ÉRMA ENSEMBLE

MEMBERS LOTTE NURIA ADLER

Lotte Nuria Adler (* 28th May 1998) discovered the mandolin for herself at the age of seven.

From 2011 to 2015 she participated in the talent program of the Folkwang Music School Essen. Later, she has repeatedly taken master classes with Joseph Brent, Mike Marshall, Gertrud Weyhofen, Marga Wilden-Hüsgen, Markus Stockhausen and others.

After graduating from high school in 2016, Lotte Nuria Adler took up her studies at Cologne Music College (Wuppertal branch) with Prof. Caterina Lichtenberg. At the same college she concurrently studies Elementary Music Pedagogy. Lotte Nuria Adler has frequently participated in both national and international competitions since 2008. As a child already, she had won numerous first prices and reached the maximum score at the federal competition of Jugend musiziert more than once. Participating in the most renowned international competitions for mandolin she has obtained a second prize at the 2nd International Solo Mandolin Competition Luxembourg in 2016 and the first price along with the audience award at the Yasuo-Kuwahara-Wettbewerb in 2018 where earlier she had already obtained the third price along with the audience award in 2015 at the age of 16.

At the age of 13 Lotte Nuria Adler became concertmaster of the Plucked String Orchestra Düsseldorf. Regular guest performances with different orchestras from across the province have granted her entry to numerous concert houses such as Tonhalle, German Opera on the Rhine and Philharmonie Essen. In 2017, Lotte Nuria joined the «Studio Musikfabrik“, youth ensemble of the «Ensemble Musikfabrik».

From an early age she has been attached to Contemporary Music. With her siblings she played music by Mauricio Kagel and Karl-Heinz Stockhausen in a trio (accordion, harp and mandolin) and premiered compositions by her grandfather Prof. Karl-Heinz Zarius. Her enthusiasm for Contemporary Music finally led her to the ÉRMA Ensemble.

Since 2017, Lotte Nuria Adler has been fellow of the Werner Richard – Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation and of the association Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now. In the year 2018 she received a scholarship of the prestigious Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes (German Academic Foundation). This way, she keeps getting ahead in her ambition to establish the mandolin as a concert instrument.

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE AMARYLLIS BARTHOLOMEUS

Amaryllis Bartholomeus (°1995, BE) started playing viola at the age of 4. She continues with Inneke Van Riel, Gudrun Vercampt, Erik Sluys and Thérèse- Marie Gilissen. In 2010, she start taking lessons with Paul De Clerck, with whom she will continue studying at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel until 2018, when she obtains het Master in Music.

Since a very young age, she has played in many youth orchestras, and is now a regular replacer in some of the well-known Belgian professional orchestras, on modern as well as historical instruments (e.g. Anwerp Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic orchestra of La Monnaie, Il Gardellino). She is also very active in chamber music and is a founding member of the Sonos Ensemble (BE).

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE VERONIQUE DE RAEDEMAEKER

Veronique De Raedemaeker (°16-03-1996, Belgium) began her violin study with Francis Reusens in the Academy for Music, Word and Dance in Lier, Belgium. In 2016 she graduated at the Royal Conservatoire in Antwerp with the bachelor degree of Music with Alissa Margulis, and in 2018 she received her master degree of Violin Solo at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Köln with Barnabás Kelemen. Veronique also had the opportunity to learn from other renowned musicians such as Ivry Gitlis, Julia Fisher, Philippe Graffin, Pavel Vernikov. Her interpretations are appreciated for the richness of tone and a touching phrasing.

She won prices at several national and international violin and chamber music competitions such as Young Belgian Talent (2015), the Internationaler Anton Rubinstein Wettbewerb (Düsseldorf, 2013, 2015) and Concours Breughel (Brussels, 2008, 2012, 2014).

As a fervent chamber music player, Veronique plays in festivals and concerts series such as Arte Amanti, Musica et Poetica, Budapest Festival Academy, Montepulciano, Young Masters Amuz & De Bijloke.

Together with the pianist George Tyriard she recorded under the sponsorship of ‘Young Belgian Talent’ the CD ‘Malinconia’ which received in 2020 the quality label ‘Klara’s Choice’ by the flemish radio for classical music.

