Biography
Marie Hackenberg grew up in Germany, China, and France, before moving to London to pursue her viola studies. She first received violin lessons at the age of five, soon thereafter also starting the piano. In China, she was a soloist with the New Shanghai Orchestra, performing the Bach Double Concerto at just eleven years old. Four years later, and living in Paris, Marie taught herself the viola in order to play in the Bavarian State Youth Orchestra (Germany), which was already saturated with violinists. In 2016, she completed her academic education with high marks in both the French Baccalauréat and the German Abitur. She remains fluent in German, English, and French, with basic conversational Mandarin skills.
Marie then went on to study viola at the Royal Academy of Music with Garfield Jackson of the Endellion Quartet and distinguished freelancer James Sleigh. Whilst at the Academy, she took elective baroque viola lessons with Annette Isserlis and performed in ensembles ranging from string quartets through baroque ensembles to symphony orchestras. The projects Marie perhaps enjoyed most took place in the pit of musical theatre productions, conducted by both student musical directors and some of the most accomplished MDs of the West End and beyond. She indulged in this passion by leading the viola section in numerous "Sitz" organised by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra, where a musical is put on all within one day. This lead to Marie playing in the professional ensemble for "Queen Symphonic" at the London Palladium in November 2021. For two years she also worked as a Front of House manager within the Academy's Events team, overseeing stewards, stage managers, and box office during concerts whilst being responsible for the safety of everyone in the building (in a nutshell). Following her graduation from the Royal Academy of Music in 2020, Marie moved to her birthplace of Munich and is now studying bioinformatics alongside pursuing a career in musicals and classical/baroque ensembles. In addition to tutoring viola sections for various southern German orchestras, you can finder her upcoming and recent commitments under the Concerts tab.
Experience
Musical Theatre:
- Queen Symphonic, City of Angels, complete shows by Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Sherman Brothers, Alan Menken, Schönberg/Boublil, Zippel, Coleman, O'Keefe, Jason Robert Brown.
- many assorted songs by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz, Lin-Manuel Miranda and others
- worked with Daniel Bowling, Alfonso Casado-Trigo, Freddie Tappner, James Spilling, Neil Rutherford, Luke Holman, and others
Orchestral:
- works include: symphonies by Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Mahler, Dvorak, Sibelius, Brahms; Grieg Holberg Suite, Strauss Alpine Symphony (co-principal) and Till Eulenspiegel, Stravinsky Rite of Spring and Petrushka, Bartok Miraculous Mandarin, Romeo and Julia/Juliet by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev
- notable conductors include: Mariss Jansons, Sir Mark Elder, Oliver Knussen, Masaaki Suzuki, Edward Gardner, John Wilson, Oksana Lynnig, Vitali Alekseenok, Sebastian Tewinkel
Baroque:
- works by J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart, Biber, Telemann, C.P.E. Bach, and others
- conductors/leaders include: Masaaki Suzuki, Helmuth Rilling, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Margaret Faultless, Rachel Podger
