Marine Gandon (viola)

            Born in France in 1985, Marine Gandon has studied the viola with Pascal Robault in the Conservatoire of Reims and with Marie-Christine Witterkoer in the Conservatoire of St-Maur-des-Fossés. In 2006, she graduated with honors. She had master classes with musicians such as Nobuko Imai (Tibor Varga Academy in Switzerland), Antonello Farulli (‘Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts’ in Austria), Yuko Inoue (‘International String Orchestra Festival’ in Malta), and also with Lawrence Power and Gordon Nikolitch…

            As a winner of the Royal College of Music Viola Competition, she received the Cecil Aronowitz, Lionel Tertis & Lesley Alexander Prizes and made her début at the Wigmore Hall in June 2007. As a soloist, she performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola in France and Germany with the orchestra of the Conservatoire of St-Maur-des-Fossés. She also premiered Schubert’s Arpeggione arranged for viola solo and string orchestra with the Orchestre Allegro.

During the summers 2005 and 2006, she toured in China and Europe with the World Orchestra of Jeunesses Musicales. She now regularly performs with the Orchestre Pasdeloup in venues such as the Salle Pleyel in Paris. She also played with Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Charles Mackerras, and Leif Segerstam. She is also principal viola of the Charities Philarmonia Orchestra and of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in London.

As passionate chamber musician, she has been recently invited to play with the ‘Norbotten Neo Ensemble’ in Sweden and with the ‘Ensemble ACA’ in Spain. She also performed Mendelssohn’s Octet receiving coaching with Sir Roger Norrington in London. She had master-classes with the Isaye Quartet, with whom she played in the Festival ‘Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims’ in 2003. She also had master-classes with the Talich quartet, the Ludwig Quartet, and the Amadeus Quartet.

Supported by a Joan Weller Award, Marine is currently studying with Andriy Viytovych on the Masters Program at the Royal College of Music.