CONCERTMASTER

Russell McGregor

The Australian violinist/conductor Russell McGregor was born in Oxford, England and grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He completed his Diploma of Arts in Music at the Victorian College of the Arts and has been based in Vienna, Austria since 1992. From 1994-1996, he was concertmaster with the Vienna Chamber Opera company. Since 1997, Russell has conducted and lead the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra and has also performed and conducted in Indonesia, Canada, Japan, Iran, and England and other European countries. He also performs as a highly successful conductor/soloist with the Johann Strauss Ensemble in Austria and throughout the world with great acclaim. Russell McGregor plays on a Carlo Giuseppe Testore violin from 1697.

Tanja Seara Sallustio

Tanja Seara Sallustio started playing the violin at the tender age of 5. Her musical talent was already promoted at an early age at reputable music schools in Bulgaria (Plovdiv, Sofia). After graduating from the Sofia Music High School, her musical talents were taken to the next level at the University of Music in Vienna. In addition to the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra, where she has been concertmaster since 1999, she also performs internationally as a soloist and concertmaster with famous orchestras. Extensive concert tours and tours in various formations have taken her to all 5 continents of the world. She lives and works in Vienna - the city of the waltz - the city of Johann Strauss, her great musical love.

Ion Scripcaru

Ion Scripcaru, concertmaster of the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra, was born in Jassy/Romania. He comes from a renowned family of musicians. He received his first violin lessons from his father Aureliu Scripcaru when he was six years old. He studied in Vienna, Linz, and Graz with Arkadij Winokourow and Vesna Stankovic. He deepened his knowledge in master classes with Midori Goto, Liviu Prunaru, and Florin Paul. Ion Scripcaru has received significant awards both at home and abroad, both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. In November 2012, he made his debut as soloist and conductor with the Metropolitan Kammerorchester Wien in the Vienna Konzerthaus with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Ion Scripcaru is a member of a number of Viennese orchestras: Symphony Orchestra of the Volksoper Vienna, Spirit of Europe, and Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra. Since 2015, he has been a full member of the orchestra of the Volksoper Vienna.

Pavol Varga

Pavol Varga was born in Slovakia in 1989. He studied at the State Conservatory in Bratislava and continued to study at University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz with Prof. Eszter Haffner. During his studies, he deepened his knowledge in several master courses and competitions: Music Academy in Telc - Jan Talich, Neuberger Kulturtage - Eszter Haffner, Veronika Schulz, Gunter Teuffel, Burg Feistritz - Gerhardt Schulz, Thomas Brandis, Benjamin Schmidt. He took part in international violin competitions such as the Jozsef Szigeti Competition and Andrea Postacchini in Fermo. In 2010, he won First Prize in the Chamber Music Competition in Zilina (string quartet). He has also collaborated with several internationally- known artists such as Gottfried Boisits (Vienna Philharmonic), Eszter Haffner, Claudio Bohorquéz, Dalibor Karvay.

VIOLIN

Balazs Schwartz

Born in Hungary. Repeated winner of 1st Prize and Jury Special Award Jugend Musiziert, Auer Lipot, and Koncz Janos Violin Competitions. Solo and String Quartet / Piano Trio Concerts at home and abroad. Master of Arts degree from the University of Music Vienna. CD and TV recordings with renowned national and international artists as concertmaster. Memberships in the Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lower Austrian Tonkünstler, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Haydn Philharmonic, Vereinigte Bühne, various chamber music ensembles in classical, jazz, musical, and pop.

Theresa Clauberg

Theresa Clauberg was born in Munich, Germany. She took her first violin lessons at the age of 4 with Helge Thelen and two years later began her piano studies with Viera Fischer. Theresa Clauberg regularly performs concerts as a soloist and chamber musician in a range of festivals, most notably the Bachwoche Ansbach (Germany), Chiloé Concertante (Chile), and Primavera Festival (Austria). She regularly embarks on social projects in South America and India, where she gives concerts and free master classes to young and socially disadvantaged violinists. Theresa completed her violin studies in 2018 with a Master of Arts at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, and is currently enrolled in a transcultural communication studies and international development master’s program at the University of Vienna.

