Artists

After completing his studies at the renowned Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, Christopher spent two years in the cello section of the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin. He then took up the position of second principal cellist with the Basel Symphony Orchestra, and since 2011 he has been the first principal cellist of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival Orchestra. He is regularly invited as a guest principal cellist by orchestras worldwide, and in the summer of 2024 he performed the Rococo Variations as a soloist at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival. Chamber music is one of Christopher’s greatest passions. He regularly gives duo recitals with piano and was the cellist of the Amar String Quartet Switzerland for seven years. He is regularly invited to chamber music festivals, where he collaborates with numerous internationally renowned artists. Most recently, he performed both as a soloist and as a chamber musician at the Festival Klassiek in Zeeland. As an educator, Christopher is invited to serve as cello professor at the British Isles Music Festival in England, where he also serves on the board of directors. In addition to his private teaching, he has given masterclasses at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing and the Universidad de Santiago in Chile, and has also been invited to mentor the Asian Youth Orchestra. Christopher is the founder and director of Rhein Klassik, an initiative launched during the COVID pandemic to support freelance and emerging musicians in Switzerland—particularly those facing financial difficulties—by creating performance opportunities and fostering a vibrant musical community.

Olivier Carillier was born in France in 1994 and began studying the violin in Toulouse at the age of five. From 2012, he studied at the University of Music in Basel, where he obtained his Master’s degree in violin under Raphaël Oleg in 2017 and his Master’s degree in viola under Silvia Simionescu in 2020. In 2021, he was deputy principal violist of the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra and has been principal violist of the Basel Symphony Orchestra since 2022. He is regularly invited to perform as principal violist with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. He also performs as a soloist accompanied by orchestras such as the Collegium Basel and the Orchestre de la Ville de Delémont. Olivier has won prizes at numerous competitions for solo and chamber music in France, Italy, Hungary, Poland and Switzerland. In 2019, he won first prize in the competition organised by the “Marianne and Curt Dienemann Foundation” (Lucerne) and was twice a prize-winner of the “Rahn Kulturfonds” (Zurich, 2019 and 2020). He performs at various festivals, notably the Mizmorim Festival (Basel) from 2019 to 2021 and the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, in which he has been a regular participant since 2022. He collaborates with renowned artists such as the Gringolts Quartet and the Doric Quartet. In 2019, he was invited by the latter to the Mendelssohn Festival in Mull (Scotland).

Alberto Culmone is the principal clarinetist of Basel Symphony Orchestra. He began his professional career at the age of 20 as principal clarinetist of Bern Symphony Orchestra. As a sought-after guest musician, he is regularly invited to perform as principal clarinetist with renowned orchestras, including the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, the Festival Strings Lucerne, and Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich. These engagements have taken him to some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, such as Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Seoul Arts Center, Wiener Musikverein, Prague’s Rudolfinum, KKL Lucerne, and Teatro Real in Madrid. In parallel with his orchestral career, he was appointed lecturer in orchestral studies at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) at the age of 25, making him one of the youngest musicians to hold such a position. A central component of his artistic work is pedagogy. His teaching spans all levels of training—from basic instruction to targeted preparation for a professional orchestral career. In addition to his work at the ZHdK, he is regularly invited by international institutions and festivals both within and outside Switzerland to give master classes and mentor young musicians. Born in Palermo, Culmone began his musical training early under his father’s guidance. He completed his studies at the Conservatory in Palermo, where he earned a master’s degree in clarinet with distinction (cum laude) and special mention. His artistic development was further shaped by his participation in international academies such as Ticino Musica, the Musica Riva Festival, and the Académie Musicale de Villecroze. In addition to his orchestral and teaching activities, Culmone is also active as a soloist and chamber musician. He has won over 20 international competitions throughout Europe, leading to numerous engagements as a soloist with orchestras as well as in various chamber music ensembles.

