Frank Hammerin - Horn
Hulda Jónsdóttir - Violin
Violinist Hulda Jónsdóttir began playing the violin at age 4 in her native Iceland. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School in New York where she studied with Robert Mann, David Chan and Laurie Smukler. Hulda is currently based in Copenhagen where she plays as co-principal second violin in the Royal Danish Orchestra and all over Europe with her newly formed string quintet Wooden Elephant. Hulda made her solo debut with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at age 15 and has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Mexico, Europe and Asia. Since September 2006 Hulda has played on a violin by Vincenzo Sanino (ca. 1920) and a bow by Victor Fetique on generous loan from the Rachel Elizabeth Barton foundation in Chicago.
Tony Rymer - Cello
Cellist Tony Rymer has performed major concerti to critical acclaim with the Atlanta Symphony, Boston Pops, Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, and Pittsburgh Symphony, among others. He was the first prize winner in the Washington International Competition and the Sphinx Competition Senior Division, Second Prize Winner in the Enescu Competition, and took 3rd place in the Stulberg International String Competition.
A native of Boston, Tony began playing cello at age five, attended the Walnut Hill Arts School, was a Project STEP scholarship student from 1996-2007, and was awarded the prestigious Kravitz scholarship in 2007. One of the first recipients of the Jack Kent Cooke Award on the NPR national radio show From the Top, he has also been heard as soloist on WGBH Boston, WCLV Cleveland, and NPR's Performance Today. An avid chamber musician, Tony has collaborated in concert with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Ani Kavafian, Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, Paul Katz, Martin Helmchen, and Dénes Várjon.
Tony worked privately with Yo-Yo Ma and performed in master classes for Anner Bylsma, Gary Hoffman, Steven Isserlis, and Pieter Wispelwey. He completed his BM and MM at the New England Conservatory where he studied with Paul Katz and Laurence Lesser while holding the Laurence Lesser Presidential Scholarship. Tony then received a Masters of Music, with highest marks, as student of Frans Helmerson at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik.
Tony plays on a cello made by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume on loan from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.
Sara Rossi - Viola
Sara Rossi is a classically trained violist and violinist. Sara performed as viola soloist with the New Sussex Symphony in 2016, playing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. She served as a substitute violist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2014. Sara was the first prize winner of the Converse College Young Artist Competition in 2008. Sara was assistant principal violist of the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra during its 2010-2011 season, under the direction of Sarah Ioannides.
As a chamber musician, she has been coached by renowned musicians, including members of the Brentano, Borromeo, Miró, Shanghai, Tokyo, Orion, and Guarneri string quartets. She participated in the New York String Orchestra Seminar in 2010 and 2011, directed by Jaime Laredo. She has also performed in several music festivals, including the Taos School of Music, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, and the Eastern Music Festival.
Sara began her musical studies in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. She was a preparatory violin student at the Cleveland Institute of Music, under the tutelage of Dr. Carol Ruzicka and Paul Kantor. She holds a Master of Music degree from Yale University, where she received a comprehensive scholarship and fellowship. Sara graduated with distinction from Converse College in 2011, where she obtained a Bachelor of Music degree as a recipient of the Daniel Scholarship. She was named an Outstanding Alumna of Converse in 2014. Her former instructors in viola include Miles Hoffman, Ettore Causa, and Choong-jin Chang. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Euntaek Kim, a pianist and conductor.
Marco Sanna - Piano
Marco Sanna has already made a name for himself by playing both as a soloist and also in chamber ensembles in Italy, Germany, Sweden, USA, Switzerland, Spain, France, Hungary and Belgium, in important concert Halls as Philharmonie Berlin, Kammermusiksaal Berlin, Konzerthaus Berlin, Piano Salon Christophori, Beethoven Haus Bonn, Schumann-Haus Zwickau, Rubinstein-Saal Munich and many others.
Marco is now particularly active as a chamber music pianist, playing in many different types of ensembles. He has collaborated with great artists such as Natalia Lomeiko, Yuri Zhislin and Andy Miles, he's a regular chamber music partner of members of the Berliner Philarmoniker and the Karajan Akademie Berlin and also with member of WDR Funkhaus Orchester Koln. Marco has played at important national events in Germany such as the welcoming of the Chinese First Lady during her first visit or for the german Federal President in Berlin. He has taken part at festivals such as the Verbier Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Rome International Piano Festival, the Aurora Festival, the Dvorak Marathon in Berlin, the Schubert Marathon in Cologne.
