MARTIN
GIERDEN
Trumpet
Martin Gierden is assistant principal trumpet of the Gießen Philharmonic Orchestra. Born and raised in Cologne, he was a junior student with Tobias Füller at the Robert-Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf from 200 to 2008. From 2008 to 2011 he studied under Prof. Matthias Höfs at the HfMT Hamburg before continuing his studies under Prof. Klaus Schuhwerk at the HfMDK Frankfurt.During the 2012/13 season he was a utility trumpeter at the Krefeld and Mönchengladbach Theatre. He won his first full-time job as principal trumpet at the Mecklenburgischen Staatstheater Schwerin in 2014. He then spent a year as principal trumpet at the Frankfurt Opera before moving to Gießen in 2018.
ANNE
HEINEMANN
Trumpet
Anne Heinemann has been principal trumpet of the Nordwestdeusche Philharmonie since 2014. She has also held a teaching position at the Hfm Detmold since 2022. A prizewinner in many competitions, she regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician alongside her role in the orchestra.In recent years, Anne has studied cultural and media management. She is the artistic director of a chamber music festival and does not just play the trumpet for 10forBrass- she is also responsible for the management of the ensemble.
Originally from Lower Saxony, she had her first trumpet lessons with Gheorghe Herdeanu at the Kreismusikschule Helmstedt. She was a junior student with Prof. Matthias Höfs at the HfMT Hamburg, and later received her Bachelor from the same college. She gained her Master of Music with Prof. Klaus Schuhwerk at the HfMDK Frankfurt. During this time she was sponsored by the Oscar and Vera Ritter Foundation.
Before her employment at the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Anne was an apprentice at the Dresden Philharmonie and the Hamburg Symfoniker.
MANUEL
MISCHEL
Trumpet
Manuel Mischel has been principal trumpet of the Hamburger Symphoniker since 2017/18.Born in Uelzen in 1992, he started playing the trumpet aged eight in his local trombone chorus. After studying with Prof. Matthias Höfs at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg as a junior student, he completed his Bachelor studies at the same college.
Manuel played in the youth orchestras of Bremen and Lower Saxony, the German National Youth Orchestra, the Junior North German Philharmonic and the orchestral academies of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Zermatt Music Festival. He was an apprentice at the Hamburger Symphoniker before winning positions with the Lübeck Philharmonic and Kiel Philharmonic Orchestras. In 2016/17, Manuel was a member of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, receiving tuition from Tamás Velenczei and Martin Kretzer.
He has performed with the NDR Elbphilharmonieorchester, HR Sinfonieorchester, Hamburg State Opera, Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, DSO Berlin, Bavarian State Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Manuel is a member of the quintet “SpiriladoBrass”. He also plays regularly with SalaputiaBrass and German Brass. He has been a member of “10forBrass” since 2021. He won first prize at the Elise Meyer Stiftung Competition in Hamburg, was a national prizewinner in the “Jugend Musiziert” Competition and also won first prize at the international brass competition of Passau. Manuel was also supported by the student fund of the German People.
LUKAS
PAULENZ
Trumpet
Lukas Paulenz has been a trumpeter for the Lübeck Philharmonic since 2012. He started playing the trumpet aged six, receiving lessons from his father. He had success in youth orchestras and competitions before starting as a junior student in Hamburg under Prof. Matthias Höfs in 2007. He completed his Bachelor and Masters of Music in Hamburg in 2014 and 2016.During the 2011/12 season he was an apprentice at the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. In 2022, Lukas received the Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize from the Musik- und Orchesterfreunde Lübeck.
ANDRE
SCHOCH
Trumpet
Andre Schoch has been a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 2017 and holds a substitute professorship at Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts since 2021. From 2014 to 2017 he was principal trumpet at the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg. Before that, engagements as principal trumpet took him to the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. As soloist, Schoch has performed with the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg conducted by Kent Nagano, the Polish Kammer- philharmonie as part of the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Prague Chamber Orchestra and the Berliner Barock Solisten.Alongside his orchestral engagements Andre Schoch is also in high demand as a chamber musician. He is a founding member of the ensemble “10forBrass” and the Duo Schoch/Höricke. Regularly Schoch is also invited to play with the famous ensemble "German Brass".
Since 2020 Schoch is tutoring trumpet students at the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker and frequently leads rehearsals for the academy’s brass ensembles. From 2015 to 2017 he taught at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. Schoch has given serval acclaimed Masterclasses at the Karajan Academy, the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Manhattan School of Music.
Born in 1987, Schoch was given his first trumpet lesson at the age of eight by Ansgar Dümchen. From 2004 to 2007 he was a student at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, studying with Professor Reinhold Friedrich and Professor Klaus Bräker. Later he studied with Professor Matthias Höfs at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg and from 2010 to 2012 with Gábor Tarkövi at the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Schoch‘s versatile repertoire, as soloist and chamber musician, has been released on various audio- and video recordings by labels such as Berlin Classics, Dabringhaus & Grimm and Genuin.
CHRISTOF
SKUPIN
Trumpet
Born in 1982 in Hilden, Christof Skupin has been a member of the SWR Sinfonieorchester since 2007. From 2005 to 2007 he was 3rd/ assistant principal trumpet at the Essen Philharmonic.He first learned piano and organ at the Musikschule Hilden. After seven years trumpet tuition with Peter Scheerer, he was accepted onto the junior programme at the HfM Cologne with Malte Burba. He went on to complete his studies in 2009 at the HfMT Hamburg under Prof. Matthias Höfs.
