Violin I

Holger Grohs (b. 1971) received at the age of six his first violin lessons at the local music school in Bavaria. At age of 16, he joined the Bavaria State Youth Orchestra, where he was appointed concertmaster later. After taking lessons with E. Klemmstein, he continued his training with prof. W. Forchert at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main. Holger Grohs was a member of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and the Gustav Maler Youth Orchestra. In 1995 he started his studies with prof. T. Goldschmidt at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg, where he received the highest marks for his diploma recital. He received several scholarships and attended master classes of S. Gawrriloffs and F. Gulli. His vast orchestra experience also include memberships of the Pacific Music Festival of Sapporo in 2000 and of the Marteau Ensemble. Since 2001 Holger Grohs is a member of the Staatskapelle Dresden.

Barbara Gruszczynska's CV will be added soon.

Kataryna Leifer (b. 1977) started playing the violin at the age of six. She studied at the National Music Academy of Ukraine, as a pupil of Y. Rivnyak, and graduated with excellence in 2001. One year before finishing she became a student of B. Belkin at the Maastricht Conservatoire, combining her studies in Ukraine with a postgraduate in solo performance in The Netherlands. Kataryna Leifer was successful in numerous national and international violin competitions. She won a second prize in the Citta di Stresa Competition and a first prize at the National All-Ukrainian violin competition and the New Names of Ukraine competition. In 2003 Kataryna Leifer moved to Denmark, where she got a contract in the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2004. She visited, as a soloist and with orchestras, Poland, France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands and, as a member of the Ukrainian Philharmonic String Quartet, Japan.

Idinna Lützhøft (b. 1983) began her violin studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen in 2000 with professor P. Elbæk. Not much later, in 2001, she received an award from the Københavns Amts Kulturråd. In 2003 Idinna Lützhøft was accepted into the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Ohio, were she studied for two years with prof. M. Vitek. She returned in 2005 to Denmark, to continue her studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Idinna Lützhøft has participated in numerous courses and masterclasses abroad and played as a soloist with several amateur orchestras in Denmark. Shortly after finishing her studies she won a position in the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra.

Franz Schubert (b. 1974) was born in Dresden in the former German Democratic Republic. After running through the educational system, specialized in music and playing the violin, he went to study in Leipzig with professor K. Hertel, one of the luminaries of East Germany. In 1993 Franz Schubert participated in the Music Festival of Chautauqua at the University of Rochester. He took several masterclasses with teachers such as I. Osim, Y. Kless, S. Bron and M. Presser for chamber music. He played many piano trio recitals as well as the J. Sibelius Violin concerto accompanied by the Westsächsische Philharmonie. In 1996 he won the competition for the Leipzig Gewandhaus Scholarship. Even though he was invited to play for this orchestra, Franz Schubert returned to Dresden, where he became a member of the Staatskapelle Dresden in 1997, applying successfully for a first violin position in 2004.

Violin II

Hanne Askou (b. 1976) was accepted at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense at the age of 16, as a pupil of M. Granvig. She performed her official début concert from the Soloist Class in 2005, performing Ruders’ 1. Violin Concerto with the Odense Symphony Orchestra. She attended the Sibelius Academy in Finland and studied as well with prof. P. Elbæk and F. Ayo in Rome. She has received several scholarships, including grants from the Danish Institute for Science and Art in Rome and the Danish Institute in Athens. Together with the Serbian accordion player Branko Djordjevic, Hanne forms the Duo Novello. They have several premiers dedicated to them. Their participation in the Danish Radio Chamber Music Competition has lead to numerous broadcasts with several European radio stations. In 2006 they will release a CD with “The 8 Seasons” by Vivaldi and Piazzolla.

Johanna Fuch's CV will be added soon.

Alexander Klemmstein (b. 1971) picked up his professional studies in 1994 at the Music School of Würzburg with prof. Th. Egel-Goldschmidt, receiving his degree in 2002. During his studies, he participated in many international master classes and had lessons with prof. Y. Marzurkevich, G. Karrand M. Katims. From 2000 to 2001 he was a resident student at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Banff, Canada where he had lessons with prof. Th. Brandis (former Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic) and Prof. D. Takeno (Royal Academy of Music, London) performing chamber music together with renowned flute soloist P. Galois and prof. Th. Brandis. Between 2001 and 2003 he held a first violin position in the Orchestra of the Meininger Staatstheater, Germany. He now holds a teaching position at the Erlanger Musikinstitut and performs with the ”Erlanger Piano Trio“ and has released several CD recordings with his pianist K. Bouscarrut.

