A native of Brooklyn, New York, guitarist/composer/sound artist Terrence McManus has been called "... one of New York's latest guitar heroes ..." (All About Jazz), and that he has "... hit on an entirely new language." (Gambit), and "... possesses the goods to impart a significant impact ..." (jazzreview.com). Time Out New York calls him a "Texture-minded guitar abstractionist ..." and the NY Times has described him as a "guitarist drawn to abstract texture."

His compositions have been performed by Talea Ensemble, Contemporaneous, Bergamot Quartet, Christopher Otto, Josh Modney, Joshua Rubin, Mariel Roberts, Kyle Armbrust, Tyshawn Sorey, and Bill Frisell.

He has performed or recorded with many of the major innovators in contemporary music, including John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, Gerry Hemingway, Mark Dresser, Ellery Eskelin, Herb Robertson, Mark Helias, John Hollenbeck, Ben Monder, Russ Lossing, Randy Peterson, Mat Maneri, Tom Rainey, Michael Sarin, John Hébert, and Marty Ehrlich. He has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, the New York Guitar Festival, the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, and the inaugural month at John Zorn’s The Stone. Terrence was featured in the book State of the Axe: Guitar Masters in Photographs and Words, by legendary photographer Ralph Gibson.

An accomplished solo guitarist, Terrence performs his own works on electric and classical guitar and has developed a unique style of improvisation, drawing on extended technique and prepared guitar. His solo recording Brooklyn EP was described as having "... visceral, stimulating fabrics." (The New York City Jazz Record). He has done numerous solo tours across the United States. In 2011, Terrence was selected as a semi-finalist on classical guitar in the Portland Guitar Festival.

Actively involved in education, Terrence has taught at New York University, Rutgers University – Newark, Newbury College, and Hochschule Luzern (Luzern, Switzerland).