, has seen percussion progress from obscurity to indispensability. The marimba is also becoming increasingly important in its own right within the new music community. These reasons alone create the percussion student's need for advanced instruction in the marimba.

Even if the percussion student does not wish to be a marimba specialist, the marimba still has great things to offer. The flexibility and range of the instrument, along with four-mallet technique, allows the percussion student to experience a myriad of concepts that are not nearly as viable on any other percussion instrument. Harmony, counterpoint, and centuries of Western art music are all approachable through the marimba. The enhanced musical understanding that the marimba brings to percussion students provides a solid foundation on which to build a more universally aware musician.

In addition to typical masterclass workshops (performance critique), I also give a number of lectures on marimba-related topics. Listed below are some examples of lecture topics:

• The Stevens Technique: An overview of this powerful and flexible technique. Much more than a way to hold the mallets, the Stevens Technique is a comprehensive approach to marimba performance.
• New Notation Systems: I have developed two new notation systems useful in practice, teaching, and performance - one for stroke types and one for timbre-varying techniques. For more information on these notation systems, please see my writings page.
• The Acoustic Properties of the Marimba: An analysis of why the marimba sounds/behaves the way it does. I discuss topics such as: why a change in beating spot results in a change of timbre, why different mallets create different timbres, how resonators work, and MUCH more.
• Analysis of Important Marimba Repertiore: This presentation centers on an analysis of a complex piece of contemporary marimba music, for example, Sedimental Structures, by Gordon Stout. A detailed look at an important work in the repertoire not only helps in the performance of the analysed work, but also helps the student develop tools for unlocking the inner workings of other pieces.

I also give presentations on marimba literature and composing for the marimba. I am currently working on a handbook entitled A Composer's Guide to the Modern Marimba. Hopefully, these presentations will serve as a catalyst for greater collaboration between the composition students and the marimba/percussion students in the music schools.

Computers and other electronics play a crucial role in my repetiore, yet for many "classical" perfomers, these modern tools remain unutilized. In this age, every musician should have a firm grasp of the fundementals of electronic and digital sound

For a "general audience" (an audience that is a mix of all sorts of people) I like to give a presentation called An Introduction to the music of our time.

A concert full of new music can be a bewildering experience for many concert goers. It is a vicious cycle: many people do not listen to it because they do not “understand” it - and they do not understand it because they do not listen to it!

The solution to this dilemma that many performers and ensembles see is this: “dumb down” the music. I refuse to do this as it is insulting to the audience, even if they do not know it. As a culture, we are not going to make progress if we do not break new ground and challenge each other.

So, my solution to the new music problem is to help people understand the music. Not in some condescending, grade-school, this-is-a-quarter-note, fiasco - people deserve better - but in a way that treats people as peers. Everyone cannot have expertise in every form of art, and that is just fine. The goal in my introduction to the music of our time presentations is to point people in the right direction down the path toward understanding this music, like many people did for me.