Robert van Sice is considered one of the world’s foremost performers of contemporary music for marimba. In an effort to establish the instrument as a serious artistic vehicle, he has premiered well over one hundred works throughout the world. Three of the seminal works in the modern marimba repertoire were written for him; Peter Klatzow’s Dances of Earth and Fire , Martin Bresnick’s double marimba concerto Grace and James Wood’s Spirit Festival  with Lamentations.Spirit Festival  is unique in introducing the newly-developed quarter-tone marimba, an innovative instrument recalling the marimba’s ancient sonic roots while establishing new parameters for modern expressionism.

In his varied performing career, Mr. van Sice has appeared with symphony orchestras and given recitals in more than thirty countries throughout Europe , North America, Africa and the Far East. The Journal de Geneve describes his interpretation of Toru Takemitsu’s concerto Gitimalya as “...marvelous. In his hands, the marimba becomes a voice with richness of sound and expression that one would never expect from a percussion instrument. A well-deserved triumph.” He is also frequently invited to appear as a soloist with Europe’s leading contemporary music ensembles including the London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Contrechamps in Geneva and L’Itineraire in Paris. Mr. van Sice has also appeared as a soloist with many of percussion’s finest ensembles including Amadinda, Kroumata, Tambuco, Percussive Rotterdam and So.

In 1989 Mr. van Sice gave the first solo marimba recital at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He has since appeared in many of the world’s major concert halls in London, Paris, Vienna, Madrid, Milan, Stockholm, Oslo, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Toronto, Mexico City, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles . His concerts have frequently been broadcast by the BBC, Swedish Radio, Norwegian Radio, Radio France, WDR, NPR among many others. Mr. van Sice is a frequent guest at major music festivals throughout the world such as Blossom, Darmstadt Course for New Music, Archipel, London Meltdown, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Bela Bartok Festival in Hungary, North American New Music Festival and the Ultima Festival in Oslo. This season Mr. van Sice returns to Japan, Korea and China as well as performing concerts throughout Canada and the United States .

Robert van Sice is also one of the world’s most respected percussion teachers. His former students play in symphony orchestras, contemporary chamber ensembles and maintain solo careers in more than twenty countries as well as winning prizes at numerous international competitions. In 1997 he was appointed Director of Percussion Studies at the Yale School of Music and later joined the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory in 1998. From 1988 to 1997, he headed Europe’s first diploma program for solo marimbists at the Rotterdams Conservatorium in the Netherlands. Mr. van Sice has given over four hundred masterclasses in twenty five countries including the Royal College of Music in London, Amsterdam Conservatory, Vienna State Music Academy, The Juilliard School, Curtis Institute, Eastman School of Music, Oberlin College and often served on juries for international competitions.

Robert van Sice has released four CD’s on the Etcetera and Mode labels.