Marshall Marcus

Violinist, programmer, writer, educator and broadcaster since the 1960s, Marshall has worked in more than 70 countries across 5 continents. He is currently European Union Youth Orchestra Executive & Artistic Director, President of Sistema Europe, a Europe 101 Leadership Programme Patron, advisor to the National Orchestra For All, and a member of the Honorary Council of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Advisory Council of the European Heritage Hub.

Marshall founded Sistema Europe, Sistema Africa, the SERA Research Archive, La Orquesta Barroca Simón Bolívar de Venezuela, and was Co-founder of the European Music Campus and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He has a Masters in Philosophy and Experimental Psychology from Oxford University, and a postgrad Diploma in English teaching from Cambridge University.

Before becoming Head of Music at London’s Southbank Centre, Marshall enjoyed a 25-year career as an orchestral, solo and chamber violinist, working regularly with artists such as Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Roger Norrington, Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim, Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons, Gustavo Dudamel, Lang Lang, and Cecilia Bartoli, and collaborated as a performer with musicians as varied as the Moscow Soloists, Baaba Maal, and The Michael Nyman Band.

Recordings include the complete Rossini String Sonatas, Globokar’s Discours VI, Sir Roger Norrington’s complete Beethoven symphonies, Amsterdam Baroque’s complete Bach Cantatas, Christopher Hogwood’s complete Haydn Symphonies, and numerous film scores.

Current interests include the role of culture in helping meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. He was General Editor of the European Commission's Voices of Culture Report, Culture and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges & Opportunities, and a member of the British Council’s Arts and Creative Economy Advisory Group. An acknowledged youth orchestra expert, he has worked with young musicians in all 27 EU member states, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Brazil, Chile, China, Myanmar, Western Balkans, Venezuela, the UK and the USA.