Photograph by Philip Mechanicus

Marijn Simons was born in 1982, received his first violin tuition at the age of four, and simultaneously - and without formal teaching - started to compose music of his own. At ten he had completed his first string quartet. Marijn now studies violin with Saschko Gawriloff.

From an early age Marijn performed in recital and broadcast for radio and television, his first professional concert being at the age of ten. A year later he made his concerto début playing the Mendelssohn Concerto and has gone on to play with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Noord-Hollands Philharmonic, Het Gelders Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra, Limburg Symphony, Noord Nederlands Orchestra, Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, Baden-Badener Philharmonie and Northern Sinfonia.

He has been the subject of a number of television documentaries, including his first trip to the National Symphony of Mexico, shown last year in the Netherlands. Marijn's first CD was released in 1999; the same year 'Noises in the Night' received its world premiere in 1999 with the Residentie Orkest, conducted by Jac van Steen, with Marijn playing the Stravinsky Violin Concerto.

In 2001 he returned to Palermo for performances of the Hindemith Concerto, then to Mexico where he gave the world premiere of the Villa-Lobos Concerto with the National Symphony and Enrique Diemecke. He gave a broadcast performance of the Milhaud Concertino with the Nieuw Sinfonietta in Amsterdam and the 2nd Milhaud Concerto with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra when the trombonist, Jacques Mauger, gave the world premiere of Marijn's Trombone Concerto. He made a further visit to Palermo in the summer for concerts and in the same year won the Philip Morris Arts Prize and his vocal piece, 'The City of the Soul' was awarded First Prize in the Best Choral Composition Awards in the Netherlands.

In 2002 Marijn made a successful début with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, playing the world premiere of his 2nd Violin Concerto, 'Secret Notes'. The piece was commissioned by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group. He returned to California in 2003 with the Long Beach Symphony and in April 2004 his Piano Concerto, ‘Concerto d’un bon esprit’ received its world premiere in Hanoi. He appeared twice in Finland, at the annual Villa-Lobos Symposium and later played a Bach Concerto when his song cycle, ‘Five Poems by Emily Dickinson’ also received its world premiere.

In the autumn he gave a recital tour in the Netherlands, including at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. December 2004 saw the world premiere of his Concerto for Two Pianos, A Tí Te Toca with the Aachen Sinfonieorchester and two movements, Salsa and Mariachi, with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra conducted by Peter Eötvös.

Last year he was a Featured Artist at the Cabrillo Festival in San Francisco with Marin Alsop, playing his own and others’ works and he played ‘Secret Notes’ with James Macmillan and then Macmillan’s Violin Concerto with the Netherlands Radio Chamber. He has composed two operas for Opera Zuid in the Netherlands. The first will be premiered at the Orlando Festival in 2008 and the second in the company’s main season in 2009/10. 2006 saw his Symphony No. 1 given its first three performances by the Gelders Orkest in the Netherlands and he appeared again at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with the Netherlands Radio Symphony in Kancheli’s ‘And Farewell Goes Out Sighing…’

This year he played the Adams Concerto with the Netherlands Radio Filharmonic under James MacMillan and in April made his London debut with the London Mozart Players playing Bach. This autumn he played 'Secret Notes' in London and in October gave the world premiere of 'Concerto for an Odd Couple' for Violin, Marimba and Orchestra with Evelyn Glennie and the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

December 2007