Richard Marcus

Education

• University of Iowa, B.M. (Music Education)
• Butler University, M.M. (Conducting)
• University of South Carolina, D.M.A. (Conducting)

Additional Study

University of Calgary, Wind Conducting Diploma Program

Biography

Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, Dr. Richard C. Marcus currently serves as Associate Professor/Director of Bands at William & Mary.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Iowa and graduate degrees in conducting from Butler University and the University of South Carolina.  He has been on the faculties of the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina Upstate.  He has served as music director of the Peninsula Youth Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Athenaeum Pops Orchestra and has guest conducted the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Indianapolis Brass Choir, and the Hendrix College Wind Ensemble, among others.

At William & Mary, Dr. Marcus directs the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds and teaches conducting, music theory, and special topics courses.  The William & Mary Wind Ensemble was named a national finalist in the American Prize Competition in 2020, 2021, and 2023.  Dr. Marcus’s research is on the music of Hans Gál, an Austrian composer and scholar banned under National Socialism.  He has presented at the College Music Society’s International Conferences in Belgium and the Baltics, and his publications have appeared in the Journal of the American Viola Society and the WASBE Journal.  His edition of Paul Büttner's Saturnalia für Blasinstrumente und Pauken (1896/1898) was published by Maxime's Music in 2022.  Dr. Marcus is a member of CBDNA, WASBE, CMS, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Pi Kappa Lambda.  He currently serves as president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the College Music Society.

Publications

• 2024 Marcus, Richard. Liner notes to Hans Gál: Music for Viola, Volume Two. Hanna Pakkala, viola and Guest Musicians. Toccata Classics (TOCC 0761), CD, 2025.
• 2023 Marcus, Richard. Liner notes to Hans Gál: Music for Chamber Orchestra. Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra. CPO (CPO 555 623-2), CD, 2024.
• 2022 Büttner, Paul. Saturnalia für Blasinstrumente und Pauken. ed. Richard Marcus. Brisbane: Maxime’s Music, 2022.
• 2022 Marcus, Richard. Preface to Zauberspiegel Suite, Op. 38 by Hans Gál. Vienna: Universal Edition, 1931. Reprinted Munich: Musikproduktion Höflich, 2022.
• 2021 Marcus, Richard. “The Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides: A Highlight of the 1930 I.S.C.M. Festival.” WASBE Journal, 26 (2020): 8-22.
• 2020 Marcus, Richard. Preface to Divertimento, Op. 22 by Hans Gál. Munich: F.E.C. Leuckart, 1927. Reprinted Kenley, Surrey: Maecenas Music, 2020.
• 2019 Marcus, Richard. Liner notes to Hans Gál: Music for Viola, Volume One. Hanna Pakkala, viola and Guest Musicians. Toccata Classics (TOCC 0535), CD, 2019.
• 2014 Marcus, Richard. “A Survey of Hans Gál’s Chamber Works with Viola.” Journal of the American Viola Society 30, no. 2 (Fall 2014): 13-25.

Conference Presentations

• 2024 Marcus, Richard. Conductor, William & Mary Wind Ensemble.  CMS Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, Music Arts Center Concert Hall, Williamsburg, VA, April 6, 2024.
• 2023 Marcus, Richard. “Folk Elements in Maria Faust’s Sacrum Facere.” Paper presented at the College Music Society International Conference, Vilnius, Lithuania, July 2023.
• 2019 Marcus, Richard. “The Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides: A Highlight of the 1930 ISCM Festival.” Paper presented at the College Music Society International Conference, Brussels, Belgium, July 12, 2019.
• 2009 Marcus, Richard. Conductor, Youth Orchestra of the Lowcountry. SCMEA In-Service Conference, Charleston Convention Center, North Charleston, SC, February 6, 2009.