Noémie Bialobroda has been the violist of the Aviv Quartet since 2014, leading an active international career with the ensemble. Their performance of Beethoven’s complete string quartets at the Ansermet Studio in Geneva in 2018-2019 was a great success and strengthened their presence in French-speaking Switzerland.

Noémie Bialobroda, passionate about teaching, is since 2025, viola professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon. She is also Chamber Music Professor and Chamber Music Coordinator at the Haute École de Musique de Genève. Previously, she taught at the Conservatoire de Lausanne and the Conservatoire de Genève. During the summer, she teaches at the Flaine International Music Academy. Her students have won prizes in prestigious national and international competitions.

In recognition of her contributions to music, Noémie Bialobroda was awarded the Leenaards Foundation cultural grant in the music category in 2024.

As a performer, she is invited to renowned concert seasons and festivals, including Wigmore Hall (London), the IRCAM Manifeste Festival, and the Cité de la Musique (Paris), among others. She performs with artists such as Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Yovan Markovitch, Luis Claret, Boris Garlitsky, François Guye, Philippe Müller, Tedi Papavrami, Jean Sulem, Jean-Pierre Wallez, and the Rosamonde Quartet, giving concerts across Europe, Israel, and the United States.

Dedicated to contemporary music, Noémie has premiered two solo viola pieces at IRCAM: Caprice for Solo Viola and Electronics by Japanese composer Keita Matsumiya (2012) and Drifting by Pierre Stordeur (2013). She is also regularly invited to perform with the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt and the Contrechamps ensemble in Geneva.

Noémie Bialobroda studied with Nobuko Imai and Miguel Da Silva at the Haute école de Musique de Genève and later at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where she completed an Artist Diploma (third cycle) with Professor Jean Sulem.

Noémie Bialobroda is the co-founder and artistic director of the Geneva International String Academy.

HunJu Sohnn, Korean born pianist, has been performing both solo and chamber music concerts in Switzerland, England, Germany, France, South Korea, Thailand, Costa Rica, as well as throughout the United States.

Highly appreciated for her qualities in collaborative work, HunJu has been invited to appear with various instrumentalists and performed with the wind ensemble Ensemble Five ±, as well as the European-based Varias Ensemble at the New Year’s Music Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland. HunJu has collaborated in masterclasses for world-famous artists such as Pinkas Zukerman, Nobuko Imai, Kyung-Wha Chung, Tabea Zimmermann, Yuri Bashmet, as well as Yo-Yo Ma, Franz Helmerson, and Ralph Kirshbaum. She has been the pianist/coordinator of the viola masterclass at the Verbier Music Festival and Academy. HunJu has participated in a television documentary featuring Nobuko Imai, which was distributed worldwide and performed with Ms. Imai for France Musique Radio program during the Verbier Festival.

HunJu Sohnn continues to perform in Europe and the US, while holding a teaching position at the Conservatoire Populaire de Musique Danse et Théâtre in Geneva. She also participated in studio recordings, most recently in a project of complete works for piano and winds by Francis Poulenc released by Kleos Classics. HunJu Sohnn received her Master's degree from New England Conservatory and holds a Doctoral degree for Piano Performance from Rice University.

Natalia Grines is a graduate of the Nizhny Novgorod piano school. In 2004 she graduated the Nizhny Novgorod State Glinka Conservatory (Academy) with professor Bella Alterman. In 2006 she followed her post-graduate courses at the chamber music faculty (studio of Natalia Matveeva) and straightaway began to work at the homeland Academy, where she was working until her repatriation to Israel in 2022.

Being a professor of music (chamber music and piano duo departments), she brought up a lot of students – prize winners of international piano competitions, served in jury in different contests, travelled with master-courses all over Russia, as well as in Armenia, Bosnia, South Africa, Spain, USA.

Natalia has performed in Russia, Israel, USA, Taiwan, Spain, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Africa, Armenia, Ukraine.

At the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition (2019) she played together with a cellist Anastasia Kobekina, who was eventually awarded the title of the 3rd prize winner. Natalia also took part as an accompanist of the XIII and XV Tchaikovsky competitions and was awarded the diploma of the best accompanist.

Since 2007 she was regularly collaborating with Vladimir Spivakov foundation.

Since 2016 Natalia has been tutoring a chamber ensemble at the AIMS Academy-Festival in Catalonia (Spain). She is also taking part at the Keshet Eilon string Academy as an official accompanist.
In 2017 together with Evgeny Brakhman and the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra of soloists, she took part in a series of concerts in Taiwan, including a performance in one of the best halls in the world - Taipei National Concert Hall.

