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.

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.

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.

The Arda String Quartet is a young string quartet based in Basel. The ensemble was formed in 2023 by four musicians from four different countries who had a passion for string quartet. The quartet has been studying at the Hochschule für Musik Basel FHNW with Jiří Němeček, Rainer Schmidt, Claudio Martinez Mehner and others.

In 2024, the Arda String Quartet was awarded a special prize at the Orpheus Chamber Music Competition in Bern, Switzerland. Through the competition, they were invited for a recital at the Swiss Chamber Music Festival in Adelboden 2025. In the same year they also performed in the Le Vent sur l’Arbre Chamber Music Festival in France and the Altstadtserenaden concert series in Basel.

The Arda Quartet has participated in many masterclasses at the HSM Basel and abroad at string quartet academies such as the Festival Guadix Clásica in Spain, Danish String Quartet Academy in Denmark, Musique à Flaine in France and Geneva International String Academy in Switzerland. Through masterclasses the quartet has had the opportunity to work with wonderful musicians such as Valentin Erben, Jonathan Brown, Cibrán Sierra, Robert Levin, Alina Ibragimova, Miriam Fried, Tim Frederiksen, Ilya Gringolts and Noemie Bialobroda among others.

In 2025 the Arda String Quartet became part of the international chamber music network Le Dimore del Quartetto.

First violin: Varvara Vasylieva
Second violin: Aino Yamaguchi
Viola: Charlotte Lefebvre
Cello: Nadzeya Kurzava

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.

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.

Mila Gafner, born in 2004, started playing the viola at the age of 6 at the Lausanne Conservatory. She will then study with Noémie Bialobroda and joined the Pre-HEM program in 2018.

Mila has been a three-time winner of the Swiss Youth Music Competition in solo viola, as well as three times in chamber music. In April 2020, she was a finalist in the international Anton Rubinstein competition in Berlin and received the Förderpreis for the best interpretation of a contemporary work.

Mila has participated in masterclasses with violist and composer Garth Knox, violinist Gilles Apap, the Sine Nomine Quartet, and violist Matthias Buchholz. During the summers of 2018 and 2019, she attended the AIMS International String Academy in Solsona, Spain, and in December 2019, she studied with the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt, specializing in contemporary music, before joining them on tour in Germany, Amsterdam, and Antwerp.

In 2023, she recorded Kodály's Intermezzo for string trio with her ensemble for the 4 Seasons festival album.

Since 2022, Mila has been studying with Jean Sulem at the CNSMDP in Paris.

American violist Matthew McDowell has been a laureate of many competitions nationally and internationally. An avid chamber musician, Matthew is a member of the Amnis Piano Quartet, who won bronze medal at the 50th Annual Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, third prize at the Premio Renzo Giubergia Competition, the Oneppo Chamber Competition, a fellowship at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, prizes at the Yellow Spring Chamber Music Competition, and the Yale Society of Chamber Music. In addition, Amnis was announced as semi-finalists for the 2024 Concert Artists Guild Competition, and were finalists at the recent Coltman competition.

Matthew was also named a finalist in the recent Barbash J.S. Bach competition, as well as a quarter-finalist in the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition.

Matthew’s travels have taken him to major festivals throughout the United States, Europe, and Mexico, concertizing at places like the Verbier Festival Soloist Academy, Festival Pablo Casals, Moritzburg Festival, Zwischentöne Kammermusik Festival, Festival Santa Pietra, Geneva International String Academy, and many others.

He has performed with world renown artists such as Yura Lee, Martha Argerich, Sir András Schiff, Xenia Jankovic, Gabor Takacs- Nagy, Renaud Capucon, David Gaillard, and Oleg Kaskiv.

Matthew is currently pursing an MMA with Ettore Causa at the Yale School of Music, and will begin the next academic year as an artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium.

Originally from Reims, Auguste Rahon began his cello studies at the age of five at the municipal music school of La Loupe in Eure-et-Loir before entering the Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental de Chartres in 2009, then the Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental du Puy-en-Velay. In 2012, he enters the class of Augustin Lefebvre at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Lyon where he obtains in 2015 his Diploma of musical studies with honors.

Since 2016, he has been studying with Denis Severin at the Haute École de Musique de Genève until the bachelor’s degree, and then joined David Pia’s class for a master’s degree in interpretation, with a concert orientation. He also worked in masterclasses and summer courses with David Harlé, Philippe Bary, Marcel Bardon, Raphaël Pidoux, Frédéric Dutheil, the Penderecki quartet, Edgar Gredler, Denis Severin, Rafael Rosenfeld, Truels Svane, Wen-Sin Yang, David Pia, Thomas Grossenbacher, Wolfgang Emmanuel Schmidt, Ophélie Gaillard, Danjulo Ishizaka, Yi-Bing Chu, Roel Dieltens, Gary Hoffman or François Guye... 

Auguste Rahon joined the Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris in September 2022.

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.