Tonhain Kollektiv

artists

We are overjoyed to welcome many new and returning guest artists to Tonhain Kollektiv this season. We are thrilled that violinist Jiyoon Lee, concertmaster of the Staatskapelle Berlin, will join us for the first time for Concert IV: Gizmos & Gadgets. We are particularly pleased to partner with the Berlin-based vision string quartet. One of the finest string quartets of their generation, they have been praised for their genre-breaking, versatile artistry as “amazingly vivacious, vivid and electrifying” (Der Tagesspiegel). They will perform Béla Bártok’s groundbreaking String Quartet No. 4 in Concert III: Rhythmicon, and VSQ violinist Daniel Stoll will join us for Concert V: Tape Counterpoint. VSQ cellist Leonard Disselhorst is one of our founding members and will appear in many concerts of our season as well. Pianists Danae Dörken, Kunal Lahiry, Michael Cohen-Weissert, Yehuda Inbar, and Or Re’em will all appear with us for the first time, and they are each internationally acclaimed musicians who have been praised for their performances around the world. Or Re’em appears with us as part of a partnership with Zürich Chamber Music Society, which will host our Kollektiv musicians for a concert in Spring 2025. Violinists Hana Chang and Dayoon You, both laureates of the most recent Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition, will join us for the first time, as will Charlotte Thiele, who is concertmaster of the Academy of the Staatskapelle Dresden. We’re especially glad that Suyoen Kim, Cosima Soulez-Larivière, Mayumi Kanagawa, and Miriam Helms Ålien will all return for more concerts with us after their thrilling performances in our Season 0. Violists Natalie Loughran, Emma Wernig, Haesue Lee, Kyungsik Shin, Brian Isaacs, and Gordon Lau will all make their Tonhain Kollektiv debuts, each an outstanding artist of the new generation with countless accolades to their name. For the first time we’ll have a percussionist, Hiromu Seifert, and a clarinetist, Žilvinas Brazauskas, join us - something we’re very excited about! And for Boulez’s multi-cello masterpiece Messagesquisse we’ll feature an outstanding lineup of guest cellists: Ildikó Szabó, Irena Josifoska, Bumjun Kim, and Grace Sohn. We can’t wait to introduce you to all these wonderful artists!

Violin

Miriam Helms Ålien

violin

Praised for her "exceptional musicality" and "maturity far beyond her years", Miriam Helms Ålien is one of the most exciting young artists to emerge from Norway in recent years. She began playing the violin at the age of 6 1⁄2 and has, since her solo debut at the age of 8, appeared as a soloist with orchestras all across Europe. Recent highlights include performances with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and the Arctic Philharmonic, as well as chamber music appearances at prestigious venues such as the Berlin Konzerthaus, Franz Liszt Academy (Budapest) and the Louvre (Paris). Miriam was recently named an exclusive recording artist for Lawo classics, and was also appointed professor of violin at the UiT Arctic University last year. In the last few seasons, she has premiered numerous pieces written for her, amongst them M.Paus' Violin Concerto "Voyage", released as a live-recording on Sheva Contemporary. Since 2019, Miriam is the artistic director of FESTIVALTA, the world's northernmost chamber music festival of its kind. Here she hosts artists like Gidon Kremer, Bruno Philippe, Laura van der Heijden, the Doric String Quartet and Radovan Vlatković. Miriam completed her studies at the Kronberg Academy under the guidance of Prof. Ana Chumachenco, after also finishing postgraduate and graduate studies with her in Munich. Further inspiration has come from Tabea Zimmermann, Steven Isserlis and András Schiff. Miriam plays a 1689 Stradivarius "the Ragin" on generous loan from ASAF - Anders Sveaas Almennyttige Fond.

Miriam Helms Ålien plays in Concert IX.

Hana Chang

violin

Born in 2002, Hana Chang was a winner of the 2023 Young Classical Artists Trust and Concert Artists Guild International Auditions held at Wigmore Hall. She was nominated as one of Classic FM’s Rising Stars of 2024, and has recently been announced as a Borletti-Buitoni Fellowship recipient and a member of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artist scheme 2024-26. Hana has performed with orchestras including the Prague Radio Symphony, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, Czech Virtuosi, Hunan Symphony, Utah Symphony, Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, Poznań Philharmonic, and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. She is a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth, Stuttgart, Yehudi Menuhin, and Prague Spring International Violin Competitions and has performed in numerous festivals including the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht, Solsberg Festival, Deer Valley Music Festival, Vevey Spring Classic Festival, and Sion Festival. Hana currently resides in Berlin and studies with Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy. These studies are funded by the Nikolas Gruber-Patronat. She continues to be mentored by Janine Jansen with whom she studied at the Haute École de Musique in Sion, Switzerland. She previously studied with Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute of Music. Hana plays on a 1647 Nicolo Amati, kindly on loan from the Rin Collection in Singapore.

Hana Chang plays in Concert I.