With Roel Dieltiens, Michaël Mannes and the orchestra La Passione, Veronique played in 2014 the triple concerto of L. v. Beethoven and in 2018, she interpreted the violin concerto of L. v. Beethoven with the Hungarian symphony orchestra of Gödöllö.

Veronique participates in projects of the Austrian Haydn-Philarmonie under the baton of N. Altstaedt and E. Onofri as well as with Le Concert Olympique under the baton of J. Caeyers.

During her second master ‘Interpretation Neue Musik’ in Köln she had the opportunity to perform in several radio-broadcasts for Deutschlandfunk. In 2019 she co-founded the ÉRMA Ensemble which specialises in contemporary music. Furthermore she worked with Spectra Ensemble from Ghent and Notabu Ensemble from Düsseldorf. Veronique regularly plays compositions from Ruben De Gheselle that were created on her proposal: ‘Finite Infinity’ (2015), ‘Changing Mechanics’ (2016) and ‘Wildlands’ (2018).

Since 2017 she is a member of Live Music Now and plays on a violin from Stefan-Peter Greiner (Bonn 2005), on friendly loan by Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Köln e.V..

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE RAMON GARDELLA

Ramón Gardella (1989 - ) is an Argentinian percussionist based in Cologne, Germany. He studied classical and contemporary percussion at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires “Astor Piazzolla” and then at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln where he attends his Konzertexamen degree with Prof. Carlos Tarcha and Dirk Rothbrust.

He is formal member of Kollektiv 3:6 Köln für Zeitgenössische Musik and has already performed with Ensemble Musikfabrik, Ensemble Tra I Tempi, Ensemble Modern Orchestra, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, Neue Philharmonie Westfallen, Bochumer Symphoniker, Bergische Symphoniker and Jungen Philharmonie Köln.

He also participated in important contemporary music festivals like Klangspuren 2016 (International Ensemble Modern Academy), Impuls 2017 and 2019, Stockhausen Courses Kürten 2017, Ensemble Academy Freiburg 2018, pgnm_ Biennale Aktueller Musik Bremen 2018, Ruhrtriennale 2018, Festival Now! 2018, Percussion Summit Bochum 2018, Acht Brücken Köln 2016/2017/2019, Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik 2019.

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE ANTON GERZENBERG

Born in 1996 in Hamburg, Anton Gerzenberg began playing the piano at the age of four. Initially he was taught by his mother, the pianist Lilya Zilberstein, before taking piano lessons from Julia Suslin. Already by the age of nine he had been awarded 1st prizes at national competitions for young musicians in Germany.

At the age of eleven he started studying with pianist Julija Botchkovskaia at the Andreas Franke Akademie in Hamburg. Then he has been studying under Jan Jiracek von Arnim in Vienna. Currently, he is studying with Pierre-Laurent Aimard at Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. Anton Gerzenberg has participated in master-classes conducted by Robert Levin, Joseph Paratore, András Schiff, Ronald Brautigam and Dmitri Bashkirov.

He has appeared with such musicians as Martha Argerich, Dora Schwarzberg, Jonathan Stockhammer and Alvise Vidolin as well as with various orchestras including the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, the Münchner Symphoniker Orchester and the Hamburger Camerata.

He is also a frequent guest at festivals including the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, the Klavierfestival Ruhr, the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival, Accademia Chigiana in Siena and the Mozartfest Würzburg.

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE ELIO HERRERRA

Elio Herrera was born in San Carlos-Cojedes, Venezuela. Under the care of the world-famous music project «El Sistema», he received his first cello lessons at the age of ten.

With the Teresa Carreño Youth Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, the then only 16-year-old performed under the direction of Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Eduardo Marturet, Sung Kwak, Frühbeck de Burgos, Maria Guinand, Placido Domingo, Christian Vasquez, Rebecca Miller, Eugene Kohn and Nikolaj Znaider and Robert HP Platz.

In the same year he began studying at the University of the Arts in Caracas with William Molina and Marek Gazjler, which he completed in 2013 with the Bachelor of Music.

From 2016-2019, Herrera studied violoncello in a master’s at the Cologne University of Music and Dance in the class of Nadège Rochat and Prof. Maria Kliegel. In addition to numerous projects at the university, he attended the Academy for Performing Arts and Music in Montepulciano in 2018 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Florence Millet and Prof. Johannes Schöllhorn. Since February 2018 he has been a member of the «Aelius Trio» for chamber music. In the same year he made a guest appearance at the Cologne Opera with the «Gargonza Arts» funding project for new art.

