About Justin Mckenzie

A native of Summerville, South Carolina, Justin West-McKenzie is a well experienced percussionist that has performed throughout the low-country. He graduated from Charleston Southern University with a bachelors in music education and holds a South Carolina K-12 teaching certification. During his undergraduate fulfillment he studied with Dr. Micheal Haldeman and Mr. John Willmarth, where he trained in percussion education, pedagogy, and performance.  Justin performed with the CSU Percussion Ensemble, CSU Wind Ensemble, CSU Jazz Band, CSU Jazz Combo, and the CSU Marching Bucs as the battery section leader. Outside of CSU, he has performed in a variety of groups, such as the Charleston Wind Symphony, Summerville Orchestra Chamber Series, and the 2018 Music City Drum and Bugle Corps, where he performed in the front ensemble. In addition to his college education, Justin worked with the percussion section at Ashley Ridge High School in their 2019 and 2021 seasons under the direction of Mrs. Meredith Melvin and Mr. Kyle Harvey. Currently, Justin works as a freelance percussionist and holds the position as director of percussion at Stall High School.  In the future, he has plans to pursue a masters in percussion performance with the goal of teaching percussive arts in the collegiate level.