Marie Macleod
Described by The Guardian as ‘powerfully eloquent’ and The Strad as ‘a cellist who can hold a stage and captivate an audience’, Marie Macleod performs extensively as soloist and chamber musician at major concert venues across Europe, the USA and Australia. Her performances are frequently broadcast by the BBC, Classic FM, Dutch Radio 4 and Swedish Radio, and competition successes include winning the string section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year, the Royal Over-Seas League competition, the Suggia Gift for Cello and the Bronze Medal in the Shell/LSO competition, as well as awards from the Tunnell, Leverhulme and Countess of Munster Trusts.
As a member of the Aronowitz Ensemble, Marie is a BBC New Generation Artist and Borletti-Buitoni Trust award winner, and has performed at the BBC Proms, Cheltenham, Aldeburgh, Bath, Spoleto and the City of London Festivals, as well as recording extensively for the BBC. The Aronowitz Ensemble released their debut CD on Sonimage in February 2010. Marie is also cellist in the Lendvai String Trio who perform at major concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Barbican, St John’s Smith Square and King’s Place in London, and the Berwaldhall and Nybrokajen in Stockholm. As well as winning awards from the Kirckman Concert Society, Musicians Benevolent Fund, Worshipful Company of Musicians and the Park Lane Group, the Lendvai String Trio was selected for the Holland Music Sessions 'New Masters on Tour' and the Concertgebouw's Young Artist Series in Amsterdam in 2009.
Between 2006 - 2008 Marie was principal cellist of the Västerås Sinfonietta in Sweden, and in 2009 she became the new cellist in both Ensemble 360 and the Phoenix Piano Trio. She enjoys regular chamber music collaborations with artists such as Pekka Kuusisto, Alexei Ogrintchouk, Natalie Clein, Nicholas Daniel, Andrew Kennedy, Ailish Tynan, Charles Owen and Alison Balsom. Marie has a strong interest in contemporary music and has had several works written for her. She studied with Louise Hopkins at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Steven Isserlis at IMS Prussia Cove, David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she was awarded the prestigious Concert Recital Diploma, and Frans Helmerson in Cologne. She plays a Matteo Goffriller cello from 1706.