Since 2019 Herrera has been studying contemporary music at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen in the class of Prof. Barbara Maurer and Prof. Günter Steiker.

His passion for music has brought him to other international stages of renowned concert halls, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Concert Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Madrid Auditorio Nacional de Música, the Toulouse Halle aux Grains, the Theater am Kirchplatz in Lichtenstein, and the Stavanger Konzerthus in Norway, the Konzerthaus in Stockholm, the München Gasteig, the Lisboa Grande Auditório, the Royal Festival Hall, the Istanbul Zorlu Center Performing Arts ̧ the Festspielhaus Salzburg and the Teatro Alla Scala Milano.

“For me as a musician, it is not just the cello playing alone that fills me. It is much more the exchange between people and cultures to experiment with music and to be able to develop new concepts

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE JINHEE KIM

Guitarist Jinhee Kim, who Slava Grigoryan defined as «a rising star in the classical music scene», has entered the limelight with her sensitive, powerful and deep way of playing. In October 2019, she gave a solo recital as the youngest at the “Basel Plucks” festival, in a series with internationally renowned artists such as Hopkinson Smith und Pablo Márquez. Recently she has received prizes at international guitar competitions, «Maurizio Biasini» in Paris, «Ruggero Chiesa» in Italy, «Pleven Guitar Festival» in Bulgaria. She began to gain attention as a next-generation performer already in 2010, when she won the first prize at the Adelaide International Guitar Competition in Australia.

Her interest in contemporary music led her to explore ensemble possibilities. She is currently a member of the HOAX Quartet and the ÉRMA Ensemble. Their sense of interpretation for contemporary music has already been recognised and given credit. She performs with these ensembles extensive modern music repertoire including works by Unsuk Chin, Vinko Globokar, Steve Reich and Michel Roth.

Jinhee Kim, born in Seoul, Korea in 1992, is currently doing Konzertexamen with Prof. Michael Hampel at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, studying at the same time Musikphysiologie at Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, and giving Workshops at Hochschule für Musik Basel and Freiburg.

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE KATJA LASSER

Katja Lasser began her studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Florian Kirner (WDR Funkhausorchester). After starting a bachelor degree in music education, she transferred to a Performance Bachelor Degree in 2017, and since then has been studying at the HfMT Köln Standort Wuppertal with Cyrill Sandoz (Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra).

She received further musical influences from masterclasses with Jeroen Berwaerts, Frits Damrow, Klaus Schuhwerk and Wolfgang Guggenberger, as well as from attending festivals such as the Aurora Music Festival in Stockholm. Katja Lasser gained orchestral experience as a member of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic under the baton of Kristjan Järvi, and as a substitute in the Gürzenich Orchester Köln and the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra. In the field of contemporary music, her attendance at the Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt as a member of Studio Musikfabrik (Youth Ensemble for Contemporary Music of Landesmusikrat NRW) is a highlight.

During her studies of education, she played in Sinfonietta 104: the symphony orchestra of pedagogy students at the HfMT Köln. In 2016 she performed Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto as a soloist with the same orchestra.

Apart from her studies, she teaches trumpet at the Rheinische Musikschule Köln, and volunteers as a member of CoGNiMUS Collektiv. As a part of the Collektive’s project management, she takes on important organizational tasks. The Collektive’s aim is to find new ways of performance practice within the world of classical music.

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE TILL MÜLLER

Till Merlin Müller was born on 10 March 1996 in Mannheim. He began clarinet lessons with Martin Förster at the Music School in Mannheim at the age of 8 and received lessons from Professor Hans Pfeiffer from 2009 to 2014. His first participation in Jugend musiziert at the age of 12 in a solo competition led him to his first national prize. Further participations in ensemble and solo competitions followed.

In 2011, he transferred to the Saxon State High School of Music, Carl-Maria von Weber in Dresden and since then has taken clarinet lessons with Christian Dollfuss (Staatskapelle Dresden). The lessons on the bass clarinet are an important focus of his studies.

In 2009 he was accepted into the Landesjugendorchester Baden-Württemberg, in 2011 into the Landesjugendorchester Sachsen and in 2013 into the Bundesjugendorchester. With these orchestras he has participated in recordings for the MDR, SWR and for the label «Deutsches Grammophon». Since the summer of 2015 he has been a member of Prof. Ralph Manno’s class at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.