Among Natalia’s chamber partners are violinists Alena Baeva, Daniel Lozakovitch, Sergey Ostrovsky; trumpetist Sergey Nakariakov, clarinetist Valentin Urupin, cellists Anastasia Kobekina, Alexander Ramm, Boris Andrianov, Zvi Plesser and others.

Since 2016, together with Evgeny Brakhman, Natalia has been a founder and codirector of the unique festival and art project in Russia - “Musical Landscapes” www.musiclandscape.ru The project combines arts of music and painting, consists of concerts with world-famous classical artists and mastercourses. In 2022 the 5th edition of “Musical Landscapes” brought together more than 150 participants.

“Annegret Kuttner’s playing is characterised by considerable professionalism and perfection, by her contagious electrifying joy in performing music and by the great stylistic sureness of her interpretation.”
Sächsische Zeitung

„...Kuttner's ... light-fingered playing was impressive for its airy clarity..."
Irish Times

Pianist Annegret Kuttner impresses the audience with the naturalness of her interpretation and the lightness and clarity of her playing.

After successfully participating in the Robert Schumann Piano Competition in Zwickau, Annegret has performed already at the age of 16 as a soloist in concerts in Germany and other European countries, including with the European Union Youth Orchestra. She completed her piano studies at the Dresden Academy of Music with Professor Peter Rösel, and received further musical impetus from masterclasses with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Pavel Gililov and Amadeus Webersinke. Annegret augmented her training with postgraduate studies on piano accompaniment (as a répétiteur) with Professor Monika Raithel as well as studying harpsichord with the internationally renowned expert on ancient music, Professor Ludger Remy.

Annegret Kuttner now teaches at the Academy of Music and Theatre, Leipzig.
In addition to her teaching post, the highly sought-after pianist regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician in diverse musical and cultural centres in Germany and abroad.
Concert tours have taken her to the Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey, Latvia, Ireland, South Africa and the USA.

Annegret performs regularly with Benjamin Schmid, Antje Weithaas, Natalia Prishepenko, Pauline Sachse, Ivan Zenaty and Robert Oberaigner. In New York, she played Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano together with cellist Peter Bruns. This concert was extremely well received by the public and press alike (New York Sun). Various internationally acclaimed CD recordings are released, including works for cello and piano by Louis Vierne and Charles-Marie Widor, by Robert Schumann and Robert Volkmann as well as for the Beethoven anniversary in 2020 together with Peter Bruns/cello the cycle "Beethoven – Most Complete 1-3“, expanding his known repertoire of five cello sonatas and three sets of variations with another three sonatas and arrangements by Beethoven himself and by composers from his context, for instance the sonata op. 64 (!) and the "Kreutzer“- sonata arrangement for cello by Carl Czerny.

British violinist Andrew Samarasekara, 26, is currently pursuing a Master of Musical Arts degree at Yale University's School of Music, where he studies with Ani Kavafian.

Andrew is a 1st prize winner at the Fanny Mendelssohn and International Salzburg music competitions and was awarded special prizes at the Eastbourne Young Soloist and Gisborne International Music competitions. In 2023, Andrew garnered further artistic recognition by reaching the semi-finals at the Bartok World Competition and ARS Classica. At Yale, Andrew was awarded the Raymond M. Plank Prize and an Artist Residency at the UCROSS Foundation, as well as the Alumni Association Prize.

Andrew has given concerts across Europe and North America at venues including Yale Morse Recital Hall, Franz Liszt Academy, Berlin Konzerthaus, Wigmore Hall, Kaufman Centre, Menuhin Hall, and Schloss Nymphenburg Munich. His concerto debut came aged 12 and he has since performed with the Dorking Philhamonia, Ipswich Philharmonic and Orchestra Cameristi della Scalla. Alongside his solo work, Andrew is an avid chamber musician and has performed alongside esteemed artists that include Shlomo Mintz, Ida Kavafian, Tai Murray, Colin Carr, Ettore Causa, the Emerson Quartet and Doric Quartet.

During the summer, Andrew enjoys travelling and participating in festivals. He has made appearances at IMS Prussia Cove, NUME Academy, Yale Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, ECU Four Seasons Winter Workshop, Garda Lake String Academy, Mendelssohn on Mull Chamber Music Festival, and Crans Montana Classics. Andrew has also performed in masterclasses led by Augustin Hadelich, Mi-Kyung Lee, Frank Huang, Aaron Rosand, Lukas Hagen, Ida Kavafian, and Hagai Shaham. At Yale, Andrew has also received chamber music mentorship from the Brentano Quartet and, most recently, the Emerson Quartet’s Paul Watkins.

