Estonian cellist Marcel Johannes Kits is one of the most promising young cellists of his generation, having won 3rd Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition and 1st Prize at the George Enescu International Competition in Romania. He’s also the 1st Prize winner at the Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria and at major competitions in Estonia (TV competition “Classical Stars” and National String Competition).

‍He has performed as soloist with many orchestras such as the Brussels Philharmonic, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National SO, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Kymi Sinfonietta, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Novosibirsk Chamber Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel SO Rishon LeZion, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, etc. He has played as the guest principal cello in the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich and regularly plays in the Estonian Festival Orchestra. He has also given recitals in China and Japan and has performed at venues such as Bozar and Flagey in Brussels, St. Petersburg Philharmonia, Moscow Conservatory, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Berliner Philharmonie, Boulez Saal, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Prinzregententheater München, Romanian Athenaeum, Tel Aviv Opera House and Jerusalem Theatre. He has been invited to perform at festivals such as the Pärnu Music Festival, Young Euro Classic, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Musical Olympus Festival, MustonenFest Tel Aviv, etc. Being passionate about chamber music, he is a member of Trio ’95.

Marcel studied with Laine Leichter and Mart Laas at the Tallinn Music High School. From 2014, he studied with Prof. Francis Gouton at Trossingen University of Music and from 2018 he has been continuing his studies at the Berlin University of the Arts with Prof. Jens Peter Maintz. He receives a scholarship from the International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein and regularly participates in the intense music weeks and activities offered by the Academy. He is supported by Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Association of Estonian Professional Musicians, which bestowed upon him the Musician of the Year Award in 2019. Marcel plays an Italian cello made by Francesco Ruggeri (Cremona, 1674) and a bow made by Victor Fetique, both kindly on loan to him by the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.