Since 2016 he has been playing with the Junge Norddeutsche Philharmonie. Important focal points in this orchestra are the combination of classical concert programmes with electronically produced music and the performances in novel settings for orchestras such as at festivals (Fuchsbau, Detect) or alternative concert venues.

In the years 2018 the Neumond Ensemble was founded around the young musician. This group focuses on new music and alternative performance concepts. Light, space and acoustics are very much in focus here ,besides the actual repertoire of the concerts.

In the course of his numerous orchestral engagements he has had the opportunity to play under renowned conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Herrmann Bäumer, Lothar Zagrosek, Wladimir Jurowski, Alondra de la Parra, Michael Sanderling. He has travelled to China, Tunisia, Mexico, Romania and Italy to play in halls such as the National Center Beijing, Palacio de Bella Artes Mexico City, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE and played with soloists such as Daniel Hope and Paul Meyer in concert halls including the „Berlin Philharmonic“, „Palau de la Musica“, Barcelona and the „Wiener Musikverein“.

As a soloist Jennifer Seubel delivered a brilliant performance together with the „Oberbergische Symphonie-Orchester“ and the „Collegium Musicum“ in Lwiw, Ukraine.

She has won numerous awards including several prizes at the competition „Jugend musiziert“ at both state and national level, second prize at the „Pfälzer Hausmusiktage“, 2002, first soloist prize—special prize for contemporary music at the International music competition „Città di Barletta“ in Italy, in 2006, JENNIFER SEUBEL the „Iris-Marquardt-Förderpreis“ of the „Hochschule Trossingen“ in the chamber music category in 2007, first Jennifer first studied at the „Staatlichen Hochschule für prize at the „Euroasia Music-Festival“, 2009, second Musik Trossingen“ with Prof. Arife Gülsen Tatu, graduating prize at the „Open National Fluitconcours Ittervoort“ in from the music pedagogy course („Diplom Musiklehrerin”) den Niederlanden, 2011 and the second prize at the in July 2009 with distinction. „Alexander & Buono International Flute Competition“, She then continued her artistic studies („Künstlerische New York, 2011. Ausbildung”) with Prof. Robert Winn at the „Hochschule für Musik und Tanz“ In 2002 Jennifer Seubel received a scholarship to take in Cologne, part in the workshop of the „Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp“ completing her “artistic instrumental training” studies with in Michigan, USA. Since 2003 she has been a scholarship distinction holder at the „Paul und Yvonne Gillet“ foundation for in July 2010 and studying on the Master of Music program young musicians. from October 2010 until From April 2010 she started playing concerts for the April 2014, when she graduated. „Yehudi Menuhin LiveMusicNow Köln e.V.“ foundation and from 2012-2014 she was a scholarship holder at the During her studies she also gained musical knowledge „Werner Richard – Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung“. while attending masterclasses with Prof. Eckard Haupt, Prof. Andrea Lieberknecht, Chamber music plays an important role in Jennifer Michael Cox, Robert Aitken, Seubel’s career. She has founded several ensembles Gitte Marcusson, Thaddeus Watson und Prof. Eyal Ein- with which she performs regularly, including the flute, Habar. cello and piano „Aelius Trio“ since 2018, the flute and guitar „Duo Ventone“ since 2015 and the flute duo „Duo Jennifer started playing with orchestras early and gave Noble“ since 2010. a solo recital with the „Kreisjugendorchester Südliche Weinstraße“ at the age of ten. From 2000-2006 she played Jennifer has been on the teaching faculty at the flute with the „Landessymphonieorchester Rheinland- the „Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln“ since Pfalz“, with whom she travelled on concert tours to October 2012 and she has also taught at the „Universität California, China, the Czeck Republic and Poland. Koblenz“ since October 2018. She is often invited to sit on the audition panels of the „Cusanuswerk“ the „Lions She gained more orchestral experience playing with Musikpreis“ and the „Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now orchestras including the „Deutsch-Skandinavische Köln e.V.“ foundation. Jugendphilharmonie“, the „Russische Kammerphilharmonie St.Petersburg“, the „Kammerphilharmonie Europa“, the Contemporary music has also always played a big part „Junge Kölner Philharmonie“, and at the „Internationale in Jennifer’s musical career and she has participated Junge Orchesterakademie“ at the „Festival Junger in the „European Workshop for Contemporary Music“ Künstler Bayreuth“. from the “Deutsche Musikrat” at “Warsaw Autumn” several times, was a member of the “Ensemble 20/21” Since 2010Jennifer has played regularly with the „Neue at the “Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln” and has Philharmonie Westfalen“ and with the „Philharmonie played with “Kollektiv3:6Köln”, which is supported Südwestfalen“. She was also invited to the „Frankfurter by “Deutschen Musikrat”, “Kunstsiftung NRW” and Opern- und Museumsorchester“, the „Dortmunder “Musikfonds e.V.” since 2017. Since December 2019 Philharmoniker“ and the „Stuttgarter Kammerorchester“ she has also been a member of the “Érma Ensemble”.