A member of the Basel Symphony Orchestra, Vincent Brunel has a multifaceted artistic approach, embracing a wide range of musical styles. He completed his musical education with Gyula Stuller at the Lausanne Conservatory and was taught by Pavel Vernikov and Gabor Takacs. He has performed under conductors such as Simon Rattle, Colin Davis and Herbert Blomstedt. In 2011 he received the support of the Nicati de Luze Foundation. A passionate chamber musician, he regularly performs with Trio Nuori, which he founded in 2009. The trio has recorded two critically acclaimed CDs with the label Ligia: Castillon in 2013 and Renié in 2018. Inspired by figures such as Ivry Gitlis and Gilles Apap, he turned to traditional music, jazz and improvisation at an early age, sharing his music with artists from around the world.A regular visitor of Irish sessions and folk dance events, he was also introduced to Indian music by Mukesh Jadav and Nicolas Delaigue, and to Mandinka music during his stays in Mali and Burkina Faso. In addition to his activities as a classical musician, he performs alongside musicians from a variety of backgrounds, such as musicaux tels Jérémy Bruyère, Gilles Apap, Alexandra Bellon, Michael Zisman, Josep-Oriol Miró, Luca Fiorini, Sarah Chaksad, Quirill, Zoë Conway and Adama Koeta. In 2022, he joins the jazz ensemble Kaleidoscope String Quartet. On the folk scene, he performs throughout Europe with the groups La Bonne Soupe!, Quirill and Vince and Duo Brunel + Miró – with whom he recorded the album Premier Soleil in 2024. Always open to explore new artistic horizons, he collaborated with the dancers of Ballet Basel, participating in the productions Robin Hood and Peer Gynt under the direction of choreographer Johan Ingmer, playing violin, viola and Hardanger fiddle (traditional Norwegian violin) on stage. He is regularly invited to perform with the Geneva Camerata, and takes part in the tours of the shows Revolta and Dance of the sun, played by heart and choreographed. In 2021, he recorded the score for Gaïa, an exhibition by the visual artist Julien Salaud at the Musée Mandet in Riom, with cellist Aude Pivôt. He has been teaching Irish music at the Musik Akademie Basel since 2021. He is regularly invited to give master classes during which he builds bridges between classical and traditional music, and discusses chop technique and improvisation with students. From 2025 he will perform in Switzerland with the association Kultur am Bettrand, which offers access to culture to people who cannot go to concert halls. He plays a violin by Patrick Robin as well as a quinton with sympathetic strings by Timothée Jean.

Friederike Starkloff is one of the most outstanding violinists of her generation, known for her profound and multifaceted playing. Born in Chemnitz in 1990, she began her training at the age of five with Wolfgang Marschner and Ariane Mathäus at the Pflüger Foundation in Freiburg. She later studied with Rainer Kussmaul in Freiburg and with Antje Weithaas at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin, where she served as her assistant from 2017 to 2022. Throughout her career, Friederike Starkloff has achieved numerous successes at renowned international competitions. In 2009, she won second prize at the 7th Leopold Mozart International Violin Competition in Augsburg, which paved the way for her debut CD with José Gallardo featuring Mozart’s violin sonatas. Further significant awards soon followed: third prize at the 7th International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig (2010), third prize at the Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition in Paris (2014), and third prize at the Jean Sibelius Competition in Helsinki (2015). In 2017, she recorded a CD of violin duos by Eugène Ysaÿe and Wolfgang Marschner together with violinist Myvanwy Ella Penny. At the age of 24, she became the youngest concertmaster of a German radio orchestra when she assumed this position with the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover. Since the 2023–24 season, she has continued her career as concertmaster of the Basel Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her orchestral commitments, she performs regularly as a soloist and is a sought-after chamber musician, appearing with artists such as Markus Becker, Jan Vogler, Leonid Gorokhov, Daniel Schnyder, and Gerrit Zitterbart. Her latest CD, released in 2023 on Genuin Classics, featuring sonatas by Schulhoff, Janáček, Debussy, and Antheil, was highly praised by the music press. Since October 2024, Friederike Starkloff has been leading her own class as a professor of violin at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. Starting in September 2026, she will take on the same role at HSLU Lucerne Music. She plays a violin by Meike Finckh from 2021, as well as a violin by Julia Maria Pasch from 2025.

