Named by Sir James Galway as the 2012 Rising Star, South African born Marlene Verwey is launching her career as one of the finest flutist of her generation. Marlene is a graduate from the Royal College of Music (RCM), where she obtained an Artist Diploma, the highest performance qualification awarded at the RCM. Previous studies include a Masters degree at the Carnegie Mellon University in the US, under Jeanne Baxtresser, a performance diploma at the Accademia Internazionale della Musica in Milano, Italy under Raffaele Trevisani, and a B.Mus at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, under John Hinch.

As a member of the Southbank Sinfonia, Marlene had the opportunity to perform with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Edward Gardner and Michael Collins and worked alongside musicians from the Academy of St.Martin in the Fields, the Royal Opera at Covent Garden and the British Youth Opera.

Marlene has been a prize winner at the International de Lorenzo flute competition held in Viggiano, Italy and was the overall winner in the 2004 SAMRO International scholarship competition.

She has been a member of the World Youth Orchestra from 2003 to 2006 and toured with this orchestra to the Middle East,  Europe and the US on various occasions, where the orchestra performed at the United Nations Headquarters.

Marlene commissioned works for flute and piano by the South African composers Hendrik Hofmeyr and Stefans Grove, which were premiered at the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in 2007.

She recorded her first solo album with Salon Music South Africa, A Flute Affair.

Marlene won a J.R Lafin Headjoint by public vote at the Sir James Galway Masterclass, Weggis, Switzerland in 2008. She has been named a Wm.S Haynes Artist and performs on an 18k and 14k Golden Haynes Flute.