Blanka Kerekes

 

Teaching Dates : August 16 - 20, 2026
Teaching Languages : English, German, Hungarian

Blanka Kerekes was born in Hungary.

She obtained her diploma with distinction at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in the class of Dániel Tősér, then continued her studies at the Zurich University of the Arts in the class of Prof. Matthias Ziegler, where she received a performance and a pedagogy diploma, also with distinction.

Some key insights from her diploma research, with special regards to that modern flute-technics can be learned already at an early age in primary school, have been incorporated by teachers into the core body of music education in Switzerland.

Blanka has been awarded the National Scholarship of Hungary.

Blanka performs as a soloist in several countries of Europe and beyond.

In addition to her classical education, she has expanded her repertoire by studying jazz. She creates her own musical language by blending elements from the above-mentioned styles.

She is praised by the press for her musical virtuosity, grandiose performances and unique sounding. She enhances the audience’s experience by using different electro-acoustic equipment creatively borrowed from jazz and pop music, as well as she integrates live and pre-recorded electronic into her work.

She has played with numerous famous musicians and orchestras, with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Zürich Opera House, Zürcher Kammerorchester, Hans Zender, musicians from the Berliner Philharmoniker.

She works regularly with ballet dancers from major opera houses in the world - Sydney Opera House, New York Metropolitan Opera as well as Oscar-nominated film directors and producers.

Blanka plays regularly with the renowned violinist Roby Lakatos.

In 2014, she was invited to open the 1st Movie Music Festival Hungary with her  concert at the grand opening ceremony, under the patronage of Ennio Morricone.

She collaborates with the greatest artists in classical, jazz, and rock music from her country.

Blanka is a special guest of the Summer Music Festival of the Esterházy Palace in Austria.  

In 2020, Blanka had the honor of representing her country as the only selected Hungarian artist performing during the ‚Day of Europe‘ online concert, which was initiated by the prestigious World Economic Forum.

In 2023, she received an invitation to perform as a soloist at the European Capital of Culture Jubilee.

A per request of collaborative artists (co-artist), such as in an exhibition of the Golden Globe winner Julian Schnabel, filmmaker and painter, she contributes to performances through free improvisations or event-specific compositions created by herself. 

Blanka is associate professor at the Kalaidos Musikhochschule Zürich. She is a jury member of many national and international music competitions and festivals, member of the Aargauer Kuratorium Prize for Culture Committee in classical and jazz music. 

Her master courses are well-attended throughout Europe, including countries such as Armenia, Italy, Albania, Poland, Germany, Hungary.

Supporting people in need, especially in the Central-Eastern European region, is a part of the artist’s personal social responsibility. Donations from benefit concerts have been used to build schools and expand educational opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Blanka is appreciated not only as a soloist and teacher, but also as a frequently invited orchestral musician.

Blanka held the position of principal flutist of the Mannheim Philharmonics from 2017 to 2020. She is often invited as a flutist with esteemed Swiss and Hungarian orchestras such as the Musikkollegium Winterthur, Sinfonieorchester Biel-Solothurn, Tonhalle St. Gallen, and the Mendelssohn Kammerorchester.

 

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Hermann Stefánsson

 Teaching Languages : English, Swedish, Icelandic

Icelander Hermann Stefánsson has been principal clarinetist in the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Stockholm Sinfonietta since 1995.

 

He previously held the same position with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. He is also member of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Wind Quintet and the Swedish Serenade Ensemble.

 

Stefánsson is professor at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and has previously been guest professor at the Academy of Music in Łódź, Poland and the Sarajevo Music Academy in Bosnia.

He has also worked as a teacher at the Malmö Academy of Music and Piteå School of Music, and has guest taught at several universities in Europe and the US. 

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Hermann is co-founder and artistic coordinator of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra Academy and is in the board of directors of the Martin Fröst Foundation.

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Harri Mäki

Teaching Languages : English, Finnish

Harri Mäki studied the clarinet mainly with Kari Kriikku and Reijo Koskinen in Finland. After having graduated from the class of Thomas Friedli at the Geneva Conservatory, he joined the Tapiola Sinfonietta as principal clarinetist. He also studied privately with Charles Neidich and Osmo Vänskä. 

Harri has premiered dozens of works, including clarinet concertos dedicated to him by Juhani Nuorvala and Kirmo Lintinen. 