Andrew plays on a 1731 Nicolò Gagliano violin and W. Hill bow, on loan from a generous private benefactor.

Varvara Vasylieva is a Ukrainian violinist based in Berlin. As a soloist over the last few years she performed with the Sinfonieorchester Basel in Stadtcasino Basel, the Mriya Orchestra in Die Glocke, Laeiszhalle and Berlin Philharmonie and regularly gives concerts with the Kyiv Philharmonic Orchestra.

She is a laureate of several competitions, such the Max Rostal International Competition (2nd Prize), the Odesa International Violin Competition (3rd Prize) and the Ysaÿe International Music Competition (1st Prize) among others.

Varvara finished her Bachelor at the Hochschule für Musik Basel in classes of Prof. Barbara Doll and Claudio Martínez Mehner and currently pursues her Master Degree at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, Berlin with Prof. Antje Weithaas.

She has actively participated in numerous festivals, such as the Zwischentöne Engelberg, Beethovenfest Bonn, Riehener Serenaden, Im Spiegel, Fiskars Summer Festival and performed alongside inspiring musicians such as Valentin Erben, Claudio Martinez Mehner, Rafael Rosenfeld, Winfried Rademacher, and Silvia Simionescu to name a few.

Since 2023 she’s a founding member of the Arda String Quartet.

Varvara is currently playing J. B. Vuillaume made in 1866 generously on loan from Wilhelm Geigenbau.

American/Italian violinist Alexander Franco Goldberg, 23, is a "fierce and sensitive" performer who "ties music to larger aesthetic and literary concerns that illuminate his performances." Alexander is passionate about linking musical performances with literature, poetry, and art. He is currently studying with Salvatore Accardo in Cremona at the Stauffer Center for Strings.

He recently completed a Masters in violin at the Yale School of Music, where he was the first and then-only student admitted to Yale’s new BA/MM dual-degree program; he graduated Yale with a BA in Philosophy cum laude. At Yale, Alexander was awarded the Head of College Cup for "outstanding scholarly achievement and creative promise," and the Selden Award for "verve, idealism and constructive interest in music and the humanities."

Alexander continues to tie together music and academic pursuits as an Assistant Researcher at the University of Padua’s Centro di Sonologia Computazionale, where he will work on multidisciplinary and multimedia musical installations.

He won first prize in Yale's William Waite concerto competition, performing Brahms' violin concerto with the Yale Symphony; and recently won the absolute first prizes at the Maria Labia, Vittorio Vitti, and Città D’Alessandria violin competitions, and second prize at the inaugural Grunewald competition in Berlin.

Chamber music forms a core part of Alexander’s musical identity: he studied at the Taos School of Music and received a full merit scholarship to Music@Menlo. He returned to Taos in an outreach concert tour of New Mexico, performing quartets alongside the Brentano Quartet’s Nina Lee.

Alexander is also passionate about new music and innovative genres; he was a member of the Lucerne Festival’s Contemporary Academy and has performed in small ensemble with Gilles Apap on the stage of the Kronberg Academy’s Casals Forum. As the winner of the Reate Festival International Contemporary Music competition, he performed a program of Bach and Berio in their fall 2023 concert series, in addition to lecturing in their school outreach event Progetto Scuole.

Recent season highlights include performances as soloist in Tippett’s Fantasia Concertante with the Yale Philharmonia and a quartet performance at Santa Fe Pro Musica. He performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall as winner of the American Protégé International Competition, and in Boston’s Jordan Hall for National Public Radio’s From the Top. He studied with Ani Kavafian (2018-2023), Donald Weilerstein (2014-2018) and Ilya Gringolts, with whom he pursued Corsi di Perfezionamento at the Accademia Chigiana.

Violist Julian Seney has performed in venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Beijing Concert Hall, under conductors Susanna Mälkki, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Gustavo Dudamel, among others.

He is an alumni of the Perlman Music Program, Yellow Barn, and the Lucerne Festival Academy, and has participated in residencies through both Perlman Suncoast and the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival.

He is a proponent of new music, and has premiered many works of his peers and mentors—most recently solo with Yale’s New Music series.

In addition to classical music, he also regularly performs as an improviser and has collaborated with Anthony Coleman and Joe Morris. Hailing from Los Angeles, he studied as an academy student with Paul Coletti at the Colburn school.

He received a Bachelor’s of Music from the New England Conservatory, having studied with Kim Kashkashian, and now is pursuing a Masters of Music at the Yale School of Music with Ettore Causa.

