Marlene Dijkstra has been playing the violin since she was four with teachers Coosje Wijzenbeek and Veselina Manikova en has recently graduated cum laude at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam where she studied with Vera Beths.

She has taken masterclasses with, amongst others, Anner Bylsma, Liviu Prunaru and Philipe Graffin and participated in multiple festivals and academies such as the Mahler Academy, European Chamber Music Academy and the Conservatoire Américain in Fontainebleau where she received the prize for best interpretation of a modern work. She has previously won prizes in the Princess Christina Competition and the Peter de Grote Festival.

Marlene has been a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra and was an academist at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra during the 2090/2020 season. She often plays with the RCO, the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra and the Dutch Chamber Orcehstra. She also regularly plays as sub-principal in the Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra and has been concertmaster of the National Youth Orchestra and the New Philharmonic Utrecht.

Marlene forms a duo with pianist Inés Costales and has recently founded a string quartet with other previous academist of the RCO.