He is the Professor of Woodwinds at the Sibelius Academy and was principal clarinetist of the Tapiola Sinfonietta from 1988 - 2018. 

Harri Mäki has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, the Far East, and in North and South America. 

Many of the students graduating from his teaching studio at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland have succeeded in both orchestral auditions and competitions around the world. 

In 2012, he was honoured to receive the Pro Musica Award for his merits as a performer and a teacher.

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Washington Barella

Teaching Languages : English, German

Teaching Period : July 14 (arrival) - 20 (departure)

Washington Barella studied from 1984 to 1986 at the Hannover University of Music with Ingo Goritzki and continued his training from 1988 to 1990 at the Hartt School of Music, Hartford with Humbert Lucarelli.

He was a first prizewinner at the Concert Artists Guild International New York Competition in 1990 and was awarded third prize at the “ARD Musikwettbewerb” in Munich, Germany in 1991.

Since then Washington Barella has performed with orchestras such as the Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Heilbronn Chamber Orchestra, the SWR Sinfonieorchester, the State Symphony of Sao Paulo (OSESP), the Annapolis Symphony an the Savannah Symphony, among others. As a chamber musician he has toured the United States, Japan, Brazil and most European countries.

He has served as jury member at important international competitions such as the ARD Musikwettbewerb, the Markneukirchen Musikwettbewerb, The Muri International Oboe Competition in Switzerland and the Internationaler Aeolos Bläserwettbewerb in Düsseldorf, Germany. Mr. Barella has given master classes in Germany, Sweden, the USA, Japan, Taiwan, Costa Rica, China, Russia and his own Brazil.

Washington Barella was Principal Oboist of the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg from 1992 to 2016. In 2012 he was appointed at the University of the Arts Berlin in Germany as Professor of Oboe.

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Andreas Wehrenfennig

Teaching Languages : German, English, French

Andreas Wehrenfennig was Born in Freising, Bavaria, where he began to take harp lessons with Ranghild Kopp-Mues in Munich at the age of seven, even a pupil, he debuted as a soloist with the Münchner Symphoniker. Later he studied for several years with Germaine Lorenzini in Lyon. He continued his studies with Helga Storck at the Hochschule für Musik in München, where he also received a pedagogical degree. He completed his studies with Edward Witsenburg at the University of Music Mozarteum at Salzburg, where he graduated as Master Artium with honours.

 

Andreas Wehrenfennig has won many prizes at national and international competitions and was awarded with the “life music now” – scholarship of the Yehudi Menuhin foundation.

 

Already during his studies, he was appointed solo harp at the Philharmonisches Orchester bad Reichenhall, where he gained broad experience of orchestral practice.

In 1999 he was appointed harp at the Staatskapelle Halle, with this orchestra he attended concert tours and took part in numerous broadcast and CD-recordings. As a guest he played with many renowned orchestras such as Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Staatsoper München, among others under the baton of Dimitri Kitajenko, Asher Fish, Rudolf Barschai oder Wayne Marshall.

Beside this he gets involved by historically informed performance, as a member of the Händelfestspielorchester Halle he plays the baroque triple harp as continuo and soloist.

With the modern harp he appears regulary as a soloist with the Staatskapelle Halle and other renowned orchestras.

 

As a soloist and chamber musician performing throughout Europe, his interest in developing the repertoire for his instrument leads him to close cooperation with composers like Paul Patterson. Beside many premieres of solo and chambermusic works for harp he appears frequently with the “ensemble avantgarde” at the “musica nova” series at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and as a soloist at the IMPULS – Festival für neue Musik in Sachsen-Anhalt.

 

Andreas Wehrenfennig is professor for harp at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Rostock and the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar and teaches at the Konservatorium Georg Friedrich Händel in Halle, his students are prize winners and hold positions in renowned orchestras. He is juror for international competitions and holds international masterclasses like the Talent Summer Courses and Festival in Brescia/Italy.

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Roger Morelló Ros

 

Teaching Dates : July 19 - 23, 2026
Teaching Languages : English, German, Spanish

Roger Morelló Ros is a committed, expressive, and highly imaginative cellist with a remarkable ability to connect with his audience, serving as a communicative bridge between creator, creation, and listener. He creates performances that convey passion, authenticity, and spontaneity, captivating both audiences and organizers in prestigious venues such as the Philharmonie Berlin, Suzhou Bay Grand Theatre in China, Beethoven-Haus, Mendelssohn-Haus Leipzig, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Pau Casals Auditori, or Casa Milà (Gaudí’s building in Barcelona), where he was an Artist in Residence during the 2018/19 season. 

