Marcus R.

Marcus R. is a professional violinist/violist/pianist born in Inglewood, CA.   He has secured principal positions of such orchestra as the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, Transylvania Symphony Orchestra, University of Southern California Symphony, and Louisiana All-State Orchestra. Other major orchestra appearances include the ASTA National Honor Orchestra, Marshall Symphony Orchestra, Shreveport Symphony, and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra 2013 Tour in the Netherlands. Marcus made his concerto debut at the age of fifteen with the Marshall Symphony. He went on to win first prizes at the First Annual Texarkana Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Red River Radio Young Artist Competition, Marjorie Stricklin Emerging Artists Competition, and Second Prize at the George Gershwin International Competition.  He debuted at the age of sixteen with the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra.

In November 2010 Marcus collaborated with Christopher O’Reilly on a taping of NPR’s From the Top, with whom he was declared a $10,000 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award recipient.  He has studied with Pinchas Zukerman, Patinka Kopec, Cynthia Phelps, Richard O’Neill, and Csaba Erdelyi at various music camps, some including Orford Arts Center, Meadowmount School of Music, and Music Academy of the West.  He experienced working under the batons of Keith Lockhart, Emmanuel Villaume, Robert Spano, Sidney Harth, Itzhak Perlman, Michael Tilson Thomas, Courtney Lewis, Larry Rachleff, and Alan Gilbert of the New York Philharmonic. He also was a finalist in the annual Juilliard Viola Concerto Competition performing Paul Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher, soloing with the Centenary College Youth Orchestra, collaborating with members of the New York Philharmonic and conductor Alan Gilbert at the Music Academy of the West, and reprising his role as soloist with the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra in October 2016.

He has studied chamber music with members of the Grammy award-winning Juilliard String Quartet and Cleveland Quartet. He has performed in masterclasses for the Manhattan String Quartet, Daniel Sweaney, Susan Debois, Csaba Erdelyi, Joseph Silverstein, Cynthia Phelps, Donald McInnes, Heidi Castleman, and, in February 2016, his former teacher, Steven Tenenbom’s Orion Quartet.

Marcus holds a BM from the Juilliard School as an Irene Diamond and C.V. Starr scholarship recipient studying with Heidi Castleman and Steven Tenenbom.  He attended the Masters program at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music as a scholarship student of Karen Dreyfus.  He was generously loaned a contemporary viola by the Canadian maker Raymond Scrhyer from the Virtu Foundation.