Inkeri Vänskä (b. 1983) was born in a Finnish family in Japan and took her first violin lesson there at the age of four. Her family moved to Finland in 1989 where she continued her studies at the Lahti Conservatorium and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Inkeri Vänskä moved to Copenhagen in 2004 and has been studying with prof. S. Azizian since then. She has attended masterclasses with P. Vernikov and G. Schulz – among others. She has lead the second violins in the Orkester Norden, and she has been leading the academy orchestras, both in Finland and in Denmark. Inkeri Vänskä was the concert master when the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra played a project together with the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 2005. She has assisted on a regular basis in the Copenhagen Philharmonic and the Danish Radio Sinfonietta.

Viola

Michael Leifer (b. 1974) started to play the violin at the age of five. At the age of eight he received the first prize in the regional violin competition in his birth town Taschkent, Russia. In 1995 he moved to Sweden, where he continued his studies with prof. M. Vitek at the Royal Academy of Music in Gothenborg, graduating in 1999. He continued his viola studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where he received a prize as “Citizen of the World in Denmark”. After finishing his studies in Denmark, Micha Leifer won the National Viola Competition of the Music Academy in Stockholm in 2002. Furthermore, he studied in Maastricht, The Netherlands, and attended masterclasses with D. Schwarzberg, V. Berlinsky and N. Brainin – among others. He was a viola player in the Malmö Opera and Ballet Orchestra until he won a position in the Royal Danish Orchestra in 2005.

Gregori Khodos' CV will be added soon.

Nikolaj Lind Pedersen (b. 1976) studied the viola at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where he studied with prof. T. Frederiksen. In 2003 he was accepted into the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Ohio, were he studied one year with prof. R. Chase. In 2004 he returned to Denmark, where he finished his studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen in 2005. Nikolaj Lind Pedersen participated in several viola masterclasses with teachers like Y. Bashmet and G. Karni – among others. He is an experienced orchestra musician which led to the election of leading the violas when the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra played a project together with the Royal Danish Academy of Music. During his studies he was offered a contract with the Sønderjylland Symphony Orchestra.

Cello

Andreas Broch (b. 1975) studied the cello at the Vestjysk Academy of Music, Esbjeg, with D. Wolf and at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen with H. Brendstrup and M. Zeuthen, where he graduated in 1999. After his studies in Denmark he continued as a pupil of H. Zori, at the Samuel Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He took part in masterclasses by R. Kirshbaum, U. Wiesel, E. Gruber, M. Haran, B. Greenhouse, S. Heled, B. Gold and C. Carr. Andreas Broch has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Clear Lake Symphony of Houston, the Amadeus Ensemble of Copenhagen and the Esbjerg Youth Symphony Orchestra, performing Dvořák, Boccherini and Elgar. He has been given many recitals throughout Denmark, performing Bach’s solo suites numerous times.

Frederik Waage (b. 1972), was admitted to the Luxembourg Conservatoire at the age of eight and later studied in England at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen and in the United States at the Indiana University in Bloomington. He was a pupil of R. Kirshbaum, E. Bløndal Bengtsson and T. Tsutsumi – among others. In 2002 he made his official début from the Soloist Class at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Frederik Waage is Prize-winner in several competitions, including the Eva Janzer Memorial Popper Cello Competition in Indiana, USA in 1997. For several years he has been the cellist of Ensemble Nordlys, giving many concerts in Denmark and abroad. Countries they visited on tours include Germany, Poland, Iceland, Greece and Viet-Nam.

Double Bass

Andreas Bennetzen (b. 1975) studied the double bass at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense, the Padre Antonio Soler Conservatoire in Madrid and at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, were he performed his official début concert in 2003. In between he went abroad in 2000, when he was offered to study chamber music at the Juilliard School of Music, New York, with E. Levinson. Andreas Bennetzen has been assisting in all the Danish symphony orchestras, including the Royal Danish Orchestra and the Danish Radio Sinfonietta. Besides classical music, Andreas Bennetzen is a member of the cross-over ensemble Classic Beat, with which he has performed on Danish radio and television. Furthermore, he has composed for ensembles and theater productions including a children’s cd-book on Politikens Forlag.