​Winner of more than 30 scholarships and competition prizes - most notably the Gustav Mahler Prize in Prague (1st prize) - Morelló’s solo career has led him to collaborate with numerous orchestras, such as the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra and the Liangshan Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of conductors like Carlos Vieu, Thomas Jung, Qingshi Tang and Michael Hofstetter.

He has also been invited to prestigious festivals such as the Verbier Festival, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, MozArte Festival, Rheinhessen Musikfestival (Artist in Residence 2024), Schumannfest Düsseldorf, Andantino Cello Festival, or the Life Victoria Festival Barcelona (Sant Pau - UNESCO), to name just a few. In addition, his performances have been broadcast by the BBC, Spain’s National Radio, German broadcasters, and Belgium’s RTBF – Musiq3, among others.

He has released an album in homage to one of his most cherished inspirations, Pau Casals. The Voice of Casals  (Ibs Classical - SWR) is a tribute to Catalonia's most significant humanist of the 20th century. Morelló has captured his most expressive and innovative musical side, striving for the cello’s most sincere sound. The album is a careful and precise work, brimming with life and emotion - a delicate balance that Morelló masterfully achieves in both his recordings and performances, as highlighted by critics.
Additionally, he has released Schumann goes Tango (Austrian Gramophone, 2022) with pianist Alica Koyama Müller, and Founders Trio (Hänssler Classic, 2024), the integral chamber music of American composer John D. Gottsch, which premiered in Florida with violinist Katerina Chatzinikolau and pianist Tobias Haunhorst. He will soon release an album as a soloist with the Babylon Orchestra Berlin.

He was the Artistic Director of the Festival Bach to Basics (2021) in Málaga, which featured 6 international cellists, 6 Bach Suites, 6 cello ensembles, and 6 commissioned works.
 Morelló covers a wide range of repertoire: from baroque to contemporary music. His commitment to contemporary music is exemplified by his collaborations with many composers, who have written and dedicated several works to him, as well as the substantial number of premieres he has performed by composers such as Elisenda Fàbregas,  Marc Migó, Joan Magrané, Johannes Schöllhorn, Francisco Goldschmidt, Wulfin Lieske, Rain Worthington, Debra Kaye, and Victoria Bond, among others.

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Morelló covers a wide range of repertoire: from baroque to contemporary music. His commitment to contemporary music is exemplified by his collaborations with many composers, who have written and dedicated several works to him, as well as the substantial number of premieres he has performed by composers such as Elisenda Fàbregas,  Marc Migó, Joan Magrané, Johannes Schöllhorn, Francisco Goldschmidt, Wulfin Lieske, Rain Worthington, Debra Kaye, and Victoria Bond, among others.​
​He began his studies in Spain with Carolina Pineda (EMMS Salou), David Blay (Conservatorium Vila-seca), Damian Martínez (Musikene - High Music School of the Basque Country), before moving to Germany to pursue a Master’s and Soloist-Diploma with Maria Kliegel at the University of Music in Cologne, graduating with honors and with the financial support of the Humboldt Foundation, Deutschslandstipendium, and the Güell Scholarship. He has also participated in masterclasses with Steven Isserlis, Frans Helmerson, Peter Bruns, Troels Svane, Raphaël Pidoux, Claudio Bohorquez, and Cuarteto Casals, among many others.

​​Roger Morelló is Professor at ESMAR (High Performance Music School in Valencia) and at the Junge Streicherakademie Mainz (in cooperation with the Mainz University of Music), as well as an assistant to Maria Kliegel at the Euro Arts Academy in Poland. 
Furthermore, he is regularly invited to give masterclasses at renowned institutions and festivals, including the Berkeley School, Music Festival Salut Taiwan, Internationaler Meisterkurs Heidelberg, Musikakademie Schloss Weikersheim - Germany, Vila-seca Conservatory of Music - Spain, Xuzhou Concert Hall, Jiangxi Arts Center Grand Theatre - China, among many others. He approaches the instrument holistically, integrating body, mind, and emotion as the foundation for the best interpretation. 
As a jury member in competitions, he has collaborated with the International Artists Competition (Vienna) and the Tempietto International Music Competition  (Italy and China), among others.
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The artist has an intense social activity (Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, Babylon Orchestra, Une Clé de Sol pour une Étoile, Education Program Klavier-Festival Ruhr), and is committed to the values of sustainability.

