Into The Open

Corey D. Cascio is by day a special agent for an international electronic theatre controls company based in Wisconsin, and moonlights at night as a lighting programmer and lighting designer for theatre, opera and dance events throughout Europe. He discovered his love for lighting at the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, and mentored under Mark D. Guinn at Louisiana Tech University where he completed his Bachelor’s in Lighting Design and Production. Since then, he has created a plethora of lighting experiences in Mexico, the Caribbean, Turkey, the Canary Islands, Poland, Austria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and most recently in 2021 for  Das Rheingold Opera at Yekaterinburg Philharmonic in Russia. After lighting the first Into the Open Festival: Dreams in 2023, he is thrilled to be able to return for this year’s festival. He is a trained lighting programmer and designer, combining his technical and artistic skills to enhance productions with aesthetic and functional qualities of light. His cree is that the lighting should never be noticed on just its own, rather it should enhance and complement the main attraction: The Art. 

Halosaur, aka Stephane Lefrancois, is a French music producer, drummer, live performer and DJ currently based in Berlin. He runs a studio in the Gaswerksiedlung and dedicates much of his time to teaching modular synthesis and drumming. He has released on renowned labels such as R&S, !K7, KMS, Classic Music Company and others. His penchant for collaborations has led Stephane in many directions, the most recent being the Maracuja project where he explores infectious, uplifting afro-beat vibes with two of his inspiring partners, Sarkis Ricci and Elle Holgate.

The International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA) was founded in 2003 as Ensemble Modern’s training centre, pursuing the goals of educating musicians and audiences about contemporary repertoire and identifying new forms of artistic and creative work today. IEMA offers various education formats for very different target groups: international master courses, the International Composer & Conductor Seminars, educational projects and the Master’s degree programme in Contemporary Music offered in cooperation with the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK).

Bass Lukasz Konieczny from Lodz, Poland, completed his vocal studies at the Academy of Music in Wrocław and supplemented his training with masterclasses from renowned singers and teachers as well as acting courses. He was a permanent member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein ensemble from 2011 to 2019. His repertoire includes various roles from Mozart to Verdi to Wagner and important bass roles in concert works. He has performed internationally, including at renowned opera festivals. Konieczny has participated in various CD recordings and was nominated for the Polish Fryderyk Prize 2022 for his performance. Most recently, he has appeared in various opera productions worldwide. Future engagements include performances in Verdi's "Rigoletto" and "Requiem" as well as a series of Schubert's "Winterreise".

The Staatskapelle Orchestra Academy at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden has enjoyed considerable success for many years. Since it was founded in 1997 on the initiative of Daniel Barenboim, more than 30 former academy members have made the leap into the full orchestra, and many more have gained a foothold in other renowned orchestras around the world. The prerequisite is a very practice-oriented training programme that extends over two years and opens up a variety of perspectives for the young musicians. From day one, the candidates are intensively involved in the rehearsal and performance process, whether in opera, ballet and concerts or at guest performances. This allows them to experience everyday life in the Staatskapelle at first hand. Learning from experienced colleagues, benefiting from their experience and constantly receiving new inspiration is crucial for the transition into professional life. Playing in the orchestra pit of the State Opera one day and standing on the podium of a renowned concert hall the next is one of the key experiences that the Orchestra Academy has to offer. Independent chamber concerts in the State Opera's Apollo Hall and other venues, which are supervised by dedicated mentors, promote artistic development and the cohesion of the orchestra as a group. In addition, there are individual and group lessons, workshops, audition preparations and individual mental training to master the challenges of the profession. The characteristic sound and playing culture of the Staatskapelle is passed on to the next generation, and in return the members of the Staatskapelle are exposed to new impulses from young musicians.

Born in Salzburg in 1981, Boris Randzio grew up in Berlin. After graduating from Goethe Gymnasium Berlin, he studied ballet at the Tanzakademie Berlin from 1991 to 2001. He received his stage dance diploma in Mannheim in 2002. He worked as a dancer at renowned opera houses and was a soloist at the Ballett am Rhein of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 2009 to 2020. International performances followed in Paris, Tel Aviv, Moscow, Tokyo and Madrid.

Together with Felix Strasser, he founded the independent theatre VADA in Carinthia in 2004, where he developed his own choreographies and acting roles. Randzio has been working as a freelance dancer, choreographer and actor in Berlin and Carinthia since 2020. His work "Die schlaflose Welt", based on Stefan Zweig's essay, premiered in Klagenfurt in July 2023 and in Berlin in August 2023. Further information at borisrandzio.comborisrandzio.com.

Nikolaus, born in Frankfurt am Main in 1991, studied piano at the Musikhochschule “Hanns Eisler” as well as at the Universität der Künste Berlin. He also studied musicology at the LMU in Munich. 

In addition to his active piano activities as a soloist and chamber musician at renowned festivals and concert halls, Nikolaus Rexroth has always devoted himself to songs, especially song cycles by Ludwig v. Beethoven, Robert Schumann (Dichterliebe) and Franz Schubert (Winterreise). 

