ABOUT | marcsabbah

ABOUT

'Intensity and conviction set this duo apart'

-The Strad

Marc Sabbah (1988, New York City) is an international viola soloist, chamber musician, conductor and professor of viola since 2017. He is the founder of the Kasteux and Cameristica Chamber Music Festivals.

From 2012-2024 Marc was the solo and principal violist at the Belgian National Orchestra. In September 2017, Marc began a professorship of viola at the Royal Conservatory of Mons, Belgium, where he teaches today. Described as"a magnificent player" by legendary conductor Zubin Mehta, Marc was invited to be guest Principal Violist of the Israel Philharmonic. Graduating Cum Laude from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Marc was a pupil of Sven Arne Tepl and Nobuko Imai.

Having performed numerous concerti with International orchestras such as the Belgian National Orchestra, Athens State Orchestra, Antalya State Orchestra, Philharmonische Orchester Basel, Casco Philharmonic, de Filharmonie Amsterdam, la Orquesta Filarmónica de Coahuila, Filarmónica de Bogotá and others, Marc Sabbah is creating a path as a musical force of his generation.

Since 2016, Marc has collaborated with Belgian pianist Eliane Reyes forming the Duo Sabbah-Reyes, a unique duo dedicated to exploring viola and piano repertoire notably on thier disc titled 'AppassionAlto' under the label, Prospero Classical. The album has received excellent praise from the STRAD magazine and other publications. As a founding member and violist of the string Trio NOMADA, Marc plays along side the principal cellist of the London Symphony Orchestra, David Cohen and violinist Noé Inui.

Marc is establishing himself as one of the foremost influential violist with performances at the Oxford Chamber Festival, Varna Festival in Bulgaria, Grachten Festival Amsterdam, Kloster-Kamp Festival in Germany, Delft Chamber Music Festival, Utrecht Chamber Music Festival, Viola Congress Rotterdam in the Netherlands, ArteAmanti, Festival van Vlaanderen, Les Sons Intensifs in Belgium, Goslar Festival in Germany, Zeeland Klassiek in theNetherlands as well as festivals Arcidosso, Les Nuits Romantiques, Cremona Academy and many others.

Marc has played as guest Principal violist for the Israeli Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Lille, The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Tonhalle Zürich and others. In 2011, Marc Sabbah performed with Ivry Gitlis at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. Before his passing, Ivry Gitlis attended Marc's performance of the Leo Smit viola concerto at the Royal Conservatory of Mons calling Marc 'The Paganini of viola'.

Giving masterclasses in association with the Dutch Viola Society, the Brussels Chamber Music Festival, the Athens State Orchestra and various violas societies, Marc is deeply involved in teaching and communicating his love of music to both young artists and publics alike, often giving lessons and public masterclasses via video. His pursuit of excellence led him to study with great performers such as Nobuko Imai, Pinchas Zukerman, Kim Kashkashian, baroque cellist Anner Bijlsma, Gábor Takács-Nagy and others. Marc has performed and attended festivals throughout Europe, Latin America, Israel, Ukraine, Russia, the United States and Canada.

At only the age of 18 Marc premiered new works at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall as former violist of the Kubrick-Quartet and as principal violist of the Deutche-Skandinaviche Jugend Philharmonie. Marc has won top prizes at the Moscow Arts Competition in Boston, the Horowitz International Competition and Academy in Kiev, Ukraine, (2004) performing Hoffmeister concerto for viola and orchestra as well as Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with the Ukrainian State Orchestra, 1st prize a the 2014 Amsterdam National Viola Competition, 1st prize at the 2016 Rising Stars Grand Prix music competition performing solo at the Berlin Philharmonic hall, 1st Grand Prize at the Manhattan International Music Competition with a recital at Carnegie Hall and 1st prize at the Amsterdam National Viola Competition.

This season will see Marc performing and teaching in Japan, China, Germany, Colombia, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as the release of a newly recorded album of the six cello suites by J.S. Bach.

Marc began his studies on violin at the age of three at the 3rd Street Music School in Manhattan, furthering his studies at the Lucy Moses School with teacher Mark Lakirovich. Mesmerized by the warmth of its tone and in admiration of his sister's cello playing, Marc switched to the viola at age eleven. He completed his studies in the United States as a graduate of the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High school of Performing Arts and the Pre-College Division of The Juilliard School.

Since 2020, Marc is an ambassador for Jargar Strings. Marc plays on a Leroy F. Geiger viola dated 1951 made in Chicago, USA and a Thomas Meuwissen viola c.1998, Brussels.