Marijn Simons was born on 25th December 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. Simons studied violin with Saschko Gawriloff, composition with Daan Manneke and James
MacMillan and conducting with Ed Spanjaard and Jean-Bernard Pommier. From an early age Simons 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 debut 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. Simons' first CD was released in 1999; the same year Noises in the Night received its world première in 1999 with the Residentie Orkest, conducted by Jac van Steen, with Simons 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 première 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 première of Simons' Trombone Concerto, 'Concerto
Comique'. 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 Simons made a successful debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, playing the world première 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 première.
In 2004 he was in Mexico City where 'Five Poems' was played at the Centro Nacional de Las Artes and was Composer in Residence at the Delft Chamber Music Festival. His Percussion Concerto, 'Concerto Fabuleux', received its world première with the Residentie Orkest conducted by James MacMillan and in May 2005 'Concerto Fabuleux' had its US premiere with Evelyn Glennie and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In the autumn of 2004 he gave a recital tour in the Netherlands, including at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. December 2004 saw the world première of his '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’s highlights included playing his 'Secret Notes' with James MacMillan and then MacMillan's Violin Concerto with the Netherlands Radio Chamber. His
‘Symphony No. 1’ was given its first three performances by the Gelders Orkest in the Netherlands and he played Kancheli's 'And Farewell Goes Out Sighing...' with the
Netherlands Radio Symphony at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In August he was Composer in Residence at the Cabrillo Festival performing ‘Secret Notes’ and
James MacMillan's ‘A Deep But Dazzling Darkness’ with Marin Alsop who also did the U.S. première of ‘A Tí Te Toca’. In July 2006 Simons conducted the world
première performances of his ‘Smoking Mirror’ at the Orlando Festival. This month he will perform Adams’s Violin Concerto with the Netherlands Radio Chamber. In April he will have his London debut performing Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and Violin Concerto in E Major with the London Mozart Players and later this year he will do the world première performances of his ‘Concerto for an odd couple’ together with Evelyn Glennie and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In
September the Limburg Symphony Orchestra will do the first three performances of his ‘Symphony No. 2’ which was commissioned to celebrate the orchestra’s 125th
anniversary and the opening of the new concert hall in Heerlen. This season will also see the world première performances of his ‘Symphony No. 3’, ‘Concerto for String Orchestra’ and ‘Seven Steps’ for alto sax and piano.
Future commissions include an orchestral work for the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and an opera for Xynix Opera.