As a musician, he was a co-founder of the Russian-German Music Academy, which was established in 2013. Since then, intensification and expansion of leading management activities, development and realization of project ideas, event concepts and artistic designs. 

Nikolaus Rexroth is the artistic director of the festival “Camera Obscura: Berlin × Tbilisi” in Georgia, the “Be@thoven Festival in Yekaterinburg” and has been working in this capacity at the Berlin-based cultural company RCCR Projects since 2014. Here he was responsible, among other things, for a series of digital concert formats that reached over 10 million views worldwide in 2020–21 and won a variety of international awards. Further stations led him, among others, to the Bayreuth Festival (2019).

Since fall 2022, Nikolaus has also been working in the field of “Planning Program Development” at Karsten Witt Musik Management GmbH / CLSX.deCLSX.de and is a shareholder of the Classical:NEXT conference.

Nika Bauman, direction, music, flute
Sarah Maria Dragović, voice, viola
Virna Kljaković, piano
Anna Barbara Bonatto, assistant director, dance

Synesthetic Project is a multidisciplinary ensemble led by musician and director Nika Bauman and consisting of musicians, dancers and visual artists. Based in Vienna, the ensemble is dedicated to exploring new forms of expression in music theatre through transdisciplinary storytelling.

Under the dramaturgical direction of Bauman, the ensemble promotes a collaborative approach to creation. Since its founding in 2018, the Synesthetic Project has created nine theatre pieces in various formations and produced seven video works.

The ensemble has performed at festivals and venues in Austria, Germany, Ireland and Croatia and has received funding and support from city councils and ministries of culture in both Austria and Croatia.

With a repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary, including opera, lieder and oratorio, the young Swedish mezzo-soprano Rebecka Wallroth is attracting increasing international attention.

Highlights of the 2023/24 season included her debut at London's Wigmore Hall as part of the Mozartists' Associate Artist Scheme, her debut at the DR Koncerthuset with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and her debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra with Seven Songs by Alma Mahler and as Cherubino at the Verbier Festival in a concert version of “Le nozze di Figaro”.

Since the 2023/24 season, Rebecka Wallroth has been a member of the International Opera Studio of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, where she has sung Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Dircé's second maid in Cherubini's Medea, among others. Her next roles there are Cherubino, Mercedes in Carmen and Carlotta in Die schweigsame Frau.

Rebecka Wallroth was honoured with a finalist prize at the Queen Sonja International Singing Competition 2023 and was the winner of the Feruccio Tagliavini Singing Competition and the Karl Staud Music Prize in 2022 as well as 2nd prize winner of the Wilhelm Stenhammar International Music Competition 2022. 2018 she won the Dalasolist Music Competition.

Rebecka Wallroth studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW), where she sang the roles of Olga in ‘Eugene Onegin’ and Idamante in ‘Idomeneo’ in the 2022/23 season, both at the Schönbrunn Palace Theatre. In the previous season, she had already appeared there as Unulfo in Handel's ‘Rodelinda’ and Agnes in ‘The Bartered Bride’.

“I live and form my identity as a contemporary composer from China with a keen and critical eye on the entanglements of politics, culture, society and technology and their consequences. I am looking for a contrasting and multishaped combination of my three major tools: the traditional instruments of the European music and their extended techniques, the critical examination of my Chinese heritage and the current possibilities of electronics. In my music I transform the world of today, its crises and tragedies, as well as its beauty and diversity - there is screaming criticism and delightful admiration for our world in my music.“

[ Ying WANG 王颖 ]

Born in France in 1991, Samir Amarouch is a composer and guitarist. A laureate of the Ernst von Siemens Foundation in 2020, and a 2022-2023 resident at the Villa Médicis, he has collaborated with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre National de France, the Ensemble Modern and the Ensemble InterContemporain. In 2023, he founded S.A.M.PL.ES.A.M.PL.E, the Samir Amarouch Music Players Environment, to perform new forms dedicated to his art.

The transposition of sounds from natural, urban and technological environments is one of the major sources of his compositional work. Inspired by structuralist, minimalist and spectral currents, as well as traditional oriental and electronic music, his latest works focus on the perception of time and rhythm, and on the ambiguity between timbre and harmony.

Anna Müller (*1992 in Berlin), only daughter of playwright Heiner Müller and photographer Brigitte Maria Mayer. She co-founded Herzstückverlag in Berlin in 2017 and has been studying documentary film at the New York Film Academy since 2020. Her debut film, a documentary homage to her father, is her latest project.

“The moment you create a beautiful sound, it’s worth every effort.”

This sentence by Michael Barenboim (*1985) sums up his artistic path so far. Soloist and chamber musician on violin and viola, ensemble founder, concertmaster of the West- Eastern Divan Orchestra, professor and dean: versatility and creativity are at the forefront of Barenboim's work.

Since his breakthrough as a soloist with Schönberg's Violin Concerto under the baton of Pierre Boulez in 2011, Michael Barenboim has been firmly anchored in the international concert scene and has since performed with outstanding colleagues, including the Vienna Philharmonic under Daniel Barenboim, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Asher Fisch, the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, the Berlin Philharmonic under Vasily Petrenko and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel. He has also worked as a soloist with orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Filarmonica della Scala, Philharmonia Orchestra London, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestre de Paris and the Spanish National Orchestra.

