Diet Tilanus is a passionate violinist with a deep love for chamber music. She has built an international concert career, performing at leading venues and festivals in Europe, Asia, and beyond. Her playing is characterized by refinement, intensity, and a strong sense of ensemble.
As a chamber musician, she has appeared at festivals such as the Festival Isola d’Elba (where she gave a chamber music concert with Martha Argerich in August 2025), the Arties Festival (India), Cordes sur Ciel (France), and the Grachtenfestival. She has also performed at venues including the Barbican Hall in London, as well as in Australia, Kobe (Japan), Singapore, and Reykjavik.
Diet is a co-founder of Trio Ljósa (with soprano Guja Sandholt and pianist Heleen Vegter) and forms a regular duo with Hungarian cellist Örs Kőszeghy. These collaborations focus on depth, dialogue, and a personal approach to the repertoire.
Since 2022, she has served as artistic director of Bach Week, a week-long festival held in the historic church hall of the Luther Museum in Amsterdam. Through this series, she brings musicians and audiences together in programs accessible to a wide range of people—from young listeners to seasoned Bach connoisseurs. The next edition will take place in June 2026.
In addition to her performing career, Diet is actively committed to supporting the next generation of musicians. She serves as the resident coach of the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra. In April 2025, she was invited to serve as artistic director and concertmaster of the Master’s Student Orchestra at the San Sebastián Conservatory (Musikene). Previously, in 2023, she conducted an orchestra of alumni from the Concertgebouw Orchestra Academy in the Small Hall of the Concertgebouw. She herself was a participant in the Concertgebouw Orchestra Academy in 2005–2006.
As a guest musician, she has collaborated with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. She further developed her musical style under conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Iván Fischer, and Klaus Mäkelä. She is regularly invited to serve as concertmaster with ensembles including Phion and the Leonore Orchestra. From 2009 to 2026, she was a violinist with Amsterdam Sinfonietta, where she also served as concertmaster.
Diet studied with David Takeno and Ilya Grubert and took master classes with Ferenc Rados and Leonidas Kavakos.
She plays an Italian Cappa violin from 1690, made available to her by the Musical Instrument Fund.