The Hegar Trio, named after the founder and first conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, unites violinist George Cosmin Banica, cellist Paul Handschke, and pianist Benjamin Engeli. The ensemble was formed in 2022 out of a shared desire to explore the piano trio repertoire freely and authentically – without stylistic limitations. Open to the entire spectrum of chamber music – from Classical to Late Romantic, and from Impressionism to contemporary music – the Hegar Trio creates flexible programs that adapt to the specific artistic context and audience. The members of the trio are deeply rooted in the Swiss music scene. George Cosmin Banica is assistant concertmaster of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, while Paul Handschke is principal cellist of this renowned orchestra. Pianist Benjamin Engeli is an internationally sought-after soloist and chamber musician. The trio's powerful and sensitive musicianship leads to a remarkable balance between individual virtuosity and harmonious interplay. United by a natural artistic affinity and a joy in musical dialogue, the Hegar Trio presents vibrant and immediate interpretations of the piano trio repertoire. Further information about the ensemble and its members can be found at: hegartrio.com

Milena Umiglia-Marena was born into a musical family and received her first cello lessons from her mother. At age 10, she began taking lessons with Rafael Rosenfeld and studied with him until obtaining the Bachelor degree at the Basel Academy of Music in 2018. Ever since, she’s been continuing her studies with Thomas Grossenbacher at the Zürich University of the Arts. ​ She has obtained various awards and distinctions in national and international competitions, such as Murten Classics Cello Competition (2018), Schenk Soloist Competition (2021), Kiwanis Soloist Competition in Zurich (2023), Vienna Classical Music Academy (2023), 19th International Padova Music Competition (2023), Vienna New Year's Concert International Competition (2023), and Slava International Cello Competition (2023). She has received stipends from the Friedl Wald Foundation, the Aebi-Luthy Stiftung and the International Lyceum Club Zürich. She's taken part in Masterclasses with renowned cellists such as David Geringas, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Peter Bruns, Maximilian Hornung and Reinhard Latzko, as well as chamber music teachers such as Eberhardt Feltz and Robert Levin. She's had the opportunity to play with chamber music partners such as Julia Fischer, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Nils Mönkemeyer, Dima Smirnov, Benjamin Engeli, and Fabio di Casola. She won a second prize at the Swiss Chamber Music Competition Orpheus as well as a first prize at the Kiwanis Chamber Music Competition in Zürich, and was a finalist of the Young Credit Suisse Competition in 2022 with the Modulor string quartet. Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in 2021. Milena has appeared as a soloist in Switzerland, Argentina, Italy and Spain with various orchestras such as Neues Orchester Basel, Collegium Musicum Zug, the Argovia Philharmonic Orchestra, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Central Switzerland, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Ensemble Kuraia, the Slovakian Chamber Orchestra, as well as with musicians from Opernhaus Zürich. She reached the final round for the principal cello audition at the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in 2021.

Thomas Grossenbacher was principal cellist of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich for over 26 years and maintains a busy concert schedule. He performs as a chamber musician and soloist in Europe, the USA, Taiwan and Japan. His CD recordings, particularly Richard Strauss's "Don Quixote" (Arte Nova) with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under the direction of David Zinman, have received considerable international acclaim. Thomas Grossenbacher is also a highly active professor at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Some of his former students have won prizes in international competitions, hold prominent positions in renowned chamber music ensembles and symphony orchestras, or are active as soloists. Thomas Grossenbacher's teachers have included Tatjana Valleise, Mischa Frey, Claude Starck, and David Geringas.

Fabio Di Càsola was born in Lugano, Switzerland. He is principal clarinettist of the Swiss National Orchestra. In 1990 he won first prize at the Geneva International Music Competition (CIEM). In the field of contemporary music, he has been awarded the "Prix Suisse" and the "Prix Patek Philippe". He also won first prize at the Stresa Competition. A jury of music professionals and the public elected him Swiss Musician of the Year in 1998. From 1990 to 2010, he was principal clarinettist of the Musikkollegium Winterthur orchestra. Since 1991 he is professor for clarinet and chamber music at the Zurich University of the Arts. He teaches in English, French, German and Italian. Di Càsola founded the chamber music festival "klang" in 2006 and has been its artistic director since then. Fabio Di Càsola is a member and co-founder of the "Ensemble Kandinsky" and the wind quintet "Swiss.5". Most of his CDs have been released by Sony Classical.

The string quartet was founded at the Zurich University of the Arts in 2021. Just months later, it was awarded the Kiwanis Music Prize. Highlights since then have included its debut at Tonhalle Zurich, concerts at the Mizmorim Festival with the renowned Gringolts Quartet and a series of concerts for Villa Musica in Germany. In 2024, the Turicum Quartet was “Quartet in Residence” at the Ticino Musica Festival. The Turicum Quartet won second prize at the International Karol Szymanowski Competition. The quartet's performance was livestreamed worldwide by Medici TV and appeared on The Strad and The Violin Channel.

