Violin

Born in Madrid to a family of musicians, Marina Alba began violin at age seven. Her mother is a pianist and chamber music professor and her father is a world-music cellist. She studied in Madrid and Malaga, Spain, before moving to the United States.

Marina will be starting her masters degree in Fall 2024 at the Manhattan School of Music with a full-tuition scholarship as part of the selective Zukerman Program, where she'll study under Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec. 

Marina has performed at the Berliner Philharmonie, Kulturpalast in Dresden, Francis Auditorium at Mary Baldwin University, the National Auditorium of Music in Madrid, the Musical Arts Center at the IU Jacobs School of Music , Moritzburg Castle, Conde Duque Hall in Madrid, Madrid’s Cibeles’ Palace and Maria Cristina Hall in Málaga.

A winner of several awards, including First Prize at the III Forum Musikae International Competition, Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award 2024, AFSF Opportunity Award, Adolfo Salazar End of Studies Award and the Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award. She has performed in masterclasses with world-renowned artists such as Vadim Gluzman, Daniel Phillips, Vadim Gluzman, Rudolf Koelman, Ingolf Turban, Grigory Kalinovsky, Sarah Chang, and Krzysztof Wegrzyn.

Marina has participated in the Heifetz International Music Institute, Moritzburg Festival Academy, Pinchas Zukerman “Young Artists Program,” Miami International Festival, Rudolf Koelman’s "Silkroad Summer Sessions 2018," Ascent International Music Festival, and Festival Málaga Clásica.

Marina graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a BM in Violin Performance  and a minor in jazz studies in May 2024. At IU she studied under Grigory Kalinovsky and the Pacifica Quartet. There, she was a recipient of the Young Premier Artist Scholarship and held positions as concertmaster, assistant concertmaster and Principal second violin of the IU Philharmonic Orchestra, where she played under Thomas Wilkins and Arthur Fagen.

She has premiered several new music pieces, including “Pirueta y Perspectiva" (2019) by Javier López de Guereña, “Obra para orquesta de cuerda" (2020) by Fernando Arroyo Lascurrain, “A memory among the fog” (2015) by Alejandro Gwinn, and “Rats don‘t pay subway fare“ (2022) by Matthew Levin. She was also part of the premier of the opera “Anne Frank” written by the Grammy-winner composer Shulamit Ran as assistant concertmaster of the IU Philharmonic Orchestra.

She was part of the Heifetz on Tour ensemble in May 2024, performing in several venues around Rhode Island and Maine, as well as the Heifetz on Tour located in Virginia, where she performed in Washington DC and Staunton.