Lenneke van Staalen grew up with Western classical music and came to know North Indian classical music tradition when she visited India in 1992.
She started her studies with Joy Srivastava in New Delhi, and then studied at the Rotterdam Conservatory with the singer Koustav Ray. She graduated cum laude in 2003 with a master's degree, and that year she also won the prize of the 'friends of the conservatory' for her outstanding achievements. After this, she continued her studies with master violinist D.K. Datar in Mumbai.
For many years Lenneke van Staalen has been deeply immersed in the Raga music. Her playing resonates a deep passion, which is expressed both virtuoso and lyrically.
She regularly performs at home and abroad, both solo in traditional Indian occupation and collaborating with other world music or western classical ensembles. She collaborated with the Matangi quartet, Concerto Rotterdam, the Zeeland orchestra, the cello group of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, l'orchestre Picardie, the International dance theater, Marion von Tilzer, Sandhya Sanjana, Meeta Pandit, Kalpana Raghuraman, Anurekha Ghosh and many others.
Lenneke van Staalen teaches at Codarts in Rotterdam.