Born in Emsdetten, Westphalia, in 1968, Markus Kneisel has played contrabassoon in the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin since 2001. He received his musical training at the Robert Schumann College of Music in Düsseldorf with Prof. Fritz Essmann, who was then principal bassoon of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker. His teacher not only concentrated on bassoon technique, but also encouraged him to play chamber music which Kneisel has done intensively in various ensembles after graduation.
To fine-hone his skills as an orchestral and chamber music player, he attended courses of the Jeunesses Musicales and the Collegium Musicum Pommersfelden and joined the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival orchestra. With the latter he undertook tours of Germany and Europe under the baton of conductors such as Sir Georg Solti, Semyon Bychkov and Valery Gergiev.
While still a student he took up his first professional engagement at the Staatstheater Darmstadt in 1993, where he played the contrabassoon until 1995.
For a while Markus Kneisel continued to perform in the opera pit, joining the Duisburger Philharmoniker at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein to widen his repertoire in the field of widely played operas and ballets.
While active in Duisburg he passed his state examinations and obtained a recital diploma.
Having spent 10 years in the pit, he found the switch to the DSO Berlin, a concert orchestra, particularly challenging and inspiring.