Luke Hsu

violin

Hailed as “in a class by himself with total command of the instrument” (Montreal Gazette), offering “genius interpretations” (Le Soir, Brussels) with “no-holds-barred gusto” (IndyStar), Luke Hsu, a co-founder of Tonhain Kollektiv, is sought after around the world as a violinist and composer. Born in Shanghai, raised in Houston, and currently living in Berlin, Luke’s artistic philosophy eschews borders. He draws on his passions for history, culture, and folk music in crafting his interpretations, and champions music of our time as enthusiastically as that of the past. Luke has appeared as a soloist at Wigmore Hall, Windsor Castle, Kennedy Center, Herkulessaal, Philharmonie Berlin, BOZAR, and many others. He has soloed with numerous renowned orchestras, most recently with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Belgian National Orchestra, and the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, and worked closely with eminent conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Pascal Vierrot, Nikolaj Znaider, Hugh Wolff, Cristian Macelaru and Jean-Jacques Kantorow. A laureate of the Queen Elisabeth competition, Luke has won prizes at many of the most prestigious violin competitions in the world. He won the Bronze Medal, the Bach Prize, and the Mozart Sonata Prize at the 10th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and the 1st prize at the ISANGYUN Competition. His other major prizes have come from the Nielsen, Wieniawski, Michael Hill, and Paganini competitions.

Luke Hsu plays in Concert I, Concert II, Concert III, Concert IV, Concert VI, Concert VII and Concert IX.

Mayumi Kanagawa

violin

Mayumi Kanagawa is a Berlin based, Japanese-American violinist known for her rich, dark sound and focused, engaging musicality. Prizewinner at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and 2018 Long-Thibaud Crespin competition in Paris, she is establishing herself as a soloist and chamber musician in Japan, Europe, and North America. The 2023-24 season includes solo reengagements with the leading orchestras of Japan including NHK, Tokyo Metropolitan, Yomiuri, Sapporo Symphony orchestras and debuts with the Macao and Gunma Symphony Orchestras with conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Marc Piollet, Sylvain Cambreling, Nodoka Okisawa, and Kazuhiro Koizumi. Chamber music and duo recitals with colleagues including Yu Kosuge and the Lazarus Quartet as well as musical theater projects bring Mayumi to Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and England, among others. Mayumi has performed with many orchestras including the Mariinsky Orchestra, Belgian National Symphony, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Her unique talent for communicating the love and joy of music making in varied repertoire and venues have also brought her to many outreach programs and schools around the world, from San Francisco to Novosibirsk. Mayumi’s musical education has been shaped by Kolja Blacher, Yoshiko Nakura, Masao Kawasaki, and Robert Lipsett. She currently performs on the 1725 “Wilhelmj” Stradivarius violin on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

Mayumi Kanagawa plays in Concert VII.

Suyoen Kim

violin

Born in Münster in 1987, Suyoen Kim received her first violin lessons from Houssam Mayas. At the age of nine, she became the youngest student in Germany to study with Prof. Helge Slaatto at the Münster University of Music and completed her studies with a diploma in June 2008. She also completed postgraduate studies with Prof. Ana Chumachenco at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich and at Kronberg Academy. As a soloist, she has worked with renowned conductors such as Mariss Janssons and Myung-Whun Chung and regularly gives concerts in Europe, Asia and South America. She has performed as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Hermitage Theatre Orchestra St. Petersburg, the Copenhagen Philharmonic and the Munich Symphony Orchestra. She has been a teacher and mentor at the Seiji Ozawa International Music Academy Switzerland since 2020. In addition to numerous competition successes, including 1st prize at the Leopold Mozart International Violin Competition and 1st prize at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition, she is also 4th prize winner at the Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition. Suyoen Kim has been 1st concertmaster of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin since 2018 and was a member of the Artemis Quartet from 2019 to 2021. She regularly performs as a guest concertmaster with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Her violin, the "Lord Newlands" by Antonio Stradivari from 1702, is kindly made available to her by the Nippon Music Foundation.

Suyoen Kim plays in Concert II.

Jiyoon Lee

violin

Jiyoon Lee, the first concertmaster of Staatskapelle Berlin, is renowned for her versatility as a leader, soloist, and chamber musician. She frequently performs as a soloist with prestigious orchestras globally, including the Staatskapelle Berlin, Philharmonia Orchestra, and Seoul Philharmonic. Her debut recording of Korngold & Nielsen Concertos received critical acclaim, earning a 5-star review and 'Editor’s Choice' accolades from BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone Magazine. Her subsequent album, "Mythes", also garnered praise for its exceptional quality. Jiyoon's dedication to chamber music has led to collaborations with diverse artists and performances at notable venues and festivals, such as the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, Wigmore Hall, Verbier Festival, and Tanglewood Festival. She has also served as a guest concertmaster for various prestigious orchestras, including the Dresden Staatskapelle and Orchestre de Paris, and is an active leader of the Boulez Ensemble in Berlin. Her musical journey began in Seoul at age four, and she later studied at the Korean National University and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, where she now teaches. Recognized for her excellence, Jiyoon is a laureate of the 2015 Queen Elisabeth Competition and a first prize winner of the Carl Nielsen and David Oistrakh competitions.

Jiyoon Lee plays in Concert IV.

