Bio

         A contemporary percussionist and educator, Marcus Santos, is a native of Bahia, Brazil.
He commits his life to the study, teaching and performance of his hometown's Afro-Brazilian
music and heritage. Marcus received a scholarship and completed his studies with honors at
Berklee College of Music in Boston. Santos has performed internationally; and has shared the
stage with artists such as Paquito D'Rivera (9 Grammy wins), The Brand New Heavies,
Orchestra La Passion (Osvaldo Golijov) and the Gipsy Kings.
The Brazilian Immigrant Center honored him with the ‘Outstanding Arts Performer’
award in 2008 and Berklee College of Music has awarded him as ‘Outstanding Percussionist' in 2004.
    
Santos has been featured in his own produced DVD, “Modern Approach to Pandeiro”,
the DVD "Musically Speaking II", produced by BOSE, and on Sony pictures
“Rachel is Getting Married” starring Ann Hathaway.
    
Marcus has led numerous workshops on Afro-Brazilian percussion and music for
Social Change in universities and conventions around the world, including MIT,
Harvard, Brown University and Universidad Central de Venezuela and the
Percussion Arts Society International Convention in 2007 and 2010.
  
 Currently, Santos is artistic director of drumming groups in six different states in the US;
part of an effort to enact positive change by engaging communities through music.
Marcus Santos’ passion for Afro-Brazilian music and culture comes through
in each of his performances, classes and workshops.