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Tomasz Strahl

Teaching Languages : English, German, Polish
Teaching Period : August 16 (arrival) - 22 (departure)

He graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, cello class of Professor Kazimierz Michalik (1989). As a holder of the scholarship of the Austrian Government he completed a one-year postgraduate course at Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna under Tobias Kühne. He also studied chamber music under an outstanding violinist Krzysztof Jakowicz with whom he has performed for many years.

He was a laureate of all-Poland (Poznań, Warsaw) and international competitions, e.g. he won the 1st award at the 5th International Nicanor Zabaleta Music Competition in San Sebastian, Spain (1991). He was also awarded with the scholarship of the Polish and Japanese Foundation JESC (1994).

Among the masters of the baton with whom he had an opportunity to collaborate are: Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, Andrzej Boreyko, Łukasz Borowicz, Tomasz Bugaj, Kai Bumann, Massimiliano Caldi, Henryk Czyż, Philippe Entremont, Przemysław Fiugajski, José Maria Florêncio, Czesław Grabowski, Bogdan Jarmołowicz, Michał Klauza, Jerzy Kosek, Jan Krenz, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Wojciech Michniewski, Marcin Nałęcz-Niesiołowski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Marek Pijarowski, Paweł Przytocki, Wojciech Rodek, Jacek Rogala, Zygmunt Rychert, Jerzy Salwarowski, Tadeusz Strugała, Jerzy Swoboda, Tadeusz Wojciechowski, Monika Wolińska, Sławek A. Wróblewski, Ryszard Zimak, Maciej Żółtowski, and others.

For many years he has been an active concert musician, performing with such orchestras as: Polish Chamber Orchestra, Polish Radio Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra of the Polish Radio in Katowice, Sinfonietta Cracovia, SinfoniaVarsovia, Concerto Avenna, Sofia Philharmonic, Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal São Paulo (Brazil) and with almost all philharmonic orchestras in Poland, with the National Philharmonic Orchestra at the top of them. He collaborates with both outstanding soloists and chamber musicians, e.g. The Wilanów Quartet, Prima Vista, or The Silesian Quartet.

Tomasz Strahl has performed in (among others): Schauspielhaus (Berlin), Brucknersaal (Linz), St. John’s Smith Square (London), Art Center (Tel Aviv), Toppan Hall (Tokyo), Auditori (Barcelona), Glinka Hall in Sankt Petersburg, Moniuszko Hall at the Great Theatre in Warsaw, and the National Philharmonic.

He had numerous tours around Japan, Canada and Spain (with Silesian Philharmonic). Together with Krzysztof Jabłoński with whom he creates the Chopin Duo he participated in the performance of Fortepianissimo presented at the Great Theatre in Warsaw. He was a guest artist of such festivals as: Warsaw Autumn , Warsaw Music Meetings, Music in the Old Cracow, Bravo Maestro in Kąśna Dolna, Festival in Łańcut, Chopin à Paris, and festivals in Guadix (Spain), Caracas, Busko Zdrój, Duszniki Zdrój, Antonin, Słupsk, Kamień Pomorski and Bydgoszcz. An important event for him was the performance of Witold Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto in the presence of the composer, under the baton of Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk (1993). 

In 2005 Tomasz Strahl presented the Polish premiere of Cello Concerto no.2 by Piotr Moss at the festival called Premieres (2005) with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Polish Radio with which in 2006 he recorded the found Concerto by Zygmunt Stojowski. In 2007, together with Krzysztof Jabłoński and Konstanty Andrzej Kulka he recorded the complete chamber pieces by Fryderyk Chopin for the company BeArTon, and in 2012 he participated in the European promotion of The National Edition of Works by Fryderyk Chopin; on this occasion he performed concerts in Vienna, Rome and Geneva. The artist is also a devoted promoter of Cello Concerto by Stanisław Moryto.

