Elisabeth Weber is one of the most versatile violinists of her generation:passionate chamber musician and soloist, experienced concertmaster, distinguished pedagogue and, last but not least, enthusiastic specialist for historical performance practice. She has been inspired by chamber music collaboration with musicians such as Boris Pergamenschikow, Martin Helmchen, Tabea Zimmermann, Martin Spangenberg or in a duo constellation with cymbalist Luigi Gaggero.

She is a member of the Orphelian Quartet, which is dedicated to string quartet literature on historical instruments.Chamber music concerts have taken Elisabeth Weber to the Wigmore Hall London, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Brigdewater Hall Manchester and Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

As a concertmaster of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Zurich Chamber Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Elisabeth Weber has worked with conductors such as Christian Zacharias, Claudio Abbado, András Schiff and Daniel Harding.She also enthusiastically conducts chamber orchestra projects from the concertmaster’s position.The constant expansion of her repertoire, her interest in contemporary music, but also her passion for historical performance practice – inspired by specialists such as Frans Brüggen, Rachel Pdger and Jesper Christensen – enriches her musical perspectives.

Florian Richter, born in 1985 in Oschatz, received his first violin lessons at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig under Prof. Klaus Hertel. In 2000 he switched to the viola, and in 2001 he went to the Belvedere Castle Music High School in Weimar in the class of Prof. Erich Wolfgang Krüger.

From 2004 to 2014 the multiple national prize winner of “Jugend musiziert” studied at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar under Prof. Ditte Leser / Prof. Erich Krüger and completed his training with a concert examination.

He also received important musical inspiration from master classes with Prof. Alfred Lipka, Prof. Dietmar Hallmann, Prof. Hartmut Rohde, Prof. Martin Spangenberg and Prof. Norbert Brainin, among others. Florian Richter was a scholarship holder of the Hans and Eugenia Jütting Foundation, the German Foundation for Music Life and the Carl Flesch Academy. As a soloist, he has played under the direction of Johannes Klumpp, Helmuth Rilling, Stefan Solyom, Michael Sanderling and Marek Janowski, among others. In January 2020, Florian Richter made his solo debut with the “Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden” under the direction of Bruno Weil. From 2010 to 2012, Florian Richter was principal viola player of the Staatskapelle Weimar, and from 2012 to 2017 he held the same position with the Stuttgart State Orchestra. From 2010 to 2017, he was also involved in the viola department at the Belvedere Castle Music High School in Weimar. Florian Richter then accepted the call to the Nuremberg University of Music as Professor of Viola from 2017 to 2024. Florian Richter has been principal viola player of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden since August 2017. Since April 1, 2024, he has been the new professor for viola at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar. The 39-year-old, who had already taught as a viola professor in Nuremberg since 2017, is following a call to his former alma mater.

Jan Ickert started his musical education at Dr. Hochs Konservatorium in Frankfurt with Maike Kunstreich and continued his studies at musical colleges in Wuppertal, Berlin and Frankfurt with Susanne Müller-Hornbach, Andreas Greger, Michael Sanderling and Joseph Schwab. In 2002 he founded the Chagall Quartett Berlin, which won prizes at international competitions. He also participated at international festivals such as the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Mozartfest Würzburg and the Rheingau-Musikfestival.

Since his time as a student he has been a sought-after principal cellist and chamber musician in Germany and abroad and played in renowned orchestras such as the Kammerorchester Spira Mirabilis, Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie, Kölner Kammerorchester, Kremerata Baltica, hr-Sinfonieorchester and Opernorchester Frankfurt.

His greatest passion is passing on his knowledge to his students in teaching activities at various institutes: From 2008 until 2018 he was musical director and teacher for cello and chamber music at the Emanuel-
Feuermann-Konservatorium. After many years of teaching at the conservatories in Mannheim and Frankfurt, the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt appointed him professor for violoncello in 2017.

He conducts master classes in Germany and abroad, for example as artistic director at Cello-Tage Schlitz, at Talent Music Masterclasses (Brescia, Italy), at Forum Musikae Madrid, the International Summer Academy for chamber music Frenswegen and the Musiksommer Leutkirch. His students have won numerous prizes at national and international competitions and are employed by renowned orchestras.