Since 2016, the state-recognized Barenboim-Said Academy has been teaching talented young musicians, primarily from the Middle East and North Africa, in the pedagogical spirit of Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim. In addition to musical theory and practice, the intensive study program places a second emphasis on humanities topics. Students learn to listen to each other and develop their own ideas against a broad, interdisciplinary and transcultural educational background. Goal is to educate musically excellent, curious and reflective individuals.

World-renowned artists:inside form the faculty of our academy. In addition to the Bachelor's degree, an Artist Diploma can be earned in all orchestral instrumental subjects as well as piano and composition. The Artist Diploma is a certificate program that prepares aspiring musicians for a professional career. A master's degree program, also for all of the above-mentioned majors, is in preparation.

The Barenboim-Said Academy is also a lively place for artistic and intellectual exchange, for international encounters and debates, through the musical programs in the Pierre Boulez Hall designed by Frank Gehry and a variety of lectures, symposia and other events.

georg blüml, born in munich, studied singing (tenor) and has been working as a director since 1992. In 1995, he founded his own opera ensemble and munich's smallest opera house in the pasinger fabrik, where he established the munich off-opera scene with ‘la cenerentola’ and g. rossini's ‘barbiere’, among others. blüml has directed numerous works of music theatre, including at the national theatre of korea, seoul (lehár: ‘the count’). including at the national theatre of korea, seoul (lehár: ‘the count of luxembourg’), at the southern thuringian state theatre, meiningen (mozart: ‘le nozze di figaro’) and strawinsky's ‘rake's progress’ at the state theatre vorpommern in stralsund.

from 1999 to 2006, georg blüml was a lecturer in scenic design at the bavarian singing academy.

in 2012, he staged a piece of spoken theatre for the first time at the kulturwald festival, hofmannsthal's ‘jedermann’, which will also be performed as part of the european weeks passau in 2017. blüml also works as an author of his own stage works (e.g. ‘die herrin vierer diener’, ‘reimars glück und ende’ 2013 and 2016) and fairy tales to works of classical music (such as hindemith's ‘tuttifäntchen-suite’), as well as a narrator with the symphony orchestra and choir of the bayerischer rundfunk, the wdr-sinfonieorchester and the konzerthausorchester berlin.

Since 2022, he has been a lecturer in scenic design at the akademie für tonkunst in darmstadt.

Bowrain (1983, Ljubljana) is a Slovenian composer, pianist, and music producer. He received his music education at the Conservatorium of Rotterdam and Amsterdam as well as at the Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. In 2014, he released his debut album Far Out, followed in 2017 by the album Distracted, and in 2020 his last live album project 2020 Seconds Alive. His latest album entitled Not Exactly Lost, was released in 2022 in a collaboration with Slovenian musician and painter Luka Uršič – KALU. Apart from albums, he has released several singles and several EP’s. He performed internationally in Europe, United States and South Africa.

Apart from creating his own music, Bowrain has composed music for several works in the field of visual, performing arts and theatre. In October 2022 he composed music for Slovenian national ceremonial day in collaboration with slovene film and theater director Damjan Kozole. Between 2020–2021 he performed at Ljubljana’s Gallus Hall of Cankarjev Dom together with pianist and composer Vollmaier. In 2015 he was a performer and a composer for the project UTTER / The violent necessity for the embodied presence of hope by JAŠA, presented in the Slovenian Pavilion of 56th Venice Art Biennial (IT). Bowrain is currently based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Margarita Broich studied acting at the University of the Arts in Berlin. She had her first engagement in 1987 at the Schauspielhaus Frankfurt am Main. Since then she has performed at the Deutsches Theater Berlin, the Berliner Ensemble, the Volksbühne and the Maxim Gorki Theater, among others. During this time she worked with directors Einar Schleef, Heiner Müller, Robert Wilson, George Tabori and Christoph Schlingensief, among others. She also appeared as an actress in numerous television, film and radio productions. In 2013, she was nominated for the German Film Award for best supporting female role for Quellen des Lebens and in 2016 she won the Hessian Television Award for best actress for Tatort Wendehammer and Aufbruch. Since 2014, Margarita Broich has been investigating alongside Wolfram Koch in the Frankfurt Tatort.

With her high musical sensitivity and her uncompromising search for artistic expression, the French cellist Zoé Cartier is an exceptional musician. After successfully completing her solo studies at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, she was engaged as principal cellist at the Magdeburg Opera House for two seasons. Since then she has performed as a solo cellist and guest with various ensembles, including the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the Ensemble Resonanz and the soloist ensemble Kaleidoskop.

Her artistic openness and curiosity open up a wide range of possibilities for her collaborations with very different artists such as Tino Segal, the choreographer Sacha Waltz and the theater director Falk Richter. She has been active in the contemporary music scene for many years, working with musicians from Ensemble Adapter, Zaffraan Ensemble, K.N.M Berlin, Vokalsolisten Stuttgart, Zeitgenössische Oper Berlin and is a permanent member of Ensemble LUX:NM.