Cosima Soulez Larivière

violin

Franco-Dutch violinist Cosima Soulez Larivière is already building a name for herself, having been awarded numerous prizes – 3rd prize at the Joseph Joachim Competition in 2018, 1st prize at the inaugural Bartók World Competition & Festival in 2017, 1st prize at the Brahms Competition in 2015 and 3rd prize and the Bach prize at the Postacchini Competition, also in 2015. Concerts have brought her all over Europe (Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Franz Liszt Academy) as well as to Japan, Singapore and the United States. Soulez Lariviere has a great interest in modern and contemporary composers and as such, has performed works by Pēteris Vasks, Rebecca Saunders, Sofia Gubaidulina and Steve Reich. Additionally, she enjoys playing chamber music and often performs alongside her brother, violist Sào Soulez Larivière. She obtained both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at the University of Music, Drama and Media in Hanover, with Prof. Krzysztof Wegrzyn. Currently, she is in the Professional Studies programme at the Kronberg Academy, with Prof. Mihaela Martin. As a scholarship holder of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, she has generously been loaned a violin by Giovanni Grancino (Milan, 1675).

Cosima Soulez Larivière plays in Concert VI.

Daniel Stoll

violin

Daniel Stoll was born near Hannover in 1991. He completed his music studies at the Saarbrücken University of Music under Prof. Hans-Peter Hofmann, whose assistant he has been for several years. His chamber music partners have included Eduard Brunner, Sebastian Manz, Fabian Müller, Edicson Ruiz, Eckhart Runge, Alexej Gerassimez and the Quatuor les Dissonances. Since 2012, Daniel Stoll has been a member of the newly founded vision string quartet, and has studied in Berlin and Madrid with renowned teachers such as the Artemis Quartet and Günter Pichler. In 2016, the young ensemble won 1st prize and both special prizes at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition as well as 1st prize and all special prizes at the prestigious Concours de Genève. The quartet was also awarded the Audience Prize at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and the Würth Prize of Jeunesses-Musicales Germany, whose previous winners include Claudio Abbado, Sol Gabetta and the Artemis Quartet. In 2018, the quartet received the most prestigious European music prize, the Chamber Music Prize of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation. Concert tours have taken the quartet to Australia, Korea, Japan, Brazil, North America, Israel and across Europe, including the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Prinzregententheater Munich, Berlin Philharmonie, Kölner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie, Tonhalle Zurich, Wigmore Hall London, Rheingau Musik Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker, Schleswig-Holstein Festival and regularly at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival.

Daniel Stoll plays in Concert V.

Charlotte Thiele

violin

Charlotte Thiele, born in Dresden in 2000, is one of the most promising violinists of her generation. Her concerts as a soloist have taken her to venues including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, and the Kulturpalast Dresden. In 2024/2025, she will make her solo debut in the main hall of the Berlin Philharmonie, the Nikolaisaal Potsdam, and the Wunderino Arena Kiel. Together with her brother, cellist Friedrich Thiele, she will perform Brahms' Double Concerto with the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra. She performed with Patricia Kopatchinskaja at the Kulturpalast Dresden, a concert broadcast by Deutschlandfunk Kultur. She has also collaborated with Can Çakmur and Kiveli Dörken in chamber music concerts and played at festivals such as the Heidelberger Frühling and the IMPULS Festival for New Music. In the 2022-2023 season, she was artist-in-residence with the Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also performed as a soloist with the MDR Symphony Orchestra and the Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. She was recently invited as a guest concertmaster by various renowned orchestras such as the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Dresden Philharmonic. Since the 2023/2024 season, she has been concertmaster of the Giuseppe Sinopolie Academy at the Staatskapelle Dresden. She is completing her master's degree at the Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar with Friedemann Eichhorn and Sönke Reger. Charlotte plays a French violin from 1775, generously loaned to her by Dr. Peter Hauber.

Charlotte Thiele plays in Concert VIII.

Dayoon You

violin

Winner of the second prize at the Long-Thibaud International Violin Competition and a Laureate of the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition, Dayoon You first came to international recognition when he was awarded the “Special Prize Kronberg Academy” at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich and Distinction as a Finalist at the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznań. As an active chamber musician, he also won first prize and the special prize for the best Mozart interpretation as a guest member of the Arete Quartet at the International Mozart Competition 2023 in Salzburg. As a soloist, he has performed with many prestigious orchestras, such as the Belgian National Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, and the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also invited to the International Music Festival Český Krumlov in 2017, where he played with the South Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. He also appeared at the Schwarzenberg Schubertiade Festival as a guest member of the Novus String Quartet in collaboration with the Jerusalem Quartet. Born in Seoul, Korea, Dayoon You started playing the violin at the age of six and made his debut at the Seoul Arts Center at the age of eight. He graduated from the Korea National University of Arts and currently studies at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin with Kolja Blacher. He performs on the Joannes Baptista Guadagnini violin, Turin 1774 on generous loan from the Kumho Cultural Foundation.

Dayoon You plays in Concert V.

