Conductor, Marcus Jose Parris, is quickly distinguishing himself as a conductor who possesses a commanding presence, a profound passion and understanding of music, and a precise technique. Protege of higly esteemed conductor/composer, Harold Farberman, Mr. Parris has appeared with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica Sinaloa de las Artes in Sinaloa, Mexico, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Panama, and the Da Capo Chamber Players. For the 2007-2008 season he served as assistant conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra in New York. Additionally, he shared the podium with Maestro Kurt Masur in a 2006 concert with the Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra in conjunction with a series of master classes. That same year he was appointed Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Opera Company of the Highlands. Among the works performed with the OCH, his performances of Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, Cavalleria Rusticana/I Pagliacci and Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel have been described as "stirring," "fluent," "precise," and "expert..." October 2009 saw the U.S. premier of Cui's Feast in the Time of Plague performed along with Rimsky-Korsakov's rarely produced Mozart and Salieri  with the Little Opera Theater of New York under Mr. Parris' baton.

As a choral conductor, Mr. Parris has served as assistant conductor of the Bard College Chamber Singers, and is currently Music Director of the Charles St. A.M.E. Ensemble in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Performances of the 2010/11 season included G.F. Handel's Messiah. Also, performances of the 2011/2012 season will include a collaboration concert with Opera Boston.        

Currently, Mr. Parris is happy to have been engaged by M.U.S.E (early music chamber ensemble) for the 2011/2012  season to produce a recording of a new edition by Founder and Artistic director of M.U.S.E., Jonathan Dobin, of numerous baroque contra dances. This recording will include dances by Lully, Purcell, Annon, and Holt.  

Mr. Parris was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and began piano and trumpet lessons at the age of six. From 2001 until 2005, he studied orchestral conducting with Maestro Harold Farberman, first as a private student then as a scholarship student in the conducting program at Bard College. At that time he also studied composition with Joan Tower, trumpet with Steven Banzaert, and voice with Joan Fuerstman. Mr. Parris currently resides in Manhattan, New York.