Description
About Marcus
Since earning his bachelors’ degree in music from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1990, Marcus Gerakos has enjoyed an eclectic and busy career in music, from his collaborations with Grammy-winning percussionist Alex Acuna to his recordings with internationally-known reggae artist Avion Blackmon to performances with Grammy-winning saxophone legend Justo Almario and platinum-selling smooth-jazz pioneer John Klemmer.
Marcus has performed in the near and far corners of the world, from Canada and Mexico to Central America and the Far East. He is recognized by many of his well-known musical peers as one of the finest guitarists in the business. He has recorded in a variety of settings and has a long list of CD credits as a session player. He has arranged and performed some of the classical guitar’s most demanding literature, including the 24 Caprices for Solo Violin by Nicolo Paganini, as well as popular songs treated with intricate counterpoint and harmonies reminiscent of pianist Bill Evans.
He has earned critical praise as a solo artist, recording four albums (including “The Edge Of Wonder”, a duet project with woodwinds player Robert Kyle) and garnering international airplay. Two songs he wrote and arranged for the children’s charity project, “Yes We Serve; For The Children”, have enjoyed considerable airplay in the U.S. and in Ghana, West Africa, where funds are being raised to build schools and youth camps for Ghanaian children. His 2011 release, “Marmalade Skies: Songs of The Beatles, Vol. 1”, features many of his well-known musical colleagues like Artie Webb, considered by many to be the finest Latin jazz flutist of his generation, and Francisco Loyo, arranger and musical director for Latin pop superstar Luis Miguel. “Marmalade Skies” and its predecessor, “As Twilight Approaches” (2009), are both available through Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, and most other major online retailers.
In fall 2016 Marcus was a guest lecturer at the campuses of UCLA, Cal Poly Pomona, and Los Angeles City College, where he performed and discussed twelve of the twenty-four Caprices for Solo Violin, Opus 1, by the legendary violinist/composer Nicolo Paganini. This lecture tour coincided with the fall 2016 release of “Twelve Caprices”, his much-lauded recording of the caprices on classical guitar. The following year he was invited to the Conservatorio De Musica and the Universidad San Carlos De Guatemala to lecture on and perform selections from the twenty-four caprices.
Marcus' past performances
Booking and General Policy
- Get in touch with us via email, phone, or chat with us on our website to set an appointment.
- Choose a musician, group, or package and ask for a draft contract. For ceremony & cocktail bookings, you may opt to book online through our interactive tool. Refer to our calendar to check for an available slot for your event date.
- Secure the date by depositing a down payment of 25% through our interactive tool and pay via credit card, venmo, paypal, or send us a check.
Your booking is automatically confirmed upon receipt of the deposit OR signed contract!
Please note: If we don’t receive the signed contract OR the required deposit within 7 days from the date of the contract, we will need to re-confirm the artist(s) availability again.
Once your booking is confirmed, you will receive a username and password to access our portal. You may now create your custom wedding playlist via our interactive portal.
Please use our interactive tool to choose among thousands of songs in our playlist. There you can choose songs for your ceremony and cocktail hour.
We understand that at times, the unexpected happens. Our policy on cancellations are written below:
- For cancellations 30 days before the event, you will receive a 100% refund of the deposit amount.
- For cancellations less than 30 days before the event, the deposit is non-refundable.
Please Provide Shade/Umbrella
- We require a shade/umbrella for our musicians, instruments, and audio equipment. This is due to the extreme sensitivity of musical instruments to changes in temperature and exposure to sunlight and humidity. In some cases exposure to elements may lead to irreparable damage to the instruments.
Please Prepare a Covered/Dry Location in Case of Rain
- We require a covered/dry location for our musicians, instruments, and audio equipment in case of rain. Exposure to water or humidity is damaging to our musical instruments and audio equipment. In some cases exposure to elements may lead to irreparable damage to the instruments.
- We love playing outdoors but in lower temperatures please provide a heater for our musicians. Our musicians remain outdoors for more than an hour with an additional hour to set up before the appointment. The heater will keep them warm before and during their performance.
Ocdamia Music Group offers one of the best Flamenco players in Orange County by the name of Marcus. He travels to Los Angeles county as well and prefers to be booked at least a month early. Marcus also accepts special song requests if you let him know ahead of time or at least one month’s notice for these special song requests.
This depends on the guitarist you’re booking. If you have a request for a specific song or list of songs, ask the guitarist if they would be willing to play or learn those songs for your event. With our musician, Marcus, you can assure that he can play and learn any song including those you’ve requested.
You’re welcome to send over a list of your favorite songs from the guitarist’s repertoire and our musician will try to include these in their set. But bear in mind that most guitarists will alter their set to suit the audience reaction. In addition, we do recommend that you send us your song requests in advance to give our musician enough time to learn the piece for your event.
Live music can make your special moment, most specifically your wedding even more wonderful and extra special. And a wedding guitarist is one of the most popular choices for wedding ceremonies. Our Southern California wedding guitarist specializes in playing classical music, jazz or bossa nova and most especially in Spanish/Latin music and Flamenco styles. Having a guitarist playing live music during the wedding will help set an elegant mood and unforgettable wedding ceremony. This will be a great way to add an extra special touch to your event.
Debra D.
We were thrilled with Marcus, who played acoustic guitar BEAUTIFULLY at our wedding last week. He is very talented, and provided the perfect ambiance that we were looking for. I would hire him again in a heartbeat! Thank you Ocdamia Strings, Margie and Marcus! : )