Born and raised in the German capital, Colambo developed his curiosity for electronic music at a young age, which led to a promising early career in open air festivals and the Berlin club scene. In fact, the dynamic spirit of Berlin, which has great influence on him, is something Colambo tries to reflect in his music. However, it is also his multicultural, energetic, and crazy-like personality which shines through his musical passion and unique sounds connecting him to individuals worldwide. 

Currently a hyped DJ & producer from Berlin, Colambo performs at many festivals and events for more than 7 years now in Ibiza, Berlin, Freiburg, and Salzburg. His singles Don’t Worry Boy, and French Girl in KitKat, entered the top 10 Beatport Hype charts in 2021. All his releases were presented on radio stations globally and supported by many successful artists. 

‘Dandelion’ translates as dandelion or dandelion flower. In search of natural lightness, the ensemble, founded in Munich in 2018, embodies virtuosity and joy of playing in the context of a colourful variety of sounds that can only be experienced in chamber music with a woodwind quintet.

The ensemble studies at the HfMT Munich in the chamber music class of Prof. Reto Bieri and has in the past received inspiration from Eberhard Marschall, Andrea Lieberknecht, Eberhard Feltz, Konstantia Gourzi and Dag Jensen, among others.

The Dandelion Quintet performs regularly at home and abroad and has been a chamber music partner of renowned artists such as Margarita Höhenrieder, with whom it has performed in the Bibiliothek Hall in Polling. The Dandelion Quintet is 1st prize winner of the international competition Ars Ventus BIMC 2019 for woodwind quintet, which it won with the highest number of points awarded.

In 2023, the ensemble will present a chamber music series for contemporary music together with the Feet Become Ears collective. As part of this, the quintet awarded numerous commissions to young composers, which it presented at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Spatial and Cultural Work (Zirka) in Munich in February 2023.

Denis Davydov (b. 1985, Tashkent, Uzbekistan), a multimedia and CGI artist. He holds a BA in Design from the Tashkent Institute of Architecture and Construction (2008). In his freshman year, he received an award from Render Re, an independent community of CGI artists. In 2012, his project Units of Lust was presented at the group exhibition of the SYE Foundation at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris. After establishing his career as an independent computer graphics artist, Davydov joined the N3 agency, developing CGI content for brands such as Microsoft, CCTV, Samsung, NBC, Ford and Bloomberg. Davydov’s projects have received more than 10 Adobe Behance awards in the “Editors’ Choice” and “3D Gold” categories. In 2020, Davydov founded Instigators, a group of art practitioners and crypto enthusiasts united by the NFT study. 

In his recent works, Denis Davydov explores the migration of the symbolic heritage of the early and late Internet era and eclectic visual images of Central Asia into the modern reality of late capitalism in its death throws. Davydov develops the plot of retroactive nostalgia for the rapidly disappearing image of national cultures, primarily Uzbek, Azerbaijani and Tajik, and is interested in the clash of historical narratives and fictions of cultural authenticity of the XX century and craft tradition with new media and analysis of the NFT culture. 

Flavio de Marco (Lecce, 1975) since 1997 he has participated in numerous exhibitions in galleries and museums. Among the most recent solo exhibitions include those relating to the project “Stella” at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin and Frankendael Foundation in Amsterdam and at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome and “Figure” at Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara. He has collaborated with several magazines, newspapers and radio stations. In 2013 he published his first book Stella. He currently teaches Methodologies and Techniques of Contemporary at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. He lives and works in Berlin.

Emmanouela Nikoli Dolianiti is a Greek dancer and choreographer based in Berlin. As a performer, she was engaged in several dance, theatre, circus and visual art projects with Sasha Waltz & Guests, Constanza Macras/Dorkypark, Romeo Castellucci, Greta Granderath & Regina Rossi, Anett Simmen, Otto Lazić-Reuschel. As a choreographer, she has collaborated with Asuka J. Riedl on the creation HIMIKO and with Yuya Fujinami in Memini, that received the audience award best duo 2017 at the 9th international soloduo festival in Cologne, and ETHEREAL, in co-production with Constanza Macras/Dorkypark and EX-teater. Apart from her dance studies, she also holds a degree in philosophy, education and psychology.

Meike Droste was born in 1980 and grew up in Augsburg. From 1999 to 2003, she completed her acting training at the Otto Falckenberg School in Munich. In 2002 she was engaged by Claus Peymann at the Berliner Ensemble, where she appeared under his direction in Die heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe by Bertolt Brecht, among others. In 2004 she moved to the Schauspielhaus Zürich, and from 2006 to 2013 she was an ensemble member of the Deutsches Theater Berlin, where she enjoyed a close collaboration with Jürgen Gosch. In 2009, she received the German theater prize DER FAUST for playing Mascha in his production of Chekhov’s The Seagull.

She has also been engaged several times at the Salzburg Festival, most recently in 2014 for Die Komödie der Irrungen. Since 2015 she can be seen at the Residenztheater Munich as Medea in Das goldene Vlies by Grillparzer.