Viola

Brian Isaacs

viola

American violist Brian Isaacs is based in Berlin as a member of the Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker, where he is mentored by Sebastian Krunnies. He studies simultaneously with Tabea Zimmermann as a student in the Konzertexamen program of HfMDK Frankfurt. Brian has received awards and prizes from institutions such as the Verbier Festival Academy, Yale University, Frank Huntington Beebe Fund, and international competitions including Grunewald, Nedbal, and Rubinstein. He has benefited from working in masterclasses with violists such as Misha Amory, Yuri Bashmet, Noemie Bialobroda, Ettore Causa, Nobuko Imai, Lawrence Power, Antoine Tamestit, Steven Tenenbom, Lars Anders Tomter, and Tabea Zimmermann. An avid chamber musician, Brian’s festival appearances include Four Seasons, Gstaad String Academy, La Jolla SummerFest Fellowship, Methow Valley, NUME, Taos, Thy, Verbier Festival Academy, Viridian Strings, and Yellow Barn. A native New Yorker and graduate of Yale University, Brian received his MM in Viola Performance, studying with Ettore Causa, and his BA in Sociology. He plays on a viola made by Douglas Cox in Brattleboro, VT, on generous loan from the Virtu Foundation.

Brian Isaacs plays in Concert II.

Gordon Lau

viola

Gordon Lau is a violist from Hong Kong who has been studying under Prof. Tabea Zimmermann since 2017. He is an active chamber musician who has had the privilege of studying with teachers such as Eberhard Feltz and the Artemis Quartet, and has performed alongside many well-known artists such as Christian Tetzlaff, Antje Weithaas, Torleif Thedéen, Sayaka Shoji, Daniel Hope, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Peter Bruns, Bruno Delepelaire, Tabea Zimmermann and many other well-known artists. In addition, he also had successful experiences as a guest musician in orchestras at a very high level, such as with the Berlin Philharmonic, and as principal in the Kammerakademie Potsdam and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Gordon and his brother were featured on the popular TV show "Hope@Home", hosted by violinist Daniel Hope and ARTE.tv, where their performance was very well-received. He has also been invited to perform at various music festivals such as “Spannungen” Heimbach, Seiji Ozawa Academy Switzerland, Zermatt Music Festival, and Gstaad Menuhin Festival. Gordon has been a scholarship holder of "Villa Musica" Rhineland-Palatinate since the 2019/20 season and received the "Star of Villa Musica 2023" award.

Gordon Lau plays in Concert IV and Concert IX.

Haesue Lee

viola

Violist Haesue Lee is the first prize and audience prize winner of the 72nd ARD Competition and the 2018 Primrose International Viola Competition. She also won the 2015 Johansen International Competition and the 2014 Albert M. Greenfield Competition. Following her Carnegie Hall debut at the age of twelve, she has performed as soloist with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Prince George’s Philharmonic Orchestra. She is the current Artist-in-Residence at the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra. Haesue has also given solo recitals at Brigham Young University, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Kumho Prodigy Solo Concerts, and the Korean Culture Center in Paris, France. A passionate chamber musician, Haesue was invited to the Korean Presidential “Blue House'', Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, and the Bridgehampton Music Festival. During the 22/23 season, Haesue was on tour in prestigious venues in Europe, representing the Curtis Institute of Music. She has shared the stage with many distinguished artists such as Tabea Zimmermann, Nobuko Imai, Peter Wiley, Gary Hoffman, Lynn Harrell, Marcy Rosen, Miriam Fried, and Paul Biss. Haesue studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Hsin-Yun Huang and Roberto Diaz. She completed her Master’s degree with Tabea Zimmermann at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler and she is continuing her studies with Zimmermann at the Kronberg Academy. These studies are funded by the Ono Patronage. Haesue performs on a viola by Gasparo de Salò dating from 1590 on loan from the Samsung Foundation.

Haesue Lee plays in Concert VII.

Natalie Loughran

viola

Twenty-four year old American violist Natalie Loughran is quickly establishing herself as one of the most versatile young artists of our time. Natalie was awarded First Prize at the 2021 Primrose International Viola Competition, along with the Audience Award, as well as the BIPOC Composer Prize for her arrangement and performance of William Grant Still’s ‘Mother and Child’. She has also appeared as a finalist for the 2020 Young Concert Artist Auditions, and was awarded a special prize for her performance of the Bowen Viola Sonata in C Minor at the Tertis International Viola Competition. A former member of the Kila Quartet, Natalie is a sensitive and passionate chamber musician. She has appeared on WQXR’s series, ‘Midday Masterpieces’, and has participated in the Perlman Music Program Chamber Workshop, Robert Mann String Quartet Institute, Marlboro, Yellow Barn, and Kronberg’s Chamber Music Connects the World. Natalie has collaborated with such renowned chamber musicians as Itzhak Perlman, Donald Weilerstein, Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff and Tabea Zimmermann. Natalie earned her B.M. and M.M. in Viola Performance at The Juilliard School, under the tutelage of Roger Tapping, Misha Amory, and Hsin-Yun Huang, where she was a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship. Since the fall of 2022, Natalie has been continuing her professional studies at the Kronberg Academy with Tabea Zimmermann.

Natalie Loughran plays in Concert I.

