Mika Yonezawa (violin, viola, musical director)
After studying at university in Tokyo, Mika graduated with the diploma “Konzertexamen” at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Werner Scholz. She has been the Assistant Concert Master at the Komische Oper Berlin since 1993. Her other roles include violinist in the artenius trio and musical director of the baroque ensemble “La Cappricciosa”.
Mika regularly performs in solo and chamber music concerts nationwide.
www.mika-yonezawa.com
Yuta Nishiyama (violin, viola)
Yuta, with degrees in Munich and Berlin in the subjects violin and viola, has been a permanent member of the viola group of the Komische Oper Berlin since 2001. As a solo violist of the Amati Ensemble Munich under Attila Bologh, numerous recordings have been made. He has won several competitions, including the International Wolfgang Jakobi Modern Chamber Music Competition.
He has been teaching at the Berlin University of the Arts since 2008 and has had his own viola class there since 2010. At the Julius Stern Institute affiliated to the University of the Arts, he teaches chamber music in addition to viola. As chamber music consultant, he supervised a young string quartet from the Julius Stern Institute for Netflix in 2019.
Sibylle König (cello)
Sibylle graduated with the diploma „Konzertexamen“ at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin and at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in 1997. She received various scholarships and funding from Radio Free Berlin, as well as from the “Live Music Now” foundation under patronage of Yehudi Menuhin, and the scholar foundation of the Bayreuth Festival. She is member of the German Chamber Orchestra of Berlin. Sibylle regularly tutors in several workshops and courses, including the Bundesmusikwoche 50PLUS and has been part of various juries in music competitions.
Prof. Kleif Carnarius (cello)
After graduation at the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar with Lieselotte Pieper, Kleif took on role of Arts Assistant at University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar. He was a member of the Nasdala quartet in 1978 – 1988. As part of the quartet he won prizes in Evian (1983), at the Maria-Canals competition in Barcelona (1986), and an award from the Brahms association Baden-Baden (1991). He was the first cellist in the New Berlin Chamber Orchestra 1989 – 1998 and has been the first cellist at the Komische Oper Berlin since 1989.
Kleif received a Mendelssohn scholarship in 1984. He is an honorary professor of cello at Hanns Eisler School of Music and is a member of the artenius trio and ENSEMBLE ARSIS.
He regularly performs in solo and chamber music concerts in Europe and Asia.
Ralf-Torsten Zichner (piano)
After graduating from Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Prof. Hellmuth Nagel, Torsten received postgraduate education at Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw for two years with Prof. Annerose Schmidt. He received numerous awards and prizes at international piano competitions (including Viotti competition, Casagrande competition, Smetana competition). He teaches piano in Potsdam and Berlin, and often tutors in various workshops and courses in piano and chamber music at music schools throughout Germany. He regularly gives performances in Europe and Japan. He was awarded a scholarship from the Brandenburg Art prizes as part of piano duo TOKYO-BERLIN (Yui Yasuhara and Ralf-Torsten Zichner).
Torsten is often part of juries in various music competitions.
Norbert Möller (clarinet)
Norbert graduated from Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Ewald Koch. He is a clarinettist at Berlin Symphonic Orchestra and a clarinet soloist at the Berlin Konzerthausorchestra since 1982. He was member of the Berlin Wind Quintet for 20 years, with whom he has been awarded a prize by the ARD in Munich.
Norbert teaches at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin and at the secondary school Musikgymnasium C. Ph. E. Bach Berlin (clarinet, bass clarinet, chamber music, wind section rehearsals).
Luba Schuster (flute)
Luba Schuster hat an der Universität der Künste Berlin und zuvor an der staatlichen Musikhochschule in Donezk studiert. Nach ihrem Studium hat sie eine Klasse musikalisch hochbegabter Kinder und Jugendlicher an der Schostakowitsch-Musikschule Berlin Lichtenberg betreut. Derzeit unterrichtet sie an der Universität der Künste Berlin und an der Musikschule Reinickendorf. Ihre Schüler haben sowohl solistisch als auch im Ensemble zahlreiche Preise beim Bundes- und Landeswettbewerb Jugend musiziert sowie bei anderen Wettbewerben gewonnen.
Daneben spielt Luba Schuster im Akademischen Orchester Berlin und in verschiedenen kammermusikalischen Ensembles.
Eva Beneke (guitar)
Eva Beneke is a highly sought soloist, chamber music player, arranger and educator from Berlin. She received a diploma from the Berlin University of Arts with Prof. Martin Rennert, followed by a Konzertexamen with Prof. Thomas Müller-Pering in Weimar. As recipient of several prizes in international competitions she regularly performs in concerts worldwide. Since 2012 Eva Beneke teaches her own guitar class at the Saint Paul School of Music, Minnesota. In the same year she received a doctorate from the university of Southern California, Los Angeles.
www.evabeneke.com
