Robert Aitken, Flute

World renowned Canadian flutist, composer and conductor Robert Aitken has been honoured with the Order of Canada and is a Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France). In 1970, having previously served as principal flute for both the Vancouver and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, Aitken embarked on a solo career that has taken him to virtually every corner of the globe. He has more than 40 recordings to his credit and such notables as John Cage, George Crumb, Elliott Carter, Toru Takemitsu, Gilles Tremblay, John Beckwith and Bruce Mather have dedicated works to him. In 2003 he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association (USA). In 2004, he retired as Professor für Flöte at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany, a position he had held for 16 years. In 2009 Aitken was the recipient Canada's largest arts award, the prestigious Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts. As a composer, he holds Bachelor and Masters degrees from the University of Toronto and all of his works are published by Universal Edition, Salabert, Ricordi and Peer Music. Robert Aitken was director of the Banff Centre Winter Program in Music, founder and artistic director of Music Today, Music at Shawnigan and co-founder, with Norma Beecroft, of New Music Concerts which he has directed since its inception in 1971.

Ingo Goritzki, Oboe

Ingo Goritzki is a German oboist, pianist, and flautist. He began his flute and piano studies in Freiburg, and switched to oboe as his primary instrument at age 20.
Goritzki plays both the modern oboe and the Baroque oboe, and has also played the cor anglais and heckelphone. He studied with Helmut Winschermann in Detmold and he had a long chamber music partnership with Pau Casals and Sandor Vegh in Paris. He won prizes at national and international competitions in Birmingham, Prague, and Geneva. He was Principal Oboe at the Sinfonieorchester Basel (Switzerland) and Radio Frankfurt am Main.
In 1976, Goritzki received the Professor post at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Theater of Hannover and later at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst of Stuttgart. He gives master classes worldwide, including Internationale Bach-Akademie Stuttgart, Landesstiftung Villa Musica Mainz, Goethe-Institut Munich, Internationale Sommerakademie Salzburg, Internationales Festival Ticino Musica Locarno, Royal Academy of Music London, the Australian National Academy of Music, and others.

Reiner Wehle, Clarinett

Reiner Wehle, born in 1954 in Kiel, Germany, studied the clarinet with Hans Deinzer in Hannover and Guy Deplus in Paris.
In the course of his career, he has been awarded numerous international prizes, for example at competitions in Prague, Colmar, Martigny, Toulon and at the ARD Competition in Munich. In 1979 he was winner of the First Prize at the “Deutscher Musikwettbewerb” in Bonn.
Reiner Wehle has held engagements in various prestigious orchestras including the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra (with Sergio Celibidache) and the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra at Hannover. He is a member of the “Lucerne Festival Orchestra”, playing under the direction of Claudio Abbado.
As a soloist, he has performed with many orchestras in a host of different countries (e.g. the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Hannover, and the Tivoli Orchestra of Copenhagen, amongst others). He is an active chamber musician and has played worldwide with the Trio di Clarone, the Bläserensemble Sabine Meyer, the Ensemble Kontraste and the Trio Integral.
Reiner Wehle has made several CD recordings on the EMI Classics, Thorofon, ambitus and Novalis labels. He has twice received the highly acclaimed “Echo Prize” for the CD of the year (1999 and 2000). Since 1992, he has held a professorship at the "Musikhochschule Lübeck" together with his wife, Sabine Meyer. As well as giving a large number of masterclasses in different countries (e.g. in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, China, Bulgaria and Israel), he has been a jury member at numerous highlyranked music competitions.

Thomas Brandis, Violin

Thomas Brandis is one of the most famous musicians in Germany and Europe. He studied with the great violinist Max Rostal. In 1962 he became first concert master of the "Berliner Philharmoniker" under Herbert von Karajan. As soloist he played with the conductors Karl Böhm, Joseph Keilberth, Georg Solti, Eugen Jochum, Hans Schmidt - Isserstedt and others. He played many concerts with the "Philharmonische Solisten Berlin" and founded in 1976 the internationally famous "Brandis Quartett".
Noumerous recordings give evidence of the high artistic level. Since 1983 he is Professor for Violin at the "Hochschule der Künste Berlin". He gives numerous master classes all over the world and is juror of national and international musical competitions.

Barbara Westphal, Viola

Barbara Westphal studied in London and New York with Itzhak Perlman and Michael Tree. She was a prize winner in the "ARD-Wettbewerb" in Munich and the "Colmar International String Quartett Competition". As a soloist and a chamber musician, Barbara Westphal has performed regularly in Europe, the United States and South America. There are many solo recordings available. Her recording of the Brahms Sonatas earned rave reviews. Most recently her Bach Suites were released by Bridge Records and will be followed by an album of works by Clarke, Vieuxtemps and Enesco. In 1997 she formed the trio Da Salo with Ani Kavafian and Gustav Rivinius.
Barbara Westphal gives master classes in Europe and the United States and was appointed Professor at the Musikhochschule Lübeck in 1989. Her students include prize winners of international competitions and those in top orchestras in Germany and abroad.

Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Violoncello

Already during his studies with Aldo Parisot at the Juilliard School in New York and David Geringas at the Musikhochschule Lübeck, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt won the First Prize of the German National Music Competition in Bonn as well as the First Prize at the 1st International Adam Cello Competition in New Zealand, at the International Music Competitions in Bayreuth and Markneukirchen / Germany. At the International Rostropovitch Competition in Paris the international jury headed by Mstislav Rostropovitch awarded him the "Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris" and in addition the prize for contemporary music. He is also prize winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and the International Leonard Rose Cello Competition in the USA.
He performed in Europe, Russia, Japan and the USA as soloist with such prestigious orchestras.
Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt devotes himself also to chamber music and has already performed together with such renowned artists as Lang Lang, Christoph Eschenbach, Emanuel Ax, Gil Shaham, Nicolaj Znaider, Leonidas Kavakos, Kyoko Takezawa, Miriam Fried, Edgar Meyer and David Shifrin. From 2000-2002 he was a member of the Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center in New York. He is a member of the Goldfeld-Schmidt-Nebolsin Piano Trio.
Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt holds a professorship at the University of Music in Weimar. He plays on an instrument built by Matteo Goffriller, which previously belonged to Hugo Becker.

Klaus Stoppel, chamber music

Klaus Stoppel is one of the most sought-after chamber musicians of his generation. Born in 1950, he studied in Hamburg with Heinrich Schüchner and with the legendary French cellist Pierre Fournier. As chamber musician he played with Aurele Nicolet, the "Amadeus Quartett", Bruno Canino, Günter Ludwig, Norbert Brainin, Serge Collot, Eckhard Besch, Christiane Edinger and many others. For twenty years he played with the famous "Wührer Quartett and Sextett" all over the world. He is guest at many festivals in Europe, Japan, Israel and the USA. He teaches as Professor at the "Musikhochschule Lübeck" for violoncello and chamber music.