Kyungsik Shin

viola

Kyungsik Shin has established himself as one of most compelling violists of his generation. Following his recent success winning the second prize as well as the "Gewa" Prize at the 78th International Prague Spring Competition, he received first prize at the 28th International Johannes Brahms Competition and the International Anton Rubinstein Competition, as well as the second prize and the audience prize at the Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition. As an avid chamber musician, he participated in Kronberg Academy’s "Chamber Music Connects the World", performing with Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, and Steven Isserlis. He has also taken part in Seiji Ozawa International Chamber Music Festival, Tianjin Juilliard Chamber Music Festival, Ljubljana Music Festival, Třeboňská Noctura Music Festival, and Mainz Gutenberg Festival. Since his move to Europe, his appearances with Munich Chamber Orchestra, Czech Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra, Euro Symphony SFK, and Barocco sempre giovane have established him as one of the upcoming soloists of his time. Kyungsik began his studies at a very young age at the Korea National University of Arts, then at Seoul National University, studying with Eun-sik Choi. After graduating with the highest distinction, he continued his studies at the University of Arts Berlin with Prof. Hartmut Rohde where he completed his Master's Degree and is currently pursuing his Konzertexamen. His studies are being supported by Hyundai Foundation and DAAD Scholarship.

Kyungsik Shin plays in Concert V.

Friedemann Slenczka

viola

Friedemann Slenczka is 1st solo violist at the Komische Oper Berlin. Previously he was 1st solo violist in the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt. As a chamber musician he plays at festivals such as the Heidelberger Frühling, the PODIUM Festival Esslingen, the Beethovenfest Bonn, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Kyoto International Chamber Music Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Philharmonie Baden-Baden, the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt and the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim. He studied at the UdK Berlin with Hartmut Rohde.

Friedemann Slenczka plays in Concert VI and Concert VIII.

Emma Wernig

viola

Hailed by The Strad as “a viola star in the making!”, Austrian/German violist Emma Wernig is an emerging young artist known for her authentic musical voice. Early competition successes, such as the ‘Barbirolli Prize’ at the 2019 Tertis International Viola Competition and winning the 2017 Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition, have enabled her to pursue an international career. Emma released her debut album, “The Viennese Viola”, in 2021 on the Champs Hill label to critical acclaim. As a recipient of the Wilo Foundation Förderpreis of the Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund in 2021, she remains a scholarship holder and featured solo artist there in the 2023/24 season. In 2024, Emma will also serve as 1st Principal Viola of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. She has been invited as a guest artist at prominent festivals such as the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Grachtenfestival in the Netherlands, France’s Festival de Musique de Wissembourg, Krzyzowa Music, the Gezeitenkonzerte in Ostfriesland, Verbier Festival, Kronberg’s Chamber Music Connects the World, the Vevey Spring Classic Festival in Switzerland, West Cork Chamber Music Festival in Ireland, and Grafenegg Festival in Austria, among others. Early chamber music competition successes led to a lifelong passion for chamber music, including collaborations with artists such as Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis, and Christian Tetzlaff. Her teachers include Paul Coletti, Ettore Causa, and Tabea Zimmermann. Emma resides in Berlin and plays on a viola made in 2019 by Jason Viseltear.

Emma Wernig plays in Concert II.

Cello

Yehjin Chun

cello

The South Korean cellist Yehjin Chun, co-founder of the Tonhain Kollektiv, began playing the cello at the age of five. From the age of 16, she studied with Konstantin Heidrich at the Berlin University of the Arts, where she subsequently continued her studies with Jens Peter Maintz. In summer 2021, she completed her concert exam at the Weimar University of Music with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. In addition to her studies, she received further musical inspiration from David Geringas, Heinrich Schiff and Christian Poltéra. She has won several prizes at national and international competitions and reached the final of the International Isang Yun Competition in 2018, where she was also awarded the Seong-Yawng Park Special Prize. As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras such as the Thuringia Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra. She is currently a regular member (solo cello) of the Kammerphilharmonie Metamorphosen Berlin. She plays a cello by Giovanni Grancino, Milan 1705.

Yehjin Chun plays in Concert II, Concert IV, Concert V and Concert VIII.

Rainer Crosett

cello

American cellist Rainer Crosett, a co-founder of Tonhain Kollektiv, 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. Since 2014, he has been Artistic Director of Project LENS, an interdisciplinary ensemble founded in Boston, USA. Rainer is currently completing his studies at the University of the Arts with Prof. Jens Peter Maintz.

Rainer Crosett plays in Concert I, Concert IV, Concert VI, Concert VII, Concert VIII and Concert IX.

Leonard Disselhorst

cello

Leonard Disselhorst, a co-founder of Tonhain Kollektiv, completed early studies at the Musikhochschule Hannover, studied at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe with Prof. Martin Ostertag and at the Universität der Künste Berlin with Prof. Jens Peter Maintz. His musical education was further complemented by studies with the Artemis Quartet and Günter Pichler. Leonard was a member of the German National Youth Orchestra and has played under conductors such as Sir Dennis R. Davies and Sir Simon Rattle. He is an active soloist and chamber musician at home and abroad. Leonard has won several prizes, including 1st prize and all special prizes at the prestigious Concours de Genève. He is a founding member of the vision string quartet, which was awarded the OPUS KLASSIK in 2020 for its debut CD released by Warner. The album SPECTRUM followed in September 2021, with original compositions and arrangements of folk, pop, rock, funk, minimal and singer-songwriter music. Leonard plays on a cello by Gaetano Antoniazzi, Milan 1892.

