Markus Däunert was born in 1970 in Berlin and studied with Walter Carl Zeller in Berlin and Jost Witter in Weimar. He completed his studies with Werner Scholz, Igor Ozim and Norbert Brainin.

From 1997-2005 he co-led the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with which he also appeared as soloist, under conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Harding, Iván Fischer, Kurt Masur, Bernhard Haitink, Trevor Pinnock and Philippe Herreweghe. He has been guest leader with orchestras such as Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Ensemble Modern and frequently appears as guest leader of Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and BBC Philharmonic. Däunert is a frequent guest with the Berliner Philharmoniker.

As a chamber musician, soloist and teacher he has been regularly invited to Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, Aldeburgh Music, Dartington Summer School, Cappenberg Festival, Hellens Festival, Mantua Festival, Festival Domain Forget, New England Conservatory and Manhatten School of Music. He has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician with pianists such as Christian Zacharias, Alexander Lonquich, Gianluca Cascioli, Martha Argerich, Steven Kovachevich, Daniel Adni, Michaela Ursuleasa, Benjamin Frith, Herbert Schuch, Christian Blackshaw, Ricardo Castro and other musicians such as Nicolas Altstaedt, Máte Szücs, Danusha Waskiewicz and Bruno Delepelaire.

He has appeared at several major music festivals, including Wiener Festwochen, Wien Modern, Salzburger Festspiele, London Proms, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Rheingau Musik Festival, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Berliner Festspiele, Lucerne Festival and Ruhrtriennale.

Däunert plays on a model made by the German violin maker Christoph Götting (Wiesbaden).