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Zofia Neugebauer was born in Wodzislaw Slaski, Poland, in 1994, and began playing the piano at the age of five. However, her fascination with the subtle possibilities of the flute led her to take up the instrument at the age of ten, and her continued passion for its rich and delicate sound blossomed into a rich and creative career. Her career as a solo flutist began when she performed with the Katowice Symphony Orchestra at the age of 13, subsequently leading her to perform, compete, and study in numerous prestigious musical centres across Europe.
To further her musical knowledge, Zofia completed her secondary education in Wroclaw, at the “Karol Szymanowski” Specialist Music School under the tutelage of Cezary Traczewski. During this period, she had the opportunity to meet and learn from several inspiring artists and teachers, including Professor Felix Renggli. Following a masterclass with him, Zofia decided to audition for his class at the Hochschule für Musik Basel. Over the following years, she worked closely with Professor Renggli on her musical development, while also discovering new opportunities to perform with small ensembles and orchestras at festivals in Germany and Switzerland.
Zofia completed her Bachelor’s degree (achieving the highest grade and a distinction) in Basel in 2016, and immediately began a Master’s in Performance at the same institution. However, her postgraduate studies were interrupted when she was selected as a member of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017. Over the next two years, she continued to learn and develop within this prestigious institution, under the guidance of Mathieu Dufour. Since then, she has had the opportunity to perform at Europe’s most renowned music festivals, such as the Verbier Festival, the Gezeiten Konzerte, the Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Krzyżowa Music, and the Bad Kissinger Sommer.
Zofia was appointed principal flutist at the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, where she played from 2019 to 2021, relishing the opportunity to perform major works from the orchestral repertoire in a demanding and artistically excellent atmosphere. She now holds a temporary position with the Sinfonieorchester Basel. She also regularly appears as a soloist with orchestras such as the Gürzenich Orchester Köln, Camerata Zurich, and the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, having worked with conductors including Simon Rattle, Iván Fischer, Zubin Mehta, and Paavo Järvi.
She has also successfully participated in numerous competitions across Europe, and received a scholarship from the Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund in 2018, as well as from Villa Musica in 2022. She was also a scholarship recipient of the Polish Ministry of Culture.
Through all these achievements and performances, Zofia remains committed to her artistic and personal development. She constantly seeks new avenues of expression. She composes her own works and artistic creations, which helps her deepen her understanding of emotions and classical music.
Amanda Håøy Horn is a Norwegian violinist based in Oslo. Chamber music has played a significant role in her musical life, and she has been invited to several Norwegian festivals. After completing her studies with Elise Båtnes at the Norwegian Academy of Music, she furthered her expertise as an academy member with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and at the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, where she performed under the direction of Valery Gergiev. This led her to pursue her career with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian Opera and Ballet, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and Ensemble Allegria, as well as touring with the Salzburg Festival, the BBC Proms, and the Lucerne Festival. She plays a violin made by Gaetano Pollastri and bows by Sartory and Rolland.
Fleuranne Brockway has captivated audiences in her native Australia, as well as throughout Europe. In 2022, Brockway won first prize and Best Female Voice at the 8th Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino, and first prize at the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Competition. She was also a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2023. Since moving to Europe, Ms. Brockway has maintained an impressive schedule of performances in roles such as Charlotte (
Jack Pepper is one of the youngest national radio presenters in the United Kingdom. At 19, he participated in the creation of Scala Radio, the UK’s newest national classical radio station, and became its presenter. Jack joins a team that includes some of the UK’s most beloved presenters, including Simon Mayo, Angellica Bell, and Mark Kermode. For five years, his weekly Saturday show, Jack Pepper’s Culture Bunker, explored the behind-the-scenes world of music. His guests included some of the biggest stars in the arts world. Jack is also a successful composer.
Yannis Rammos is an associate researcher in music theory at the Digital & Cognitive Musicology Lab at EPFL, and a member of the piano faculty at the European University Cyprus. A Russian-trained international pedagogue, he has taught in 2022/23 at the Verbier Festival Academy, the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität für Musik, the Estonian Academy for Music & Theater, and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, among others. His research is driven by the technical, interpretive, and philosophical aspects of classical musical art, focusing on the rift between structure and expression, the anxieties of “authenticity” and “originality,” the themes of piano timbre semantics, the use and disuse of musical analysis metaphors in (historical) performance treatises, and Russian musicological discourses. In most cases, he approaches traditions of linearity, including but not limited to those of Schenker, from various structuralist and post-structuralist perspectives. Formerly based at the Sibelius Academy, he completed his doctoral studies in piano and music theory at the CUNY Graduate Center and New York University, where he earned a doctorate in classical performance. He has recently published articles in Music & Letters, Quodlibet, and Music Theory & Analysis. He is a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship in piano. At EPFL, he is currently working on a formal model of the hidden repetition (“middleground”) of motifs, one of the most elusive, yet also most striking, features of the tonal canon.