Eva Gaismeier

Eva Gaismeier received her first violin lessons from Gretl Biedermann at the age of 6. In the ensuing years, she studied with Klara Flieder, Manfred Kuhn and graduated with distinction under Dorice Köstenberger in 2009. In 2012, she successfully studied music kinesiology and in 2018, she completed a jazz training course under Andi Schreiber. Eva Gaismeier teaches violin and voice in the music school in Pernitz. She also performs in various ensembles and orchestras in Austria and abroad and participates in classical, pop, and jazz studio recordings.

Alejandro Loguercio

Celebrated for his musical exuberance and virtuosity, Venezuelan violinist Alejandro Loguercio leads a dynamic performance career as a soloist and a chamber and orchestra musician. He has given numerous performances across all continents, including international festivals such as the Ravinian Festival (USA), Wiener Festwochen (Austria), Rheingau Musikfestival (Germany), and MozartFest Würzburg (Germany). Now based in Vienna, Alejandro Loguercio is currently the concertmaster of the Max Steiner Orchestra and regularly tours internationally with various orchestras such as the Wiener Konzertverein, Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra and the Nuevo Mudno Chamber Orchestra.
He is a founding member of the Acros Trio, an energetic Piano Trio, who released its debut CD in 2009 and won the Josef Windisch Chamber Music Prize in 2013. Alejandro Loguercia is also member of the innovative tango-comedy quartet Garufa!.

Alessandro Malizia

Alessandro Malizia was born in Italy and received his first lessons at the age of 4. He studied violin and chamber music with Zoran Milenkovich, Pavel Vernikov, Dora Schwarzberg, Florian Zwiauer, Martin Hornstein and Demetrius Polyzoides, and composition with Luciano Pelosi, Reiner Bischof and Christian Minkowitsch. Alessandro Malizia completed a master’s degree in violin at the Conservatorio di Musica S. Cecilia di Roma with great distinction (Prof. Camillo Grasso) and a master’s degree in composition at the Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität in Vienna with great distinction (Prof. Reiner Bischof and Christian Minkowitsch). He has performed at famous concert halls such as the Via della Conciliazione (Roma), Auditorium Parco della Musica (Roma), Theater Akzent (Wien), Mozart-Saal of the Wiener Konzerthaus, Großer Saal (Wiener Musikverein), and Großer Saal (Mozarteum Salzburg).

Claudia Sturm

Claudia Sturm studied at the Klagenfurt Conservatory and the Mozarteum Salzburg with Brian Finlayson and Benjamin Schmid and completed her degrees with distinction. At the age of 16, she founded the Adamas Quartet which has earned various prizes (JeunesseMehrWERTPreis der Erste Bank, 1st Prize and Special Prize at the International Competition for Degenerate Music Schwerin and more) and recorded two CDs for the Austrian Gramola label which have also won prizes on the national as well as the international level (Diapason découverte, Supersonic Pizzicato Award). Matters dear to Claudia's heart are chamber music, which she is deepening through a master's program at the MDW with Prof. Johannes Meissl, the rediscovery and performance of "degenerate music", as well as music education projects in particular for children and adolescents.

Johanna Sulzgruber

Vienna-based violinist Johanna Sulzgruber completed her concert studies at the Joseph-Haydn-Conservatory Eisenstadt. She first gained orchestral experience at the Wiener Jeunesse Orchester and as concertmaster of the Conservatory Orchestra Eisenstadt. From 2009 to 2017, Johanna Sulzgruber was a member of the Franz Lehár-Orchestra. Since 2015, she has been a permanent substitute at the Stadttheater Baden. The violinist maintains further collaboration with ensembles such as the Vienna Strings, the Ambassade Orchestra Vienna, and the Ballorchester Steubl. As part of several orchestra and opera tours, she has been a guest in Japan and China, the United Arab Emirates, and South America.