Growing up in a family of musicians in Uzhgorod (Ukraine), Mila Krasnyuk began playing the violin and piano at the age of four and made her first appearance as a soloist with the Lviv Virtuosos Academic Chamber Orchestra at the Lviv Philharmonic just five years later. In the following years, she won several international competitions, which led to concerts in the Ukraine, but also in the USA, throughout Europe and South America. After completing her studies at the Krushelnytska Music High School in Lviv, she moved to Cologne to study for a bachelor's degree in violin with Ariadne Daskalakis. She has always been fascinated by the warmth and depth of the viola sound, so in 2015 she began a second Bachelor's degree at the Detmold University of Music, majoring in viola. During this time, she won the Ayrun Chamber Music Competition twice. In numerous master classes she was inspired by Leonidas Kavakos, Hariolf Schlichtig, Lawrence Power, Lars Anders Tomter, Garth Knox, Helmut Lachenmann and Nils Mönkemeyer, among others. Mila is frequently invited to chamber music festivals and plays with inspiring artists such as Guy Braunstein, Natalia Prishchepenko, Alena Baeva, Thomas Grossenbacher, Franz Bartolomey, Matan Porat, Claudio Bohorquez and Sunwook Kim. She also plays regularly in the Zurich Opera House Orchestra and led the viola section of the Tonhalle St. Gallen Orchestra at the 2022 Festival. She has toured throughout Europe with the Estonian Festival Orchestra, founded and conducted by Paavo Järvi. A passionate chamber musician, Mila is a founding member of Trio Streich, which performed at the DAVOS FESTIVAL 2023. With the Modulor Quartet she was invited to participate in the Concours de Genève, received the main prize of the Dienemann Foundation 2023 and is part of the European Chamber Music Academy. In 2021, she started her own project MUSIC:IN, where she organizes communication concerts in retirement homes, hospices, kindergartens, prisons and many other places where people do not have the opportunity to listen to quality classical music. In 2023, Mila completed a Master of Performance at the Zurich University of the Arts and began studying pedagogy with Patrick Jüdt at the Bern University of the Arts. With the Modulor Quartet, she is studying for a master's degree in chamber music with Anna Gebert and Reiner Schmidt at the Basel Music Academy.

Po-Heng Wang, born in 1998 in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, is a critically acclaimed violinist known for his expressive performances and technical brilliance. He began playing the violin at the age of five under Su Huizhen and quickly showed exceptional talent. At the age of seven, he took part in the International Summer Academy of the Mozarteum in Vienna, which marked the beginning of his international musical career. Wang has received numerous awards, including first prize at the National Music Competition Chamber Music in 2016. As a passionate soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in renowned concert halls and festivals. In 2021, he gave a duo concert with pianist Zuja Huang at the Taipei National Recital Hall. He has been invited several times to the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival (2017, 2019) and the Allegro Vivo Music Festival (2021), where he worked with masters such as Hu Naiyuan and Andreas Janke and performed in gala concerts. From 2022 to 2024, he toured Taiwan with the Taiwan Connection Chamber Orchestra, gaining great recognition. Po-Heng has been gaining extensive orchestral experience since the age of nine and excels both as a soloist and ensemble member. His interpretations are appreciated for their musical depth and emotional intensity.