Since 2013, Meike Droste has been working as a freelance actress and, in addition to her theater work, is also repeatedly in front of the camera for film and television.

She has already worked with directors such as Jürgen Gosch, Claus Peymann, George Tabori, Robert Wilson, Leander Haußmann, Peter Zadek, Werner Düggelin, Barbara Frey, Michael Thalheimer, Stephan Kimmig, Martin Laberenz and Anne Lenk.

Conceptually, the ‘Ensemble 2012’ not only forms an interpretative ensemble unit, but also sees itself as a kind of laboratory. The mixture, juxtaposition and crossing of genres and artistic disciplines enables the ensemble to create exciting and innovative concert formats. In its musical work, the Ensemble 2012 is supported by important musical personalities who accompany the work phases as soloists and lecturers: Thomas Zehetmair (violin), Eberhard Feltz (violin), Klaus Thunemann (bassoon), Wilfried Strehle (viola), Christian Dallmann (horn), Natalia Arsumanowa (piano) and Martin Wuttke (narrator).

Ensemble Zeitgeist are based in Switzerland and focus on repertoire for both piano trio and piano quartet. Winners of the first Paul Juon Chamber Competition in 2023, they are now supported by the Förderkreis Kammermusik Schweiz as well as being enrolled in the prestigious Basel Musik Akademie Chamber Masters Programme.The Ensemble is one of the most promising chamber music group in Switzerland, being invited several times in Musikdorf Ernen, Lavaux Classic, Festival Hirzenberg or Swiss Chamber Music Festival in Adelboden. They will perform in August 2024 in the famous Zürich Tonhalle.

Martin Jollet, Martin Egidi and Tim Crawford met just before the pandemic lockdowns began, during which they had the fortune of ample time to work together. They spent much of the lockdown period rehearsing the three Schumann piano trios, and this became the basis of their playing relationship together. Later, they were joined by Alinka Rowe on viola, and quickly formed a strong playing relationship working on Fauré and Schumann Piano Quartets at IMS Prussia Cove. The Zeitgeists now spend their time exploring both of the piano trio and piano quartet main repertoires, from all musical periods, including modern composers such as Helena Winkelman, Michael Jarrell or Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula.Having all been students of the Basel Musik Akademie for solo and instrumental masters programmes, they are now pursuing a specialised chamber masters degree as an ensemble under the tuition of Anton Kernjak, Rainer Schmidt and Claudio Martinez. Acknowledged by their mentors, they have been selected to take part in several masterclasses with Steven Isserlis in Basel. Aside from the Paul Juon Competition, they have been awarded prizes at Orpheus Competition and the prize for best piano recital in Basel Musik Akademie in 2022, receiving the highest distinction possible as a chamber music group.

Farhad Farzali was born in Baku in 1989 and is a sound artist who merges traditional culture, popular aesthetics and contemporary music to comment on the situation in his country which was part of the former Soviet Union. He lives and works in Baku and engages in anthropological research on the Azerbaijan cultural context and is cataloguing the striking forms of neo-folklore.

Farhad completed an MFA at the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts in Baku in 2012. Participated in a large number of group exhibitions around the world and his works are represented in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Baku, Azerbaijan National Museum of Fine Arts and Yarat Contemporary Art Space.

Anyone leaving a music academy today is highly trained, technically brilliant, highly motivated and artistically curious. Good prerequisites for orchestral musicians - but not enough. In addition to mastery of the instrument, the job profile also requires the ability to become part of a group, to contribute one's individual musicality to the collective of the orchestra and to prepare for new repertoire in an optimal and time-efficient manner. For this reason, the DSO's Ferenc Fricsay Academy has been committed to training young musicians for 27 years. After passing their auditions, ten young musicians have the opportunity to prove themselves in practice for two years and get to know and help shape the work of a professional orchestra: in radio and CD recordings, in symphony and chamber concerts.

The piano trio FortVio was established in 2006, immediately got involved in active professional activities and has already become famous for its vivid and highly expressive interpretations. In 2006 the graduates of LMTA won the 1stPrize at the 5th International Stasys Vainiūnas Piano and Chamber Ensemble Competition (Vilnius, Lithuania). The same year the trio was granted the 3rd Prize at the 13th International Johannes Brahms Competition in Poertschach (Austria). In 2008 the ensemble reaped the rewards at the 3rd S. I. Taneev International Chamber Ensemble Competition, where it was granted the 2nd Prize as well as two special awards. In 2009, the ensemble became the laureate of the Golden Disc award established by the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union. In 2012, FortVio became an active member of the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) and the next year trio was granted the Grand Prix in the Chamber Ensemble Category at the International Master Competition for Music Teachers in Warsaw (Poland).

Martina Gedeck is one of Germany's most distinguished and popular actresses. She completed her acting training at the Universität der Künste (University of the Arts) in Berlin. She made her theater debut at the Frankfurt Theater am Turm, followed by engagements in Hamburg, Basel and Berlin. At the same time, she started her career as a film actress.