Cellist Aleksey Shadrin, a participant in the Kronberg Academy’s Master Program, was born into a family of musicians in Ukraine. He won first prize at the 4th M. Lysenko International Music Competition in 2012. In 2018, he was awarded third prize at the Prague Spring Competition.
Following his initial successes in numerous competitions, including the Ukrainian National String Competition in Lviv/Lemberg and the 8th Ukrainian National ‘New Names’ Competition in Kyiv, he became a scholarship recipient in 2004 from the International Foundation of violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov.
In 2005, Aleksey Shadrin was a finalist at the 3rd David Popper International Cello Competition in Hungary, and in 2008, he won second prize at the Minsk International Competition. Following these successes, he performed in major concert halls across Ukraine, Russia, Germany, France, South Korea, China, Vietnam, the Netherlands, and Portugal.
Aleksey Shadrin has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, the Opéra National de Montpellier, and the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz.
In 2016, he made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker. In 2017, he performed as a soloist with the NDR Radiophilharmonie, under the baton of Andrew Manze, in the Grosser Sendesaal in Hanover, and made his debut at the Hamburg Chamber Music Festival.
Aleksey Shadrin earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in musical arts at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover with Professor Leonid Gorokhov.
He is currently studying with Frans Helmerson at the Kronberg Academy.
Since September 2020, he has been an Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where he studies with Gary Hoffman.
Maximilian Maisky, born in 2004, is a Belgian-Italian pianist. He began playing the piano at the age of 4 with Lyl Tiempo, and for several years was a student of Hagit Hassid-Kerbel. At the age of 13, he became one of the first students at the new Musica Mundi School in Waterloo, Belgium, where he continued his studies with Hagit Hassid-Kerbel and regularly attended masterclasses with Jacques Rouvier. He has performed numerous times in Belgium with the school, both in chamber music and as a soloist. He regularly participated in the Musica Mundi course and festival during the summer. Maximilian regularly performs with his father, Mischa Maisky, and his elder sister, Lily Maisky. In October 2022, he made his debut in Japan, performing at Suntory Hall with his father. In 2023, he made his debut at the Berlin Philharmonie. Since September 2023, Maximilian has been an RCM scholar at the Royal College of Music under the guidance of professors Dmitri Alexeev and Vitaly Pisarenko.
Winner of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition and exclusive SONY Classical artist, Pablo Ferrández is considered a “new cello genius“ (Le Figaro). A captivating performer, “Ferrández has it all: technique, courage, spirit, authority as a soloist, expressiveness, and charm“ (El Pais).
He has become a cello phenomenon and one of the most sought-after instrumentalists of his generation.
His debut album with SONY Classical, “Reflections“, released in 2021, was highly acclaimed by critics and received the Opus Klassik award. In autumn 2022, Pablo Ferrández released his second album, which included Brahms’ Double Concerto, performed with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Czech Philharmonic under the direction of Mr. Honeck, as well as Clara Schumann’s Piano Trio, performed with Ms. Mutter and Lambert Orkis, which also received rave reviews.
Fiona Costa was trained at the Royal College of Music. As a researcher at the University of Roehampton, her primary interest lies in the effect of music on the well-being and quality of life of older adults. Her doctoral research and subsequent projects have investigated the effect of music on pain, stress, anxiety, and depression. More recently, her work has focused on the use of music to aid memory and communication in individuals with dementia.
After training in Morocco, Nour Ayadi continued her piano studies at the École Normale and the Conservatoire de Paris, where she obtained her Performing Artist Diploma. She is an Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and studied with Nelson Goerner at the Geneva University of Music. Her accolades include the Cortot Prize and a nomination for the Victoires de la Musique. Alongside her musical career, Nour earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Sciences Po Paris. She has performed at major international festivals and collaborated with conductors such as Christophe Koncz, Augustin Dumay, and Mikko Franck, as well as with musicians like Gautier Capuçon and the Ebène Quartet. Her upcoming engagements include concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris and Victoria Hall. She also participated in the Maria João Pires Academy. Nour’s second album with Scala Music received 5 stars from Classica and 3T from Télérama.