Violist Martin Moriarty is one of Ireland’s foremost musicians and enjoys and active career as a soloist and as a chamber musician both at home and abroad. Martin has received multiple awards and prizes including the Amsterdam Viola Festival Competition, the Flax Trust Award at the Clandeboye Chamber Music Festival and the Peter Pirazzi Stiftung. As a soloist he has performed with orchestras including the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra and Amsterdam Sinfonietta under Pavel Baleff and Ed Spanjaard. He gave the Czech premier of James MacMillan’s Viola Concerto with the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra under Marc Kissoczy in April 2022. Martin has performed in venues including the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Kings Place and St John's Smith Square, London, Franz Liszt Academy of Music Budapest, Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, Brussels and Ishibashi Memorial Hall, Tokyo. Festival invitations include IMS Prussia Cove, Krzyzowa Music, West Cork, GAIA, Eggenfelden Klassisch, Dovos, Schiermonnikoog, Grachtenfestival, Tsinandali, Pablo Casals, Virtuoso & Belcanto, Holland Music Sessions and NEO Festival Novi Sad Chamber Music Festivals. Martin has collaborated with artists including Vladim Gluzman, Viviane Hagner, Eckart Runge, Stephen Waarts, Alexey Stadler, Gareth Lubbe, Barry Douglas, François Guye, Kirill Troussov, Boris Garlitsky, Philippe Graffin, Daniel Rowland, Nabil Shehata, Alexander Sitkovstsky, Andreas Janke, István Várdai, Finghin Collins, Miklós Lukács, Diamanda Dramm, Julien Hervé, the Vogler, Vanbrugh, Jerusalem, Kelemen, Meta4, Quiroga and Michelangelo String Quartets. Martin regularly plays with orchestras such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra and guest principal viola for CHAARTS Chamber Artists, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Camerata Freden. Martin has a great passion for contemporary music, Martin has worked alongside and premiered works by Garth Knox, Gabriel Prokofiev, Helena Winkelman, Sam Perkin, Seán Doherty, Raymond Dean, John Kinsella, Oene Van Geel, Sebastian Fagerlund and Thomas Beijer. Martin has assisted his teachers in Dublin, Amsterdam and Detmold. He has given solo and chamber music masterclasses at the Ortús Chamber Music Festival in Cork, Ireland. For the past three years Martin was invited by the NCH, Dublin to assist in their International Master Course that takes place every summer. He has given viola and chamber music lessons and has assisted Mihaela Martin, Lars Anders Tomter, Frans Helmerson, Mark Gothoni, Máté Szücs, Adrian Brendel, Silke Avenhaus, Hyeyoon Park, Hartmut Rohde, Ulrich Witteler and Hisako Kawamura. Martin was the first Irish musician to be accepted into the Verbier Festival Academy as a soloist in 2018 and 2019. Here he worked with world renowned musicians including Tabea Zimmermann, Antoine Tamestit, Ferenc Rados, Gábor Takács-Nagy, András Keller and Pamela Frank. From 2021-2024 he was the first Irish musician to be a Stipendiat of the Villa Musica Foundation in Germany. Martin began his studies at the Young European String School of Music and the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin before following further studies in Amsterdam, Detmold and Zurich with Nobuko Imai, Marjolein Dispa, Veit Hertenstein and Lawrence Power.

Luke Hsu, an award-winning violinist, composer, and VC Young Artist (Violin Channel), has been hailed by the Montreal Gazette as an artist "in his own class with complete mastery of the instrument." He has been awarded prizes in many prestigious violin competitions, including Laureate of the 2019 Queen Elisabeth Competition. As a soloist and recitalist, Luke performs in halls such as Wigmore Hall London and the Kennedy Center Washington D.C., among others, and with numerous orchestras around the world, including the "Orchestre National de la Belgique."

American cellist Rainer Crosett performs throughout the U.S. and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. As a recipient of the 2018 Pierre Fournier Award, he made his recital debut at Wigmore Hall and his concerto debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. A passionate chamber musician, he regularly performs at festivals such as Yellow Barn, the Perlman Music Program, Prussia Cove, the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival, and Music@Menlo. In recent years he has performed with renowned musicians such as Robert Levin, Laurence Lesser, Donald Weilerstein, Cho-Liang Lin, the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, and Kim Kashkashian. In 2014 he co-founded Project LENS, an interdisciplinary ensemble in Boston, USA. He currently serves on the Board of Tonhain Kollektiv, Berlin. Rainer is a graduate of Harvard College (A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy) and is currently completing studies at the Berlin University of the Arts with Prof. Jens Peter Maintz.

Taiwanese-American cellist Benjamin Lai was born in California and received his first cello lessons at the age of four from Mikhail Gelfandbein, a former student of Mstislav Rostropovich. At the age of 14 he moved alone to Berlin, where he was accepted as a young student in the class of Prof. Jens Peter Maintz. After graduating from high school, Benjamin studied with Prof. Heinrich Schiff in Vienna, Prof. Julian Steckel in Munich and Prof. Troels Svane in Lübeck. Since April 2024, Benjamin has been teaching at the Lübeck Academy of Music. Benjamin Lai attended master classes by Janos Starker, Yo-Yo Ma, David Geringas, Natalia Gutman, Frans Helmerson and Miklos Perenyi, among others. As a prize winner of numerous international cello competitions (Popper, Dotzauer, Hindemith, TONALi Grand Prix, Janigro), Benjamin has performed at prestigious venues such as the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg and the Musikverein in Vienna. An avid chamber musician, he has been invited to music festivals such as Music Campus Rhein Main, Kissinger Sommer, Usedomer Musikfestival and Gezeitenkonzerte and since August 2024 he is a member of the multi-award-winning Notos Quartett. Benjamin is chairperson of Tonhain Kollektiv. Heplays a cello by Domenico Montagnana ("ex-Olevsky", Venice 1735).

