About me

In the 1990s, Marleen Asberg studied singing with Margreet Honig in Amsterdam. Nowadays she is coached by Maarten Koningsberger. As a lyrical soprano, she regularly performs with colleagues from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. With them she sang arias by Puccini, Bellini and Gounod. She also took part in many productions in which she could be heard as both a violinist and a singer. In “Confessions of a violinist”, composed and dedicated to her by Kees Olthuis (première 2017) and in the song “Morgen” by Richard Strauss, she sang and played the violin simultaneously. In October 2019, Marleen Asberg performed a Bach Cantata and opera arias with members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Bulgaria Hall in Sofia.

Marleen Asberg studied the violin with Herman Krebbers at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. Even before she finished her studies cum laude, she was appointed as a first violinist by the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1991. Marleen won several prizes such as the Iordens Viooldagen and the Zilveren Vriendenkrans of the Concertgebouw. She was finalist at the Oscar Back competition and soloed with, among others, the National Youth Orchestra, the Gelders Orkest and Nieuw Sinfonietta. Since 1992, Marleen has been concertmaster of the Ebony Band, with whom she has brought on stage countless never-performed compositions from the Interbellum and recorded them on CD as well. The CD Unheard, which comprises unknown quartets, was recently released by the Ebony String Quartet. Marleen’s great love of chamber music is expressed in performances of a highly varied repertoire at home and abroad, with ensembles of various size and instrumental makeup. Marleen currently plays a J.B. Guadagnini, that was built in 1757 and belongs to the collection of the Concertgebouw Orchestra Foundation.