Sophie Notte — cello

Sophie Notte studied cello with Konstantin Heidrich in Berlin and Valentin Radutiu and Natalie Clein in Rostock. Previously she was a junior student with Ulrich Voss at the Saarbrücken University of Music. She received valuable chamber music impulses from members of the Artemis Quartet, Mathieu Herzog, Valentin Erben, and Konrad Elser, among others. She was a scholarship holder of the Richard Wagner Association and won 2nd prize at the Alice Samter Chamber Music Competition. She gained orchestral experience in the WDR Funkhausorchester, the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, and as a member and principal of the Bundesjugendorchester under conductors such as Simon Rattle, Kurt Masur, and Kirill Petrenko. Sophie Notte now lives in Berlin as a freelance musician, has played several times with the soloist ensemble Kaleidoskop, and also works as a cello teacher.

Anna Faber — violin

Anna Faber, who grew up near Lake Constance, studied with Nora Chastain, Ana Chumachenco, and David Takeno, graduating with distinction in 2005. She lived in London for a longer period, working with ensembles such as the Britten Sinfonia, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and Ensemble Modern. In addition to her work as principal at the Basel Chamber Orchestra, she is a member of the soloist ensemble Kaleidoskop in Berlin, where she has lived for over ten years. Since then she has worked with artists including Sasha Waltz, Laurent Chetouane, and Susanne Kennedy & Georg Nussbaumer, and has performed as a musician and performer at festivals including the Sydney Festival, Wien Modern, Hitzacker, the Donaueschinger Musiktage, the Holland Festival, and the Ruhrtriennale. When she's not playing violin, she sings, dances, and occasionally unpacks the old accordion.

Mari Sawada — violin

Mari Sawada was born and grew up in Essen. At the age of four she started playing the violin with her mother; later Prof. Keiko Wataya became her teacher and an important mentor. Her path took her from Utrecht via Aachen to Berlin, where she has lived since. Since 2007 she has played primarily with the soloist ensemble Kaleidoskop in Berlin, with whom she feels deeply connected. Other formative figures in her musical life include Charles André Linale, Michael Vaiman, Joyce Tan, and especially her family.

Daniella Strasfogel — viola

Daniella Strasfogel is a violinist, violin teacher, and performer based in Berlin. She is a founding member of the soloist ensemble Kaleidoskop in Berlin. In 2018 she initiated the audience talk series "The Artist Talk!" as part of Kaleidoskop's activities, striving for exchange between artists and audience. That same year she also founded LOUDsoft, born from the impulse to create multidimensional music experiences for and with families.

daniellastrasfogel.com

Ziad Rajab — oud, voice

Ziad Rajab was born in Aleppo, Syria, to a Syrian mother and a Palestinian father. Both his mother and grandmother played the oud, and it was from them that he received his first lessons. He later studied under Bahjat Durmosh and the eminent Arab music theorist (maqam) Rashid al-Sufi. He made his professional debut in 1983 with Sabab al-Arube, a group affiliated with the Aleppo Fine Arts Association. Since 1988 he has made his home in Thessaloniki, Greece, pursuing his own musical path and performing at WOMAD (2002), the Samothraki World Music Festival (2005), and the Thessaloniki State Conservatory, among others. He has performed internationally at the Helsinki Festival (1993), the Moers Festival in Germany (2015), and further international stages. He has collaborated with numerous musicians, including Ross Daly, Yorgos Dalaras, and Haig Yazdjian, and has released several albums of his own compositions, including "Mawjet Tarab" (2000). Since 1994, Ziad Rajab has also made and repaired ouds in his own workshop, and offers oud lessons for beginners and advanced players alike.

ziad.gr