Fernando Meza is Chair of Percussion Studies at the University of Minnesota School of Music and a regular guest percussionist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra with whom he has recorded and toured in such recognized venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Musikverein, and Berliner Philharmonie, amongst others, and on international cultural diplomacy tours in Cuba and South Africa. He has toured in Japan, Costa Rica and the USA, with legendary marimba virtuoso Keiko Abe, and is featured in her recording of Conversation in the Forest for the CD Keiko Abe and the World’s Leading Percussionists. Meza was one of the 5 original percussionists for the Broadway production of Disney's The Lion King; was the organizer/host of Marimba 2010 International Festival and Conference in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul; was percussion faculty for the Orchestra of the Americas from 2003 to 2023; and is a performing artist/clinician for Grover Pro Percussion, Zildjian, and OBiolley Instruments. His recording J.S. Bach: Suites for Unaccompanied Cello performed on Marimba by Fernando Meza is distributed through cdbaby.com, iTunes, and other digital providers. He is an active researcher of the marimba in his home country of Costa Rica and will soon be publishing a book about this tradition.
