Colorado native Dr. Marcus Reddick joined the faculty of Mercer University in the Fall of 2006 as the Director of Percussion Studies and Assistant Professor of Music, where he teaches applied percussion, percussion ensemble, percussion techniques, and courses in music theory, orchestration, musicianship, jazz appreciation, and music appreciation as well as assisting with the Mercer Wind and Jazz Ensembles. Before coming to Mercer, he was the Director of Percussion Studies and an assistant Professor of Music at Albany State University in Albany, Georgia.
Marcus received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance from the University of Kentucky; his Master of Music in Percussion Performance was obtained at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and his Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
A versatile performer, he has toured extensively and performed around the world performing both as a soloist and as a member of numerous ensembles. He has performed with orchestras throughout the country including the Omaha Symphony, Nevada Symphony Orchestra, the Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Albany Symphony, and most recently the Macon and Augusta Symphonies. Other performing ensembles include the Nevada Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Chamber Music Southwest, Southern Nevada New Music Ensemble, the Las Vegas Percussion Group, of which he was also the assistant music director, and The Mothers Big Band, to name but a few.
A highly sought after performer and clinician, Marcus has been an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and a marimba soloist/clinician at Universities throughout the country. He has performed with numerous world class musicians including Elton John, Billy Joel, Fred Wesley, Joe Bonner, Kim Stone, Rick Neilsen, Allen Vizzuti, Bobby Shew, Eric Marienthal, Nelson Rangell, Benny Golson, and others.
Marcus has been featured at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Nebraska Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society Day of Percussion, the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, CA, the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival in Bloomington, Indiana performing with world hand drumming virtuoso Glen Velez, the Atlanta International Band and Orchestra Conference, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago, multiple state MENC Conferences, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, performing with jazz legend Donald Byrd, and as a clinician with Sonny Emory at his International Drum Set Camp. He can be heard on Troppe Note Recordings, Sea Breeze Jazz, and Smitty Records, in addition to several independent labels.
Marcus continues to pioneer the performance, composition, and pedagogy of the six-mallet independence technique for the marimba. He endorses Mike Balter mallets and is a member of the Vic Firth Professional Drum Teachers Team.