The film industry celebrated her with almost all major film awards from the Grimme Award to the star on the Boulevard der Stars. Above all, her performance in Bella Martha, the Oscarwinning film The Lives of Others and the Oscar-nominated The Baader-Meinhof Complex catapulted her into the league of large-scale international productions, where she appeared alongside Matt Damon, Jeremy Irons or Helen Mirren.

Martina Gedeck is a member of the European Film Academy, the German Film Academy, the Academy of Performing Arts as well as the recipient of the Bavarian Order of Merit and the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.

Ashley Kaylynn Green (Charleston, SC) began her training at Columbia City Jazz where she found her love for dance. She trained in a variety of styles including ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and hip-hop. In 2020, Ms. Green received her BFA in Dance from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under the direction of Garfield Lemonius. There, she performed works by Peter Chu, Aszure Barton, Kyle Abraham, and Darrell Grand Moultrie. After graduation she joined Whim W’Him Seattle Contemporary Dance where she received a Princess Grace Award in Dance. Ms. Green joined the Company in 2021 and that year was named one of “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine.

Tamisha A. Guy, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, began her formal dance training at Ballet Tech, under the direction of Eliot Feld. Later she attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, and SUNY Purchase College as a double major in dance and arts management. In 2013 Guy graduated with honors from SUNY Purchase College and joined the Martha Graham Dance Company shortly after. In 2016 Guy was selected as one of Dance Magazine' Top 25 to Watch and she also received the 2016 Princess Grace Award. In 2017, she was named one of the Best Dancer's of the Year by Dance Europe. In 2021, she received the 2022 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance. Tamisha currently dances with A.I.M, under Artistic Direction of Kyle Abraham, and she is a current Lecturer in Dance at Barnard College. 

Saulė Buikaitė (violin)
Monika Dargytė (violin)
Rūta Buišaitė (viola)
Vaiva Sodaitytė (cello)

The Helio string quartet first met at the start of their studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and have been playing together as an ensemble since 2022. Studying in the chamber music class of Associated Professor Ingrida Rupaitė, the quartet instantly started to actively participate in various events. After playing together for only three months, the ensemble was awarded the third prize at the 21st at the 21st International Lithuanian composers’ chamber music performance competition (December 2022). They also have been specifically invited to play at award-giving ceremonies at the LMTA by the Head of LMTA Chamber Music department Professor Rimantas Armonas. Aside from that, the quartet uses every opportunity to play at concerts or masterclasses, and has already taken part in lectures by Petr Prause, Vida Vujic, Evan Rothstein, and played in several concerts at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and Chodkevičiai palace (2022, 2023).

Christopher Hönninger (born 8 October 1992), known professionally as crozer, is a Peruvian-German digital artist and technical film director, photographer and cinematographer. He uses various media to create still and moving pictures. He began his digital or internet presence by releasing a set of Adobe Photoshop plugins that permitted quick application of filters and graphical modifications to still imagery. Though unrelated, these performed like forerunners to the later Snapchat or Instagram filters. From their release in 2012, the plugins were the best-selling Photoshop plugins on international markets for two consecutive years. He now works as effects technical film director for feature films and series and as an independent digital artist.

Zoé Lakhnati is a choreographic artist based in Brussels. She graduated in classical dance from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon in 2019 and from P.A.R.T.S in 2022.

Zoé collaborates as a dancer/performer with choreographers such as Mette Ingvartsen, Leïla Ka and Némo Flouret, and has worked as an assistant with Robyn Orlin and Dimitri Chamblas. In 2021 she created the De l'impertinence laboratory in Sète in collaboration with Dora Pentchev, and choreographed the duet Where the fuck am I? with Per-Anders Kraudy Solli.

Boram Lie, born in Marburg, pursued her studies in cello at the University of the Arts Berlin under the guidance of Wolfgang Boettcher and Jens-Peter Maintz. She enriched her education with numerous masterclasses both domestically and internationally. Influential figures in her musical development include Menahem Pressler and Heinrich Schiff. In 2003/04, she was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra under the batons of Claudio Abbado and Pierre Boulez.

Since 2006, Boram Lie has been an integral part of the Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop. As the ensemble has evolved from one of the most distinguished young chamber groups into a versatile artistic collective, she has participated in performances at renowned national and international music and theater festivals such as the Holland Festival, Sydney Festival, Tongyeong International Music Festival, Operadagen Rotterdam, Foreign Affairs Festival Berlin, and Ruhrtriennale, among others.

Since 2019, Boram Lie has taken on the artistic direction of Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, curating numerous programs at the intersection of concert, performance, and music theater.

Often described by those who have had the chance to witness his live performances, as a wizard, a magician or maestro, whereas for the electronic music scene for the recent years he is doubtlessly one of the most highly regarded producers and performers, from whichever perspective for the listener, once you get immersed in this artist’s universe you never go back the same, you gain musical growth instantly by his guidance. We have in front an exceptional creator with a strong musical background, Dutch Koos Ludwig, better known as Ion Ludwig, in point of fact studied classic and electronic guitar at the age of 10 and followed multiple African percussion courses, then getting introduced to Techno and House music around 2000, he start production later in 2003.
Expanding during his creative process across sources of inspirations, musically by early minimal techno well established artists like Villalobos, Herbert and Jonson,  and other than that the passion and curiosity that drives him through his trips around continents. Ion Ludwigs music today is a language for humanity, deep minimal and symphonic sound with melodramatic feelings, a fruit of research oriented to combine both complexity and simplicity, a subtle melody arrangements into a canva of frequencies, all to create a vision to the listener, a genuine musical expression and an emotionally engaging experience.