Paul Handschke was born in Munich in 1993. At the age of five he had his first cello lessons with Stefan Bohn, later with Michael Weiß and David Grigorian - in addition he has participated in master classes of the most famous cello pedagogues, such as Wen-Sinn Yang, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Jens-Peter Maintz or David Geringas. Multiple prizes at the competition "Jugend Musiziert" at the national level in the categories "violoncello solo" and "string quartet", first prizes at competitions for youth chamber orchestras and the award of the cultural promotion prize of the association of the Pasinger Mariensäule e.V. followed in the time until his studies. In 2016 he won both the sponsorship prize and a scholarship at the Oberstdorfer Musiksommer as well as the study prize of the renowned Migros-Kulturprozent (CH) - in the following year he was also granted admission to the concert agency through the extension of the study prize. In the 2014/15 season he had a temporary contract in the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, in 2015/16 he was a trainee in the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich; he is also a member of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra, among others. From 2012 to 2018, he studied with Thomas Grossenbacher at the Zurich University of the Arts. Since 2018, he has been pursuing a master's degree with Prof. Maximilian Hornung at the Musikhochschule München. In March 2018, he took up a permanent position with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, where he will be principal cellist from February 2022.

Laureate of international awards, Nitzan Bartana performs worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician. Her career began with her solo debut concert at the age of 10. Since then she has performed with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom she performed at the Carnegie Hall, the Israel Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester, the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim and the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra. ​ A passionate chamber musician, Nitzan Bartana has performed as part of chamber ensembles in Israel, Europe, the USA and Japan. She has also been invited to festivals including the Max-Reger-Days, the Kloster-Kamp Chamber Music Festival, the Schubertiade Tamba Festival Japan, the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, the Orpheus Festival Vienna, the Musica Mundi Festival, the Kfar Blum Festival, the St. Gallen Festival and the Eggenberg Castle Concerts in Austria. Nitzan Bartana has received numerous awards and prizes in Israel and abroad. These include second prize at the 2014 Freiburg International Violin Competition and the special prize for the best interpretation of a Mozart concerto. In 2015 she won 3rd prize and Best Mozart Interpretation at the International R. Lipizer Violin Competition in Italy. She received further prizes and awards at the International Marteau Competition (2005), at the International Wieniawski Competition in Lublin (2006), the Lions Prize and the Bärenreiter Urtext Prize 2014 at the International Bach Violin Competition in Leipzig. ​ Since 2018, Nitzan Bartana has served as a second concertmaster of the Basel Symphony Orchestra and a member of the renowned West-Eastern Divan Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Born in Jerusalem in 1989, she began taking violin lessons from her grandfather at the age of five. She later studied with Prof. Yair Kless at the Buchman-Mehta School of Music (Tel-Aviv University) and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, where she completed her Bachelor of Arts with distinction. She obtained her Master of Arts with Prof. Rainer Kussmaul at the Musikhochschule Freiburg, followed by a postgraduate diploma with Prof. Rainer Schmidt at the Mozarteum Salzburg. ​ Nitzan Bartana's instrument, a valuable violin, is on loan from the private collection of Dr. Peter Hauber. She was a fellow of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.