Leonard Disselhorst plays in Concert I, Concert II, Concert V and Concert VI.

Irena Josifoska

cello

Irena Josifoska was first prize winner of the 2021 Gabrielli Cello Competition in Berlin, winner of Verbier Festival’s Prix Jean-Nicolas Firmenich, which recognises the Verbier Festival Academy's best cellist, recipient of an Honorable Mention for excellence as one of the six semifinalists at the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann at the Berliner Philharmonie, and in 2017 she was the youngest semifinalist at the Queen Elisabeth Competition. Irena has performed all over Europe, South America, and USA, she has appeared as a soloist with eminent orchestras, and participated in numerous festivals like Verbier, Musiktage Mondsee, Krzyżowa Chamber Music Festival, Bebersee Festival, Eggenfelden klassisch, Kronberg Academy, Liechtenstein Musikakademie, Ohrid Summer Festival, Festival PAAX GNP Mexico, and Fränkischer Sommer. She completed her Bachelor studies in Detmold with Xenia Jankovic, Master Soloist studies in Berlin with Jens Peter Maintz, and currently pursues her Konzertexamen there. Irena has had masterclasses with David Geringas, Frans Helmerson, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Steven Isserlis, and Miklos Perenyi, and played chamber music with artists like Albrecht Mayer, Guy Braunstein, Daniel Stabrawa, Sacha Rattle, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Vadim Gluzman, Roman Simovic, Jens Peter Maintz, Boris Garlitsky, and Yeol Eum Son. She has on loan a William Forster Senior cello (1790) from the Villa Musica Foundation.

Irena Josifoska plays in Concert VIII.

Bumjun Kim

cello

Born in South Korea, Bumjun Kim arrived in France at the age of seven months. He began playing the cello when he was six and was admitted to the CNSM in Paris at the age of fifteen where he studied with Philippe Muller. Later on, he came to Berlin to study at the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule and simultaneously, he managed to get a Doctorate Diploma in Paris. As a former member of the Herbert-von-Karajan-Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, he also had the privilege of discovering the major symphonic repertoire with some of the most inspiring musicians and conductors of our time. Passionate about chamber music, Bumjun Kim has always led an active life as a chamber musician. Senior member of the Seiji Ozawa International Academy in Switzerland, he founded the Arnold Trio in 2018, which is in residence at the Singer-Polignac Foundation in Paris. In 2020, produced by the French label Mirare, the trio’s first recording with Beethoven's Opus 9 trios was recognized with a Diapason d'Or and a Radio Classique Trophy. Two new trio recordings will be released during the coming season, one featuring Strauss’s Metamorphosen on the label B.records, and a second named ‘Hungarian Nights’ on the label Mirare. Since 2023, Bumjun Kim is Solo-Cellist of the Staatskapelle in Weimar, and is currently playing a French cello from 1916 made by Sébastien-Auguste Deroux.

Bumjun Kim plays in Concert VIII.

Benjamin Lai

cello

Taiwanese-American cellist Benjamin Lai, a co-founder of Tonhain Kollektiv, 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 plays a cello by Domenico Montagnana ("ex-Olevsky", Venice 1735).

Benjamin Lai plays in Concert II, Concert III and Concert VIII.

Grace Sohn

cello

Canadian cellist Grace Sohn is one of the most promising cellists of her generation. She was named the first prize winner of the Vienna Classical Strings Competition, the International Anton Rubinstein Competition, and the International Busan Maru Competition in South Korea. Recently she was a prize winner at the OSM Competition in Montreal Canada, at the International Johannes Brahms Competition, and at the 58th International Markneukirchen Competition. Since 2024, she has been playing on a Raffaele and Antonio Gagliano Cello on generous loan from the Canimex Group. Grace has performed as soloist with the Philharmonia Northwest, Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, Zagreb Virtuoso, Mozart Collegium Orchestra, and VAM Symphony Orchestra. Her artistic development was influenced by renowned artists including David Geringas, Jens Peter Maintz, Frans Helmerson, and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. She was also a scholarship holder at the Liechtenstein Musikakademie. She began her musical journey at the age of six and her studies are being supported by the BC Council of Arts and the Sylva Gelber Foundation. She recently completed her studies at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik with Prof. Troels Svane, and now studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin with Prof. Jens Peter Maintz. She is also a member of the Staatskapelle Berlin’s Orchestra Academy.

Grace Sohn plays in Concert VIII.