Christof won national first prizes in the Jugend Musiziert competition and was also a prizewinner at the 2005 Lions European Music Prize at the Europaforum. He was a member of numerous renowned youth orchestras, such as the German Youth Orchestra, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and the European Union Youth Orchestra.
Alongside his musical studies, Christof studied Electrical and Information Technology at the FernUniversität Hagen from 2003, earning the title of Certified Engineer. Since 2017, he has been employed as an FPGA and Software Developer for the upcoming Stuttgarter company, Swabian Instruments.
SWANTJE
VESPER
Horn
Swantje Vesper has been a hornist with the Bamberger Symphoniker since 2016. She previously held positions in the NDR Elbphilharmonieorchester and the Hannover State Orchestra. She performs regularly with orchestras such as the Münchner Philharmoniker, WDR Sinfonieorchester and the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin.She studied with Prof. Christian Lampert at the HfM Stuttgart
Alongside her orchestral work, Swantje is in demand as a teacher and lecturer at masterclasses and youth orchestras such as the German national Youth Orchestra and the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie
She created the podcast “GLANZGESPRÄCHE“, where she acts as presenter and producer, in 2021. The podcast provides insights into the life and works of famous brass instrument players.
MATTHIAS
HAAKH
Trombone
Matthias Haakh is principal trombone of the WDR FunkhausorchesterBorn in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Rheinland-Pfalz, he was a junior student with Prof. Henning Wiegräbe at the HfM Stuttgart and also began his senior studies here, He later continued with Prof. Jonas Bylund at the HMTM Hannover. He also received valuable lessons from Prof. Ingemar Roos at the Norges musikkhøgskole in Oslo, where he was an Erasmus student.
Matthias gained his first orchestral experience in regional and national youth orchestras and with the academies of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and Lucerne Festival, where he worked intensively with composer and conductor Pierre Boulez. He was a member of the academy of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich before taking up his first full-time positions in the Theater Würzburg (2013 to 2017) and the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal (2017 to 2019). He has held his current position in the WDR Funkhausorchester since 2019.
JONATHAN
NUSS
Trombone
Jonathan Nuß was born in 1992 in Bergisch Gladbach.Following academy places with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester and the Staatskapelle Dresden and temporary contracts as principal trombone of both the Sinfonieorchester Aachen and the WDR Funkhausorchester, Jonathan has been principal trombone of the Staatskapelle Dresden since 2018. Additionally, in 2021, he was appointed bass trumpet in the Bayreuther Festspielorchester.
Aged only 15, he was a junior student in Detmold under Prof. David Bruchez. He later moved to the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, where he completed his Bachelor of Music under Prof. Ulrich Flad and Carsten Luz. In 2016, he continued his Master of Music under Prof. Ian Bousfield at the HKB Bern, Switzerland.
Jonathan has performed as a guest with orchestras such as: Gürzenich Orchester Köln, WDR Sinfonieorchester, MDR Sinfonieorchester, Staatskapelle Berlin, Hamburger Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper and the Deutsche Sinfonieorchester Berlin.
HENRIK
TISSEN
Trombone
Henrik Tissen was born in Kempen in the Lower Rhine Valley in 2000. He has been bass trombonist of the Staatskapelle Berlin since the 2018/19 season. Alongside his position in Berlin, he is also a lecturer at the Hochschule für Musik Franz-Liszt in Weimar, mentor of the children’s orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and, last but not least, a member of 10forBrass since early 2022.In the 2017/18 season he was in the academy of the Dortmunder Philharmoniker and the Bayrischer Staatsoper, where he was taught by Uwe Füssel.
His first orchestral experience was with the Junge Bläserphilarmonie NRW (brass ensemble) and the German National Youth Orchestra. He studied from 2016 at the Folkwang Universität der Künste Essen under Chris Houlding and Gerald Klauzner, who have both been teaching him since 2012.
FLORIAN
ZERBAUM
Trombone
Born in 1989, Florian Zerbaum is principal trombone of the Staatstheater Kassel and a founding member of 10forBrass. After studying at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, Berlin and the HMT Leipzig, he was a member of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Mendelssohn Academy of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.Guest performances and temporary contracts have taken him to the Staatskapelle Berlin, Gürzenich Orchester Cologne, Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg and the Staatsorchester Saarbrücken. For the 2021/22 season he was principal trombone of the Bielefelder Philharmoniker.
ALEXANDER
TISCHENDORF
Tuba
Alexander Tischendorf is a regular guest with the Vogtlandphilharmonie Greiz/Reichenbach. His first tuba lesson was aged 11 with Paul Hennig and then later with Klaus Teufel(both from the Staatskapelle Halle/Saale). He studied at the Hfm Franz Liszt in Weimar with Prof. Walter Hilgers, Sebastian Wagemann, Stefan Tischler and Ricardo Carvalhoso.In the 2005/06 season he was tuba player in the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau, Staatkapelle halle/Saale, Staatstheater Meiningen, Landestheater Detmold and the Theater Erfurt. He is employed as a teacher for the brass band Jena.
He is a Richard Wagner scholar, a scholar of the Internationale Junge Orchesterakademie, the Orchesterfestival Bayreuth and the Deutsche Musikwettbewerb.