Diana Mukhamedshina is a highly skilled dancer and performer specializing in contemporary dance. She began her formal education at the Kemerovo Regional College of Culture and Arts in 2011 before continuing at the Nizhny Novgorod Regional College of Culture and Arts in 2012. In 2014, she graduated from the Moscow State College of Culture and Arts and is currently a student at the Moscow State University of Culture and Arts, where she studies contemporary dance.

Diana has undergone significant training both in Russia and internationally. In 2014, she completed an internship at the Royal Academy of Dance in London and has continued her education by participating in workshops and intensives with world-renowned choreographers such as Yaniv Abraham, Guy Shomroni, Eyal Dadon, and Ohad Naharin at the Batsheva Dance Company.

Since 2018, she has been a principal artist with the Moscow Ballet Theater. She also served as an assistant choreographer in productions such as Singularity by Kirill Radev and On Nature by Vladimir Varnava at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre. In 2022-2023, she participated in the filming of the Russian drama series Ballet.

Diana’s passion for contemporary dance, combined with her extensive performance experience, has made her a prominent figure in the Russian dance community.

Kateryna Nikolenko (born on June 10, 1990 in Kiev,Ukraine) received art education at the University of Applied Arts and Design in Kiev in 2013. She studied in the department of monumental and decorative painting. The leading teacher of the subject Composition Oleksandr Oliynyk has awakened in Kate the ability to fantasize, think images and turn them into a composition. 

Her subjects are as varied as the way they are presented. Mostly symbolic, conceptual, surrealistic compositions that deal with the psychology of people with each other and their interaction with nature.Nikolya’s compositions also reflect her inner feelings, somewhat gloomy and not optimistic, but with the belief that this art has a right to be and live.

Since 2013 Kate has participated in Ukrainian state exhibitions, competitions and thematic exhibitions. In 2019 she presented a personal exhibition titled Images in the studio Master Class. 

Due to the war in her native country, she had to leave it and lives in Berlin since March 2022.

Since 2009 Dani has been active in the scene performing along sides like of Luciano, Martin Buttrich, Seth Troxler, Nick Warren, GUTI, Move D, Hiroko Yamamura, Damian Lazarus, Priku at premier events raging from Pacha in Ibiza, Circoloco in Cartagena, BPM in Costa Rica, SONAR in Argentina, Watergate, CDV, Hoppetosse and counting. Having performed around the world from Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, USA to Spain, France and Germany. She found a home in Berlin where Lacroix Music Studio was founded, this studio is where Dani’s original productions were produced and subsequently released on Planet e, Kindisch, Vatos Locos, Sound of Berlin, Sweatbox and La Marquise, so far her 2022 she has 3 releases, the first one with Vatos Locos, collaboration with Luciano, and with 2 remixes of DEWALTA, the second will be with a Chicago label called Sanbolsa that has a collaboration with SBAI and 1 remix with CHKLTE, and the third release is on her own label called Cachonda Records were there is a remix of TRIPASTAZ.

The Samir Amarouch Music Players Environment was founded in 2023 by Samir Amarouch. According to the project, S.A.M.PL.E brings together performers, light designers, musicians and dancers to defend a total vision and to create new spaces for contemporary listening.

Performed by
Ambre Vuillermoz (Accordion)
Elena Soussi (Piano, Wurlitzer)
Vladimir Babinchuk Outerelo (Dance • soloist)
Antoine Dupuy Larbre (Dance)
Eleni Roberts (Dance)

Light Design by Ana Bob

François Schwamborn (*1986 in Saarbrücken) works with light, video and sound to realise large-scale installations in exhibition spaces or in public spaces. The works are developed site-specifically, changing the perception of the surroundings. He completed his German-French Abitur at the DFG in Saarbrücken in 2005 and graduated from the Media Arts and Design department at the HBK Saar in 2014. Until 2019, he worked as a lecturer at the HBK Saar, where he gave video technology and creative coding workshops. François Schwamborn was project manager of the Rotationen project between 2015 and 2018. His most important exhibitions are the nomination for the Robert Schuman Prize 2018, the participation in the Columina in Cologne 2020/2023 and the group exhibition Panta Rhei in Cologne 2022.

Established in early 2005, the Folk Ensemble Shavnabada is a major presence in the realm of Georgian polyphonic singing, originating from the vibrant city of Tbilisi, Georgia. Our mission, since inception, has been rooted in the preservation and promotion of Georgian polyphonic singing— recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of humanity's oral intangible heritage in 2001.

Dedicated to breathing life into this cultural treasure, over the years, Shavnabada members have tirelessly sought and resurrected numerous folk masterpieces. Our journey has taken us on expeditions across diverse regions of Georgia, where we uncovered hidden musical pieces and shared these timeless songs both locally and on international stages.