Ildikó Szabó

cello

In 2007, János Starker described his compatriot as "an exceptionally gifted young cellist" with the potential for a world career. Since then, Ildikó Szabó has lived up to this claim: the Hungarian artist has won prizes at 16 international competitions, including at the Pablo Casals Cello Competition in 2014 at which she won a total of eight prizes. “A true artist who enjoys being on stage and manages to perform to the absolute best of her capabilities in front of an audience” says Iván Fischer who has collaborated with her on multiple occasions, and with whom she has performed as a soloist with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. She has also performed with the Concerto Budapest, the Hungarian Radio Orchestra, the Magdeburgische Philharmonie, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Ildikó stems from a family of great musical traditions. From the age of 11, she studied with László Mező at the Liszt Academy in Budapest and attended master classes with János Starker, before she began her studies with Jens Peter Maintz at the Berlin University of the Arts in 2011. Starting in 2018, she continued her studies at the Hochschule für Musik "Franz Liszt" Weimar with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. She completed her studies at the Kronberg Academy in July 2023 via the Professional Studies programme.

Ildikó Szabó plays in Concert VIII.

Piano

Michael Cohen-Weissert

piano

Michael Cohen-Weissert is a pianist, composer, and conductor. He was born in Jerusalem in 1993 and moved to Berlin in 2008, where he is currently based. He has a diverse career, performing as a soloist and conductor with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano, and Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, as well as being a sought-after chamber musician, playing with musicians such as Claudio Bohorquez, Jens Peter Maintz, Mate Szücs, Marc Bouchkov, and Nur Ben-Shalom amongst others. As a composer and arranger, he collaborations include the project "Lebensmelodien", for which he has composed and arranged over 40 pieces inspired by melodies written between 1933 and 1945. Other musicians and ensembles who frequently play his music are Philharmonix, Tomoki Park, Markus Merkel, and Nimrod Ensemble. In 2018, his first opera, AMALIA!, was premiered in Bolzano. Believing a modern artist must not only play but also organize, he founded the Charles Rosen-Ensemble, dedicated to the performance and promotion of contemporary music, and he is co-artistic director of the festival Eole en Musiques in France. His piano teachers were Elena Lapitskaja, Jacques Rouvier, and Stefan Arnold. He also attended composition classes held by Elena Mendoza and Marc Sabat, as well as chamber music classes with teachers such as the Artemis Quartet and Eberhard Feltz.

Michael Cohen-Weissert plays in Concert IV.

Danae Dörken

piano

The German-Greek pianist Danae Dörken belongs to the elite of a new generation of internationally sought-after artists and captivates audiences and fellow musicians alike with her breathtaking technique, exceptional stage presence, and musical depth. She was already supported by Yehudi Menuhin when she was seven years old and caught the attention of audiences in leading European concert halls early on with "her sparkling joy of playing" (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger). After studying with the internationally revered piano pedagogue Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and with the renowned soloist and teacher Lars Vogt, she is now a regular guest with leading orchestras such as the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra, the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg and the Staatskapelle Weimar. She has performed at London's Wigmore Hall, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Mozarteum Salzburg, the Tonhalle Zürich, the Bozar in Brussels, the Megaron in Athens, the Brucknerhaus Linz, the Philharmonie in Cologne, the Gasteig in Munich, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, and the Beethovenhaus Bonn. Furthermore, she regularly performs at major festivals such as the Kissinger Sommer, Schwetzinger Festspiele, LuganoMusica, Schleswig Holstein Musikfestival, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the prestigious chamber music festival Spannungen in Heimbach.

Danae Dörken plays in Concert I.

Yehuda Inbar

piano

Pianist Yehuda Inbar is gaining international recognition as one of today’s most intriguing and enterprising young artists. Inbar's debut album was released in 2019 by Oehms Classics and features Schubert’s unfinished sonatas and Schubert-inspired new music. Numerous enthusiastic reviews have praised his interpretations as well as his innovative and adventurous approach to programming, including the Sunday Times (UK), Diapason (France), and PianoNews (Germany). Selected by the Kirckman Concert Society, he has performed in such venues as the Royal Festival Hall, St John’s Smith Square, St Martin-in-the-Fields (playing-directing Mozart with the Brandenburg Sinfonia), Konzerthaus Berlin, and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. He has also performed as soloist with the Haifa Symphony, Netanya Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra, Ashdod Symphony, and St. John's Chamber Orchestra. He performed in China, the USA, and Europe, and participated in such festivals such as the Beethoven Fest in Bonn, Spoleto Due Mondi, Havelländische Musikfest, Yellow Barn, Dartington Summer Festival, Aegean Arts Festival and others. His playing has been broadcast live on BBC Radio 4, German TV ZDF, Classic FM, and Kol Hamusica (Israel). He has curated concert series in Tel Aviv and London, and recently founded Responses Culture Society e.V which promotes the interaction between different forms of art as well as support values of democracy, social equality, and peace. Inbar studied with Joanna MacGregor and Stephen Kovacevich among others, and completed his PhD at the Royal Academy of Music in London receiving the MacFarren Gold Medal, the Lloyds Prize for the best piano recital, and the Lilian Davies Prize.

Yehuda Inbar plays in Concert VII.

