The German crossover pianist Marcus Schinkel (*1968) connects classical music tradition with jazz improvisation and rock elements. His trademark is the creative reinterpretation and re-composition of well-known pieces, which he performs worldwide.

His classical piano training began early and as a teenager he was active as a pianist, keyboarder and composer in rock and jazz bands as well as theatre projects. Later, he studied jazz piano and classical music at the ArtEZ Conservatorium, where he co-founded the Marcus Schinkel Trio with Wim de Vries in 1989. During this time, he played in the Bundesjazzorchester and took master classes with Richie Beirach and Lee Konitz.

In 1999, Schinkel gave the premiere of the first crossover Beethoven programme at the farewell ceremony of the German Bundestag in Bonn. He works with jazz, classical and rock musicians such as Ernie Watts, Wolfgang Niedecken or Markus Stockhausen, as well as with orchestras like the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Bolivia, WDR Funkhaus and the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen. Additionally, as a cultural ambassador, he travels internationally for concerts and workshops for institutions such as German embassies, the Goethe-Institut und non-profit organisations.

With the Missa Morphosis, Marcus Schinkel presents the successor work of Credo In Unum Mundum (2023) for choir, orchestra, world religion singers and jazz trio, based on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.