Schirripa, Marco

Biography

Originally from Syracuse, New York, Marco Schirripa holds Bachelor’s degrees in Percussion Performance and Music Theory from Ithaca College, along with Master and Doctor of Music degrees in Percussion from Indiana University, where he was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate during his first year of study. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Percussion at Central Michigan University.
Dr. Schirripa has performed on international stages, including the World Marimba Competition, Zeltsman Marimba Festival, the North American Conference on Video Game Music, and several Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. He was named a finalist in the 2012 Percussive Arts Society International Marimba Competition and took first place in both the 2013 Great Plains and 2014 Southern California International Marimba Competitions.

In addition to his university appointment, Marco maintains an active schedule as a percussion soloist, clinician, and chamber musician. His recent projects have focused on adapting video game soundtracks for solo marimba and delivering clinics discussing the role of stage presence and extramusical gesture in concert performance. He is currently a member of the Heartland Marimba Quartet, a group dedicated to the creation and performance of new chamber repertoire for keyboard percussion. Heartland Marimba regularly performs concerts for the general public, while also appearing as concerto soloists with orchestras, resident artists for universities, and guest performers for international competitions and conventions.

Marco is a co-founder of the TIERRAS Percussion Competition. Founded in 2021, the event provides an opportunity for college and high school percussionists, especially those from South Texas, to compete on a national level.

He is deeply passionate about new music and supporting artists of all backgrounds, having premiered over 40 solo and small chamber works. His playing appears on albums featuring the music of Gordon Stout, Nathan Daughtrey, Dominick DiOrio, Leroy Osmon, and Amaury Leon Sosa. Marco’s compositions have been performed around the world and his work is available through C. Alan Publications and KPP. His debut solo album, Digital Dances, released in 2023, features his video game-inspired compositions for marimba.

Marco Schirripa is an Artist/Endorser for Sabian cymbals, Pearl/Adams percussion, and JGPercussion mallets.  He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, Pi Kappa Lambda, and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).