Frithjof-Martin Grabner studied in Leipzig with Prof. Achim Beyer and Prof. Konrad Siebach double bass and chamber music with Prof. Gerhard Bosse.

He has won prizes at international competitions and has performed in numerous symphony concerts as a soloist and continuo player of the great oratorios. Grabner was committed 18 years as a principal bass player in various orchestras: Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, State Opera “Unter den Linden” Berlin. As a guest, he played at the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, the Berlin Opera Houses, the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Dresden Philharmonic, and many others. Frithjof-Martin Grabner is a member of renowned ensembles such as the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, the Chamber Orchestra “Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach”, the Leipzig Consort, the New Berlin Chamber Orchestra, the Berlin Bach Academy and the “Skyline Symphony”. He played at radio, television and CD recordings.

He has toured throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Israel. Grabner taught at the Academy of Music “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin and is now a professor of double bass at the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig. He gave Masterclasses in Denmark, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and the Czech Republic and at several international festivals. www.grabner.de

Stefan Veskovic – piano. Born in 1988 in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Stefan moved to Germany in 1992 due to the civil war in Bosnia. In 1997 he received his first piano lessons in Bonn from Arlette van de Can.

1999-2007 move to Stuttgart and piano lessons with Romuald Noll at the Stuttgart Music School. Admission to the preparatory class (StuVo) and almost annual participation in the youth competition „Jugend musiziert“ with success at national level, including first prizes in the categories piano solo, piano and violin, as well as piano accompaniment (violin) in 2003, 2004 and 2005. 2007 Abitur at the Beethoven-Gymnasium Bonn.

2007-2012 piano studies at the HMT Rostock with Prof. Matthias Kirschnereit. Lessons and master classes with well-known piano teachers such as Prof. Andrzej Jasinski, Prof. Bernd Goetzke, Prof. Renate Kretschmar-Fischer, Prof. Stefan Arnold, Prof. Markus Groh and Prof. Andreas Groethuysen. Participation in interdisciplinary projects with the acting department in Rostock. He and an ensemble won second prize at the HMT competition “Interdisciplinary for a music theater about Rio Reiser. He was repeatedly involved in chamber music within the academy, with his repertoire ranging from the Baroque to contemporary music. 2012 Co-founder of the Neophon Ensemble, with which he met personalities such as Jörg Widmann, Peter Ruzicka, Wolfgang Rihm and Friedhelm Döhl and gives concerts regularly. In addition, he is very close to song composition, cycles by Schubert, Schumann, Hugo Wolf and Richard Strauss are a constant part of his repertoire. Stefan also played Rachmaninoff’s 2nd concerto with the free student orchestra in Rostock in 2009 and the 5th Beethoven concerto with the North German Philharmonic in 2011. 2012 Diploma of artistic education piano at the HMT Rostock.

2013-2015 master’s degree at the MH Lübeck in piano solo with Prof. Konrad Elser. Admission to the Live Music Now Lübeck e.V. In 2014 he won the Steinway Prize in Hamburg.

Since April 2015, Stefan has held a teaching position for coaching at the MH Lübeck. He accompanies in the classes of Prof. Heime Müller, Prof. Daniel Sepec, Prof. Elisabeth Weber and Lena Eckels.

Ludmilla Kogan began piano lessons at the age of 6 and became a junior student at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin at the age of 12 in the class of Prof. Galina Iwanzowa, where she also began her regular studies in 2007. From 2009-2010, her Erasmus studies took her to the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where she studied in the class of Prof. Martin Hughes. From September 2011, Ludmilla Kogan continued her studies at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Academy of Music and Theater in Leipzig in the class of Prof. Gerald Fauth and graduated in February 2014 with top marks and distinction and the two titles of Diploma Pianist and Diploma Music Teacher. This was immediately followed by a chamber music master’s degree in piano trio at the UdK Berlin with the Artemis Quartet. The final concert of this course in February 2017 was also rated top marks.