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE LEA WIRTZ

Lea Maria Wirtz received her first musical impulses from Josianne Straub- Acoulon in Bonn and Han-An Liu at the conservatory in cologne.

She started her studies at the UdK Berlin with Marie-Pierre Langlamet and transferred to Mrs. Francoise Friedrich at the HfMDK in Frankfurt. As part of the Erasmus program she spent a semester in Paris studying with Prof. Isabelle Moretti at CNSMDP. Following her bachelor’s degree, she entered the master’s program with Ha-An Liu. After completing her solo studies she began a master’s program for contemporary music with David Smeyers.

Lea Maria Wirtz is a prize winner of the competition Jugend Musiziert, UFAM France, International Felix Godefroide Competition, Lions Club Cologne- Colonia, and the Verband der deutschen Harfenisten. She has also won the first prize in the Concours d’Arles chamber music competition.

She received a scholarship from the Cusanuswerk and was a selected musician for the Live Music Now - Yehudi Menuhin program.

She gained orchestral experiences as a scholar in the Interlochen Summer Arts Academy USA summer program and in an internship with the Bochum Symphony Orchestra. She has been a permanent member of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie for five years.

Lea Maria Wirtz currently lives as a freelance harpist in Berlin and works for the harp companies Salvi and Lyon & Healy at the Salvi Music Showroom.

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE YORGOS ZIAVRAS

Yorgos Ziavras is a Greek conductor based in Germany. He currently holds the position of Kapellmeister at the Krefeld/Mönchengladbach Opera House. He has also an ongoing collaboration with the Greek National Opera as a guest conductor.

He studied orchestra conducting with Prof. Michael Luig at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, piano in Athens and Cologne with Elisabeth Kounalaki and Paulo Alvares and architecture design at the NTUA in Athens.

His collaboration with the Theater Krefeld/Mönchengladbach started in 2014, as a member of the renowned Opernstudio Niederrhein. Within the course of 5 years he has risen to the position of Kapellmeister there, and has broadened his repertoire, which includes a large assortment of works for opera, operetta, musical theatre, baroque, contemporary music and other musical styles. His upcoming projects for the season 2019/2020 include ​Der goldene Drache ​(P. Eötvös), ​Let’s Stop Brexit (basen​ on works of Gilbert and Sullivan), ​Die Zauberflöte​ (W. A. Mozart), ​Sunset Boulevard (A.​ L. Weber), two ballet productions, a film musik project et. al.

Yorgos Ziavras started collaborating with the Greek National Opera in 2018. His next upcoming projects there include ​Die Fledermaus (J.​ Strauss) in February 2020 and James Dillon’s Stabat​ Materin​ April 2020.

He is the founder of CoGNiMUS Collektiv (www.cognimus.de), a collective and orchestra based in Cologne. Beginning in 2015, CoGNiMUS have since designed and performed numerous projects, always aiming at reshaping the way we absorb, understand and feel classical music performed live. Yorgos Ziavras and CoGNiMUS are currently planning their first European tour in 2020/2021.

Yorgos Ziavras is also active in the contemporary music scene, both in Cologne and abroad (Electronic ID, Gaudeamus Festival, Athens and Epidaurus Festival and others). He has also conducted numerous symphonic orchestras, including Philarmonie Südwestfalen, Niederrheinische Sinfoniker, the Greek National Opera Orchestra, Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim etc.

ÉRMA ENSEMBLE