During Summer 2017, Marco set off on a four month concert tour, featuring in a piano quintet, which traveled to both Europe and America. This tour was officially sponsored by Lincoln Center, New York City.
Since 2013 Marco has established a duo with the Italian Double Bassist Orazio Ferrari. They recorded their first CD together in 2014 featuring the first world recording of Chopin’s Cello Sonata and Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro with the double bass at real pitch. This innovative project received very good reviews from well known magazines such as Gramophone, The Strad and Audiophile. A second CD is planned in 2019.
Marco has taken part in masterclasses with top musicians such as Jacques Rouvier, Benedetto Lupo, Pinchas Zukerman, Pamela Frank, Menahem Pressler, Andras Schiff, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Josè Gallardo, Friedemann Weigle and Jonathan Aner.
Marco enjoys cooking in his free time, when he has some! Marco’s native language is Italian and speaks German, English and French fluently. He is very curious and forever interested in music, travels, languages and people.
Viller Valbonesi- Piano
Viller Valbonesi studied in Italy with Mauro Minguzzi, Pier Narciso Masi, Fabrizio Lanzoni. From 2007 he studied with Sergio Perticaroli at the "Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia" in Rom, where he achieved the Diplom in 2010 with "Summa cum laude" and from 2012 he studied with Fabio Bidini at the Hochschule "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin where he graduated as Konzertexamen in 2015. Viller has performed in Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Norway, Japan and USA, at venues such as Philharmonie and Konzerthaus in Berlin, Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg, "Sala Petrassi" and "Sala S. Cecilia" in Rome, Sala dei Giganti in Padova, Teatro Malibran in Venezia, Troldhaugen in Bergen, Wiener Saal in Salzburg... He also performed as soloist with orchestras with many conductors, including Ovidiu Balan, Enrique Bàtiz, Christian Ehwald, Alberto Malazzi.
He is also active as a chamber musician and song accompanist. Since 2012 he is a member of the "Berolina Ensemble", recording 3 Cds with the label MDG. With this label he makes his appearance also as a soloist in the release „Rudorff Chamber Music“ (2015), interpreting Ernst Rudorff ́s piano works. The Berolina Ensemble won two times the prestigious „Echo Preis", the most important musical prize in German: the prize as "Best Ensemble of the year" in 2014 and the prize for the "best 19th century chamber music recording" in 2016.
Viller won other important prizes in many piano competitions, including Berliner Klavierwettbewerb, international Schubert Competition in Dortmund, International Arcangelo Speranza Competition in Taranto, International Val Tidone Competition, International Porrino Competition in Cagliari, International Scriabin Competition in Grosseto and „Premio Venezia“.
Viller is also a very active piano teacher: in the academic year 2015/2016 he was Fabio Bidini's assistent at the International Courses in Music Performance "Talent Music Masters" in Brescia . In 2015 he held the same role also at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler“ in Berlin. Since 2016 he teaches piano at the „Bela Bartok“ Musikschule in Berlin and secondary piano at the anns Eisler Hochschule für Musik Berlin.
Niccoló Muti - Violin
In his young career, Niccoló Muti has already established himself as a versatile musician. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Incontri Musicali, an annual chamber music festival that brings classical music’s most-promising young talents to Spoleto, Italy for three weeks of chamber music performances each summer. He is also an avid conductor and has studied extensively with his father, conductor Lorenzo Muti.
As a violinist, Niccoló has performed in concerts across the U.S. and Europe, including appearances in Switzerland, Norway, the Czech Republic, and as featured soloist with the National Orchestra of Romania in Italy. He is currently assistant conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle in Durham, North Carolina.
Niccoló received his Bachelor's degree in Violin Performance from Indiana, where he studied with Mimi Zweig. He completed his Master’s Degree at Rice University, where he was awarded the Vicki West Prize to study with Kathleen Winkler. An accomplished (former) ballet dancer, Niccoló still likes to go out dancing for fun. He also enjoys playing tennis, cheering for his favorite soccer team (Juventus FC), and exploring new cuisines and wines.