Ludmilla Kogan is the first prize winner of national and international competitions (e.g. international Brahms competition) in various categories (solo, duo, trio, accompaniment), and has received various special prizes. Major solo and chamber music performances, including with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and the Frankfurt/Oder State Orchestra, have taken her to well-known stages such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Komische and Deutsche Oper Berlin and also the Chorin Monastery. Ludmilla Kogan can also be heard regularly at Glienicke Palace in Berlin with her duo partner Alexander Malter (piano). Concert tours have taken her to Poland, Japan, Spain, Italy, Finland and Switzerland.

Ludmilla Kogan is a former scholarship holder of the German Foundation for Music Life, the Karl and Else Wilke Foundation and the YEHUDI MENUHIN Live Music Now Berlin and Leipzig association. Since 2016, Ludmilla Kogan has been employed as a répétiteur for high strings, with a focus on viola, at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar.

Born in Sendai, Japan, she received her first piano lessons at the age of five. From 1995 to 1999 she studied piano in her hometown of Sendai. After completing her studies, Tomoko Ichinose was accepted into a remedial course and continued her studies there until 2001. From October 2002, Tomoko Ichinose completed postgraduate studies with Prof. Catherine Vickers at the University of Music and Performing Arts Frankfurt am Main, and from 2004, in parallel, the solo repetition course with Prof. Eugen Wangler, which she completed with a master’s degree in 2009. In 1996, she was named a finalist in the Tohoku Chopin Competition. Since 2005, Tomoko Ichinose has been a regular accompanist with, among others, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Young German Philharmonic, the cello master courses at the Hesse State Music Academy and the Leutkirch Summer Academy.

She is a sought-after pianist and chamber musician and performs in various ensembles at home and abroad and has teaching positions at the Emanuel Feuermann Conservatory of the Kronberg Academy and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Frankfurt am Main.

Anja Kleinmichel studied piano with Alan Marks and Gabriele Kupfernagel at the University of Music “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin as well as chamber music and song composition at the Leipzig Academy of Music and Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy”.

She is a sought-after piano accompanist and performs mainly chamber music in various ensembles. Their special interest is in New Music.
Master classes, among others, at the Ensemble Modern and a stay as a scholarship holder of the Forum Neues Musiktheater of the Staatsoper Stuttgart, were among the important artistic suggestions.

Anja Kleinmichel completed an additional study for improvisation and created in the duo “track of the sounds” music to silent films. In addition to her work as a pianist and lecturer at the Leipziger Musikhochschule, she writes texts about music.

Thomas Breitsameter, born in Munich in 1962, studied viola at the University of Music Würzburg with Prof. Anton Weigert (1984 – 1986) and at the University of Music and Performing Arts “Mozarteum” in Salzburg with Prof. Jürgen Geise (1986 – 1991) and Prof. Peter Langgartner (1991 – 1994). 1987 founding member and participant of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. 1988 solo violist of the “orchestra dei giovani di alpe adria”. From 1990 – 1997 member of the “Salzburg Chamber Orchestra”, from 1990 – 2000 violist of the “Syrinx Quartet Salzburg”. 1994 Completion of studies in the concert subject viola with the 2nd diploma examination and the “magister artium”. Since August 1995 head of the Music school Mühldorf a.Inn. In 1998 he founded the “Inn-Salzach-Euregio-Jugendorchester”. He has been giving concerts with the salonmusic-ensemble“Saitensprünge” since 1998. In 2000 he founded the duo “As time goes by”.

At schools and music colleges, training to become an instrumentalist is the central, dominant theme. Unfortunately, an existentially important topic is often neglected: the marketing of one’s own skills in the artistic field. The courses on offer give an insight into successful self-management, give tips on how to deal with concert promoters and concert agencies and use case studies to outline the organization of a concert in its preparatory phases. The lecturer Thomas Breitsameter is through his work as a music school director, project manager of the Inn-Salzach-Euregio-Jugendorchester, organizer of the Mühldorf Summer Academy and board member of the “Förderverein Musikfreunde Mühldorf e. V.” is an experienced practitioner in this profession, he has supplemented his know-how by studying culture management at FernUni Hagen.