Who We Are

Dr. Marcus Norris founded South Side Symphony with the idea “What if orchestras didn’t exist, and were invented today by a young Black man?” He describes the sound as “like if Quincy Jones grew up on 90s R&B and Rap.” The predominantly-Black orchestra has performed with Chloe x Halle, Andra Day, and played on several film & tv scores including AppleTV's new hit series "Lady in the Lake" starring Natalie Portman & Moses Ingram, as well as NBC Universal’s “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.“ After hearing South Side Symphony perform under Marcus’s Musical Direction at the 2022 Wearable Art Gala, Beyoncé asked Marcus to orchestrate several songs for her and 50-piece orchestra as part of her surprise 2023 Dubai return to live performance. The orchestra’s motto is “Our Music in Our Time,” because we know nobody can tell our stories like we can.

While primarily based in Los Angeles, we currently have chapters of South Side Symphony in LA, Chicago, the Bay, and Atlanta