Shavnabada has produced over 10 audio albums, featuring a blend of Georgian folk polyphonic music and educational editions of traditional Georgian chants.

Valentin Silvestrov is probably the most prominent composer of Ukraine. His work has received much attention, especially in recent decades, and not only in Europe. No small part of his fame has been due to numerous recordings released on the Munich-based label ECM.

Silvestrov was born in Kiev in 1937; he celebrates his 85th birthday on September 30. He did not want to leave his hometown of Kiev even with the start of the Ukraine war, but was persuaded by concerned friends to emigrate. Since then he has lived in Berlin.

As a young man, Silvestrov oriented himself toward the Western avant-garde, which got him into trouble in the Soviet Union. The music he has written in recent decades has also been described by himself as “metamusic” – music about music that meditates on something long past, always or at least mostly on a tonal basis. Nevertheless, Silvestrov’s current compositional style has nothing to do with “New Age.”

In 2022 Silvestrov was awarded the “OPUS Klassik 2022” for his lifetime achievements.

David Skudlik is a cultural entrepreneur living in Munich. As the son of a musician and an author, he has been in contact with various art forms all his life. Since 2013, his digital agency David’s Dearest offers website design and social media management, advises cultural professionals and institutions on digital topics and organizes or curates concerts and events. While still in school, David co-founded the accessory label RAPHAEL ROGGENDORF and started an artist agency during his studies. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Cultural and Media Management at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre and is also an alumni of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers and Sandbox.

Symphonic density, homogeneous sound, "chamber music intensity and emotionality" (FAZ) - these qualities were already attributed to the Trio Orelon shortly after its founding.

In the last two years alone, the Trio Orelon has won numerous national and international prizes, including first prize and audience prize at the ARD International Music Competition, first prize and the special prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work at the "International Chamber Music Competition" in Melbourne and first prize and the special prize for the best performance of the commissioned work at the "Schubert und die Musik der Moderne" competition in Graz.

In addition, the trio is a prize-winner at competitions such as "Premio Trio di Trieste", "ICM Pinerolo-Torino", the Schumann Competition in Frankfurt and the Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin.

The Trio Orelon, founded in Cologne in 2019, owes its name to the world language Esperanto, in which "Orelon" simply means "ear", thus symbolising the many aspects of hearing in music.

Violinist Judith Stapf, cellist Arnau Rovira i Bascompte and pianist Marco Sanna came together at the music universities in Cologne and Berlin. The piano trio formation offers them the greatest possible musical and also human harmony: in the trio, the three take a curious and dynamic look at the works of their constellation and combine this with an irrepressible energy and desire for differentiated expression.

Vladimir Varnava, a two-time winner of the Golden Mask Award, seems to belong everywhere, be it a world-famous opera house or an underground black box theatre.

Over the years, Varnava has made choreography for reigning prima ballerinas – Diana Vishneva, Natalia Osipova, and Svetlana Zakharova – and closely worked with emerging avant-garde dancers. Always showing a keen sense of invention, he stages his pieces to music ranging from classical Tchaikovsky to Daft Punk’s electronic beats.

Vladimir Varnava became well-known in the international arena, collaborating with Sadler’s Wells (London), Suzanne Dellal Centre (Tel-Aviv), Segerstrom Center for the Arts (California), Hellerau – European Center for the Arts (Dresden), New York City Centre and Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.

Always bursting with new ideas, Varnava is no stranger to experimenting with genres and concepts: once he created production with as many as a hundred dancers for a rock band ShortParis, he held the first-ever gala concert on Instagram he called Sacred Quarantine, and he performed in the famous Tretyakov Gallery while drawing inspiration from Vrubel’s Demon.

Ten years after its foundation, the vision string quartet has already set musical milestones and created new sound colours in the international concert scene. With their unique ability to "walk" between the classical string quartet repertoire and their own compositions from genres such as folk, pop, rock, funk and minimal music, the four visionary artists are giving new impetus to the world of music. The quartet's concert formats are innovative and versatile: in addition to classical concerts, there are concerts with original compositions and arrangements from jazz & pop and concerts in complete darkness. The vision string quartet, which also sees itself as a band, works with lighting designers to add further creative dimensions to its performances. The musicians play the classical-romantic and contemporary repertoire mainly by heart. Having the notes only in front of their inner eyes allows the players interpretative freedom and a more intense performance.

American violinist Claire Wells grew up in a musical family, playing both violin and piano from the age of three. Wells was the Mendelssohn-Prize 1st Prize winner and Commission Prize winner at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Competition 2021, and has taken major prizes at the Indianapolis International Competition, Mirecourt International Competition, Lynn Harrell Competition, among many others. Now studying at the Kronberg Academy with Mihaela Martin, Claire Wells studied privately with Brian Lewis, Sandy Yamamoto, and Emanuel Borok, and in 2017 attended the Yehudi Menuhin School with Lutsia Ibragimova. In 2020, Claire Wells studied with Mihaela Martin at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.