Pauline Boudon began playing the cello at the age of three in Lyon. She then trained with Matthieu Lejeune at the Conservatoire de St Maur-des-Fossés before entering the CNSMD in Paris at the age of 17. She continued her studies in the class of Jérôme Pernoo and Cyrill Lacrouts, graduating with unanimous honours with distinction.

She has benefited from the advice of renowned teachers such as Gary Hoffman, Frans Helmerson, Reinhard Latzko, Xavier Gagnepain, Luis Claret and Pierre Foucheneret. She is now completing her Master's degree with Marc Coppey, Tatjana Uhde and Pauline Bartissol.

In 2022, she was selected for the masterclasses at the Kronberg Academy, and then performed at the Amsterdam Cello Biennale. She is a member of the Brahms Promotion (2023-2024) at the Philippe Jaroussky Academy, where she receives guidance from Anne Gastinel.

Pauline is passionate about chamber music, and in 2024 joined the master's programme in trio with Iris Scialom and Nicolas Bourdoncle at the CNSMDP in François Salque's class. She is a member of the Citadelles Quartet, and performs with the Arod Quartet (August 2023), Ulf Wallin, Marianna Shirinyan and Xenia Jankovic, among others, in various countries.

She has also worked with prestigious institutions such as the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris, and has been invited to the Musica festival in Strasbourg, the Festival de La Chaise-Dieu, and others.

She plays a cello signed Frank Ravatin, kindly loaned by the El Pasito Association.

Arne Zeller, born 4th October 2006, started playing the cello at the age of six and joined the class of Peter Bruns at the HMT Leipzig as a junior student aged 14. Since October 2024 he is a bachelor student in the class of Frans Helmerson at Kronberg Academy. Regular masterclasses with Jens Peter Maintz have been contributing additional important artistic impulses since 2021.

Being the winner of the Grand Prix and audience prize of the Budapest International Cello Competition 2025 and the first prize (ex aequo) of the International Pau Casals Award 2024, he is increasingly gaining international attention.

Further important awards in his career were the first prize of the International Anna Kull Cello Competition (Graz, 2020), the first prize of the International Mahler Cellocompetition 2022 and the second prize at the 29. International Brahms Competition (Pörtschach 2023). He also is an awardee of numerous first national prizes and special prizes of the federal German competition „Jugend musiziert” in the categories Cello solo and chamber music and is since 2024 the current holder of the Pergamenschikow Scholarship of Kronberg Academy.

Arne debuted with Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations at 13 years of age, soloistic performances followed with the Baden-Baden Philharmonics, the Euro Symphony Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra and the National Philharmonics Budapest with works by Korngold, Dvorak, Shostakovich, Boccherini, Haydn, and Weinberg. In 2023 he repeatedly soloed with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra at the “hr-schooltour”, and the University Orchestra Mainz to relate classical music to school students. During his studies at Kronberg Academy he is also regularly involved in concerts targeting social involvement issues.

In addition to his performances as a soloist, Arne Zeller regularly plays public concerts in varying chamber music formations, for example at the Moritzburg Festival, the Heidelberger Frühling, the Con Spirito Festival Leipzig, the Rheingau Musik Festival, the Nymphenburger Sommer, the Bachwoche Ansbach, the Berner Seefestspiele, and the Kronberg Festival.

Particularly formative experiences in chamber music he experienced as junior artist at “Chamber Music Connects the World” at Kronberg, at the Geneva International String Academy, the Henle Chamber Music Academy, and the soloist program of the Verbier Festival. In this context he was privileged to already perform together with artists like Gidon Kremer, Antje Weithaas, Sergey Ostrovsky, Noémie Bialobroda, Lawrence Power, Valentin Erben and Steven Isserliss.

He played at venues like the Musikverein Wien, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, the Liszt Academy Budapest, in the Conservatoire de musique de Genève and the Casals Forum Kronberg.

Other important impulses were set through masterclasses with Ivan Monighetti, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Jan Vogler, Gary Hoffman and Steven Isserlis as well as Sir Andras Schiff, Gidon Kremer and Martin Helmchen.

Arne Zeller holds scholarships by the „Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes“, the „Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben”, the International Music Academy Liechtenstein and the Villa Musica Rhineland-Palatinate. He receives funding by the Peter-Klöckner Stiftung and was awarded the Martin-Stadtfeld-Prize, the Werner Stiefel Prize Baden-Baden, and the Lichtenberger Musikpreis.

He is kindly supplied with the Charles Maucotel cello „ex-Tortelier“ (1850), courtesy of a member of the Stretton Society, which also strongly supports him through the “Stretton Exellence Membership Programm” since 2024.

In 2026 Arne Zeller has scheduled concerts as a soloist and as a chamber musician in Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Greece, Romania, Spain and Japan.