Marc Tooten studied the viola at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels and furthered his studies at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam with Ervin Schiffer.
From 1979 to 1996, he held the post of first soloist at the famous chamber orchestra I Fiamminghi, directed by Rudolf Werthen. Together with this orchestra he has toured as soloist in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, the USA and Japan.
Marc Tooten was first violist at the Beethoven Academy chamber orchestra from 1996 till 2007. Together with this orchestra he played as soloist under conductors such as Reinbert de Leeuw and Christopher Hogwood. He is regularly asked to occupy the place of first viola at Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and is frequently asked to do so as well at the Radio Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra in Hilversum, the Westdeutsche Rundfunkorchester in Cologne, the Orqustra Ciudad de Granada and the Chamber Orchestra of Pamplona.
Marc Tooten is a member of the Arriaga string quartet and his primary musical interest is directed towards chamber music in which field he has gained international acclaim: "He masters the entire chamber music literature which he cherishes with flexibility and adaptability". Together with the Salzburger Solisten, he took part at the most renowned chamber music festivals in Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland. Among the musicians with whom he collaborated are Abdel Rahman el Bacha, Eduard Brunner, Andràs Adorjàn and Martin Lovett. Also with the Arriaga string quartet Marc Tooten collaborated with renowned musicians, such as Martha Argerich, Boris Berezovsky and Itamar Golan. In 2009, he founded together with violinist Orsolya Horváth and violoncellist Luc Tooten the Trio Tooten.
Marc Tooten is an enthusiastic teacher: as professor viola and chamber music at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven (Belgium) and the Maastricht Conservatory (the Netherlands), he passes his knowledge and experience on to his students.