Marcus founded South Side Symphony in 2020, which he describes as “like a younger, more ‘ratchet’ version of The Roots, accompanied by lush live strings and horns.” The ensemble recorded their first live album in 2023 through a weekend of three sold-out shows in North Hollywood. As a film composer, the Boston Herald praised his “impressively orchestral score” for the 2022 feature film “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” starring Regina Hall & Sterling K. Brown, written and directed by Adamma Ebo.

He has made a number of achievements in concert music, including earning a commission from the Atlanta Opera as prize for winning their inaugural 96-hour Opera Project, making his Walt Disney Concert Hall debut in 2022 with his piece “MERCY” as part of the LA Phil’s National Composers Intensive, orchestrating the world premiere of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of “The Factotum” by Will Liverman and DJ King Rico, collaborating on Adrian Dunn’s “Emancipation”, and being awarded the prestigious Cota-Robles fellowship to earn his PhD in Music Composition at UCLA. His violin concerto “GLORY” opened to three sold-out performances when premiered by the Jackson Symphony Orchestra in 2019, and then was subsequently performed in Guangzhou, China later that year. His Dance Suite “I Tried So Hard for You” premiered in Havana in 2018, closely following the Russian String Orchestra premiere of “My Idols Are Dead” in Moscow.

Recent appearances by Schwarz & Bournaki include Bargemusic, The Juilliard School and The National Arts Club in New York City, Danbury Music Center (CT), The Embassy Series (Washington, DC), Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival and Hammond Chamber Music Series (MA), Thurnauer School of Music (NJ), The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Peninsula College and Second City Chamber Music Series (WA), Canada’s Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance and Salzburg, Austria’s Mozarteum. Their 2016-17 season was highlighted by a 10-recital tour of China, which included the grand-opening performance at the new concert hall in Qianjiang.

Schwarz & Bournaki have recorded the complete cello and piano music of Ernest Bloch (2015) for the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music and made the world premiere recording of Bright Sheng’s Northern Lights (2017) on the Naxos label.