Praised by Cleveland Classical for his “exquisite playing”, Or Re’em is a winner of national and international awards in Israel, France, Italy and the USA. Mr. Re’em has graduated from The Juilliard School in New York and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and pursues a versatile performing career, performing repertoire ranging from William Byrd and Girolamo Frescobaldi through György Sándor Ligeti and Elliott Carter. Re'em has been invited to give solo recitals across Israel, Europe, North America, and China, in such venues as the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, KonzertHaus in Berlin, Salle Cortot, Paris, and Palau de la Musica, Barcelona. ​ Mr Re’em’s orchestral engagements include performances of concerti by Mozart, Beethoven Brahms, Chopin and Rachmaninov with orchestras such as the Israel Symphony, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Radio Symphony, The Haifa Symphony, Belgrade Philharmonic, and the Torun Symphony Orchestra, Poland. His upcoming engagements include a performance of Beethoven’s 1st concerto with the Israel Chamber Orchestra this coming November. Many of his performances were featured live on the national Israeli radio station ‘Voice of Music’ as well as on television and radio stations in Germany, Serbia, Spain and China. ​ Mr. Re’em continues to enjoy an active solo career. His upcoming recital program focuses on works by Frederic Chopin. Re’em’s repertoire includes encyclopedic cycles such as Chopin’s Etudes and preludes as well as Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, which he has performed in Israel and the USA. He has performed at the inauguration concert of the Beethoven Festival in Rolandseck-Remagen, Germany, as well as the CLAMO Music Festival in Murcia, Spain. ​ A dedicated chamber musician, Re’em is regularly involved in collaborations with other musicians. Between 2016 and 2019 he served as the founder and Artistic Director of Music in the Circle International Music Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently, Mr. Re’em serves as the artistic director of the Zurich Chamber Music Society. He has performed with the Talich String Quartet at the ‘Musica Mundi’ Chamber Music Festival in Brussels, Belgium, the ‘Voice of Music’ Festival in the Upper Galilee, Israel, and the opening concert of the Israel Schubertiade in Tel Aviv. ​ Re’em is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Among his teachers are Prof. Matti Raekallio, Prof. Arie Vardi, Prof Tomer Lev, Ms. Hanna Shalgi, Ms. Kathryn Brown, and Ms. Irina Andrievsky. He has participated in master classes with Dmitry Bashkirov, Sergei Babayan, Murray Perahia, Yoheved Kaplinski, Joseph Kalichstein, Emanuel Krasovsky, Christopher Elton, and Richard Goode, and was awarded merit-based scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.

The pianist Dominic Chamot was born in Cologne in 1995. Award-winning and celebrated by audiences, his lively and highly multifaceted activity as a soloist and chamber musician has long since ceased to be an insider's tip. Despite his young age, he has already won more than two dozen prizes and awards, making him one of the most successful pianists of his generation. Most recently, Chamot attracted Europe-wide attention in 2019 with two first prizes and a second prize at international piano competitions in Germany, Italy and Spain. This was followed in 2020 by his short-term stand-in for Hélène Grimaud, prompting praise from the press and propelling him into the international spotlight. Since then, he can be heard regularly on the world's great stages. But already as a youngster he made a career as a "young talent": at the age of only 12 he was accepted at the Pre-College-Cologne of the HfMT Cologne in the class of Prof. Sheila Arnold, who gave him decisive musical impulses. International prizes soon followed in Berlin, Zwickau, Enschede, Weimar, Cologne, etc. and concerts in halls such as the Berlin and Cologne Philharmonic, the Vienna Musikverein and others. Chamot, however, chose to initially escape the hustle and bustle of concertizing to study with the renowned pedagogue Claudio Martinez-Mehner in Basel to refine his playing. He completed both his Bachelor's and Master's degree (Specialized Performance - Soloist) with highest marks and distinction. During this time, his reputation as a versatile artist developed, which led him to ever-growing engagements in a wide variety of fields. Most recently, in 2018, he played several times at the Berlin Philharmonie, was able to win some of the most exclusive scholarships in Switzerland, and was invited by the WDR Symphony Orchestra to perform as a soloist at the Cologne Philharmonie. These successes were immediately followed by further invitations from orchestras throughout Germany. In New York, he thrilled audiences with his performance at Steinway Hall as part of the "Classical Bridge Festival". He is also much in demand as a chamber musician and accompanist: he is regularly invited to chamber music festivals, worked as a répétiteur for the Theater Basel during his studies, and was even employed as a music-making actor for two productions. Dominic Chamot was a scholarship holder of the "Jürgen Ponto-Stiftung" and the "Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben" from 2011 to 2014. Currently he is the recipient of the Migros Culture Percentage Study Award and in 2020 he was selected for the Lieven Piano Foundation Scholarship. Pianist and critic Hannes Sonntag describes him thus: Dominic Chamot creates that lasting emotional experience for which alone we ultimately make or listen to music!