He has made numerous archive recordings for the Polish Radio and the Polish Television, as well as the CBC Radio in Canada. His discography covers the recordings for Pony Canyon, CD Accord, Pavane Records, Gema Stereo, Polmusic, Acte Préalable and Sony Classics. He was three times nominated for the ‘Fryderyk’ award, which he won in 2003.

He teaches at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw (in 2001 he obtained the title of Professor from President of the Republic of Poland). During the term of office 2012–2016 he held the function of Dean of the University’s Department of Instrumental Studies. During the election in 2016, he was re-elected for the same function for 2016–2020. 

He also teaches at master courses in Poland, Holland, Finland, Germany, Japan and South America (in 2005 he delivered a cycle of lectures and performed a few concerts during the prestigious ‘Wien, Prag, Budapest’ International Summer Academy).

Tomasz Strahl has been honoured with a number of state decorations: in 2002 he was awarded with The Golden Cross of Merit; in 2009 he received the 1st degree award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for his artistic and teaching achievements, and in 2010 he was awarded with the Silver Medal ‘For Merits to Culture’ Gloria Artis and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Rebirth of Poland.

As part of the celebrations of the Chopin Year jubilee the artist gave concerts in Sankt Petersburg, during the Nafplion Festival in Greece and in Konzertverein in Ingoldstadt, and with Krzysztof Jabłoński he performed a recital before Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. In 2010 he was chosen to join the Council of the Phonographic Award of ‘Fryderyk’. 

The artist plays the instrument by Leopold Widhalm, Norymberg 1778.

Since 2012 he has taken part in the promotion of The National Edition of Chamber Works by Fryderyk Chopin edited by Professor Jan Ekier.

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Tomasz Szczesny

 

Teaching Dates : July 14-18 / July 20-23

Teaching Languages : English, Polish

Tomasz Szczęsny - graduated with honours from Szczecin music schools where he had studied both piano and cello, and studied cello at the Music Academy in Wrocław under professor Stanisław Firlej.  

 

In 2010 performed as a soloist in Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall in New York City.  In 2014 he obtained his doctorate in Musical Arts – specialization cello.

 

He’s the author of the transcription of Karol Szymanowski's music for cello and piano. Together with the pianist Sławomir Wilk, he released the album “Karol Szymanowski Works for cello and piano.”

 

From 2010 he is a professor at the Academy of Art in Szczecin.

Regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician, he sits on the jury of cello competitions and leads a master class. He is also a studio artist, realising cello parts in the projects of theatre and film music.

 

He played concerts in the USA, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.

 

Since 2006 he has been a concertmaster/principal of the cello group in Szczecin Philharmonics.

The artist plays the cello of Wojciech Topa (Zakopane 2008) and romanian cello Gheorge Ludovic 2022.

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Martin Rummel

Teaching Dates : July 25 - 29, 2026
Teaching Languages : English, German

Austrian cellist Martin Rummel is far more than only a cellist: “Musician, cultural manager, academic, enjoying life”, is how he describes himself, albeit that playing the cello remains his “core business”. 

A growing number (currently more than 70) CD albums for various international labels including Naxos, Capriccio and paladino music, result in ongoing praise from international press and audiences as well as his reputation as one of the leading cellists of his generation. Numerous premiere recordings and musical rediscoveries testify for Rummel’s belief that content is more important than packaging. “The big task for the next generation is to finally throw out the tuxedo, to focus on what and how music is made rather than on who plays where”, he says.

Martin Rummel is a regular guest of orchestras, festivals and venues across Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, with conductors and chamber music partners of all generations – namedropping is not his. As a pedagogue, he has published a series of editions of all major cello etudes for Bärenreiter which have become standard worldwide. After appointments as Head of School at the University of Auckland’s School of Music and as honorary professor at the China Conservatory of Music, he was Chief Executive of the holding company of JAM MUSIC LAB Private University for Jazz and Popular Music Vienna. Since 2021, he has served as President of the Anton Bruckner University in Linz. Being a passionate music communicator, he is the owner and mastermind of HNE Rights (formerly known as paladino media, with five record labels and a publishing division), has had his own radio shows since 2007, and writes and talks about music in many different formats.

Rummel is an alumnus of the Brucknerkonservatorium Linz and the Cologne Musikhochschule. His heart lies in a playing tradition that was conveyed to him during a decade of studies with the legendary William Pleeth, always focusing on the music, not the musician.

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