Kunal Lahiry

piano

Indian-American pianist Kunal Lahiry is a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist (2021-2023) and recipient of the 2021 Carl Bechstein Foundation scholarship. Recent performance venue highlights include Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Kennedy Center, Pierre Boulez Saal, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Vienna Musikverein, and more. In June 2023, Kunal curated a ‘Queer Song Festival’ at St. George’s in Bristol, which was broadcasted by BBC Radio 3. He has also been heard on Icelandic National Public Radio RÁS1, Austrian Radio Ö1, RBB Kultur, and was featured on ARTE’s ‘Hope@Home’ and ‘Europe@Home’ series hosted by violinist Daniel Hope. Kunal has commissioned and premiered works by Nico Muhly, Errollyn Wallen, Nahre Sol, Heloise Werner, Alex Ho, Pablo Campos, Molly Joyce, Lyra Pramuk Viktor Orri Árnason, Guðmundur Emilsson, Zachary Radler, Zubaida Azezi, and Edo Frenkel. Originally from Gainesville, Georgia, Kunal was a Schulich Scholar at McGill University, and graduated with distinction in song interpretation from the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler”.

Kunal Lahiry plays in Concert III.

Or Re’em

piano

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 graduated from the Juilliard School in New York and the Cleveland Institute of Music and pursues a versatile performing career. 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. 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. A dedicated chamber musician, Re’em is regularly involved in collaborations with other musicians. He serves as the founder and Artistic Director of Music in the Circle International Music Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. He has performed with the Talich String Quartet at the 'Musica Mundi' Chamber Music Festival in Brussels, Belgium, as well as at the 'Voice of Music' Festival in the Upper Galilee, Israel.

Or Re’em plays in Concert VIII.

Clarinet

Žilvinas Brazauskas

clarinet

Žilvinas Brazauskas has performed as a soloist with the Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin, Brussels Philharmonic orchestra, Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, and others. As a chamber musician he has played in halls such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Konzerthaus Berlin and has been invited to the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, "Intonations" Festival, Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker and Usedom Music Festival, among others. He has performed with artists such as Elena Bashkirova, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Florian Weber, the Signum String Quartet, Julian Rachlin, Sabine Meyer, Igudesman & Joo, Xenia Jankovic and Diana Tishchenko. He also performs regularly in the trio Agora with Natania Hoffman and Robertas Lozinskis and in the duo Jazzical Class with Peter Fleckenstein. He has won first prizes at the F. Mendelssohn - Bartholdy Competition in Berlin and the "Jeunesses International Music Competition" in Bucharest. He was also a prize winner at the "4th International Clarinet Competition Ghent", a finalist at the German Music Competition and a semi-finalist at the ARD Music Competition. His discography includes two CD's with pianist Violetta Khachikyan and three with Trio Agora: the latest of which is "Hotel Tango", supported by the Neustart Kultur ensemble program and released by ACCENTUS Music.

Žilvinas Brazauskas plays in Concert VIII.

Percussion

Hiromu Seifert

percussion

Hiromu Seifert is a German-Japanese jazz drummer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer who often works at the intersection of groove-based music, jazz, and improvised music. As part of the innovative Berlin music scene, Hiromu has had the fortune to work with diverse artists such as Hani Mojtahedi, Andi Toma, Manos Tsangaris, Robyn Schulkowsky, Noam Sivan, Vincent Ott, Nils Landgren, Greg Cohen, Wanja Slavin, Philipp Gerschlauer, Robert Owens, and with ensembles like the Stegreif Orchester and members of the Bremer Philharmoniker. Hiromu has performed at festivals and venues across Europe, the UK, and Asia, including Umbria Jazz, Goethe-Institut, Beethovenfest Bonn, Berliner Festspiele, Akademie der Künste, as well as clubs like Band On the Wall and Gretchen Club. His compositions have been performed at venues such as the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Konzerthaus Berlin, Neuköllner Oper, Enjoy Jazz Festival, Berliner Festspiele, and Martin-Gropius-Bau.

Hiromu Seifert plays in Concert VI.

String quartet

vision string quartet

Founded in 2012, the vision string quartet has quickly established itself as one of the finest young string quartets of its generation, known for their versatility in classical repertoire and their own compositions in genres like folk, pop, rock, funk, and minimalist music. Identifying as both a band and a string quartet, they aim to transform how classical music is presented to new and traditional audiences. Their innovative performances include playing in complete darkness and from memory, often incorporating creative lighting designs. They have performed at prestigious venues such as the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Berlin Philharmonic, Gewandhaus Leipzig, and London's Wigmore Hall, and appeared at major festivals like the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Lucerne Festival. Signed to Warner Classics, their album "Spectrum" features music composed and produced by the quartet, while their debut album "memento" won an Opus Klassik Award for best chamber music recording. The quartet has won significant competitions, including the Felix-Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Competition and the International Concours de Genève, earning first prizes and special awards. Recent highlights include tours in Australia, Korea and Japan, and upcoming engagements in Europe and worldwide. Their studies were completed with the Artemis Quartet in Berlin and Günter Pichler in Madrid. In the upcoming 2024/25 season, solo collaborations with renowned orchestras such as the WKO Heilbronn, the Nationaltheater Mannheim and the Düsseldorfer Sinfoniker are planned. The quartet endorses Thomastik-Infeld strings.

vision string quartet plays in Concert III.