VIOLA

Rita Cuda

Rita Cuda discovered her passion for music at the age of six. She began to study violin in Hungary, where she switched–influenced especially by Prof. Jenö Seffer - to the viola. She continued her studies in Vienna at the University of Music and Performing Arts and graduated with honors with Prof. Siegfried Führlinger. She took part in successful tours with the Wiener Symphoniker in Austria and in Europe and specialized in contemporary music as principal violist of Wiener Kammeroper. Rita Cuda has been a member of the renowned Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra for decades and presents the music of Johann Strauss with enthusiasm.

Plamena Ivanova

The Bulgarian violinist began to play the violin at the age of 6. Since 2005, she has studied violin at the Music and Art University (MUK), since 2006, instrumental pedagogy at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, since 2009, violin and since 2013, viola at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz. As an orchestra and chamber musician, she has played concerts all over Europe, as well as in Peru, China, Japan, and Korea.

Judith Ullmer

Judith Ullmer took her first violin lessons in Upper Austria, studied violin with Albert Fischer and viola with Predrag Katanic (Bruckner Private University). Since 2008, she has been living in Vienna. She studied viola with Prof. Herbert Müller. She participated in master classes with Hans Peter Ochsenhofer, Gerhard Mantel and others. She was a participant in the Vienna Philharmonic’s A.Prokopp Academy and a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra. She has had fixed-term contracts with the Tonkünstler Orchestra and has been a substitute in the stage orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper. As a freelance musician, she plays chamber music and in different orchestras. She is a prize winner of Prima la Musica and received the Prix Talentis from the Kiwanis Club Wels with her string quartet.

Giorgia Veneziano

Giorgia Veneziano was born in Messina (Italy). She began studying violin at the age of 10 and graduated with unanimous distinction from the Conservatory “A. Corelli” in Messina. In 1999, she completed her viola studies at the Conservatory "G.B. Pergolesi " in Fermo and attended masterclasses with F. Tamponi, E. Porta, and Piernarciso Masi. Since 2000, she has lived in Vienna. From 2003 to 2004, she studied at the Music University Graz with Prof. M. Maurer. She plays regularly with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Synchron Stage Orchestra, and the Beethoven Philharmonie. As co-founder of the String Quintet Vienna Chamber Symphony, she performs throughout Europe. Since 2017, she has dedicated herself to the viola d’amore and historical performance.

VIOLONCELLO

Kristina Heumesser

Kristina Heumesser took her first cello lesson at the age of six. She studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Prof. Yontscho Bayrow. Her concert activities brought her to Japan, China, Sweden, Russia, Turkey and many other destinations. She is active in many different areas of music, in orchestras as well as in chamber music ensembles, including the Neue Oper Wien and Kammeroper Wien and as a member of various ensembles in the musical and showbusiness field. Kristina Heumesser was born in Vienna and has been a member of the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra since 1997.

Christine Schoppmann

Born in Vienna, Christine Schoppmann grew up in Klosterneuburg, where she started cello lessons with her teacher Vladimir Malinowsky at the age of 7. She studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts and the Music and Arts Privat University in Vienna, where she graduated in the class of Christoph Stradner (Wiener Symphoniker). Her studies were influenced in master classes with well-known soloists and orchestral musicians such as Reinhard Latzko, Wolfgang Boettcher, Franz Bartolomey among others. Christine is a member (principal and tutti) of several orchestras and chamber music ensembles and has participated in many international concerts. Christine was selected to be a teacher in a music school to work with young talented cellists.

CONTRABASS

Zdenek Machacek

The Slovakian double bass player Zdenek Machacek comes from a Pressburg music family. He completed his studies at the conservatory, then at the music university in Bratislava, Slovakia. For 16 years, he was a member of the Slovak Radio Orchestra, with whom he participated in the recording of more than 150 CDs - classical music, film music. He has played with various Slovakian and Austrian orchestras, such as the Stadttheater Baden, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Opernball Orchester, and the Volksoper Vienna. Zdenek Machacek has been a member of the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra in Vienna for over 15 years.

FLÖTE

Heinz Kohlbauer

Heinz Kohlbauer was born in Steyr, Austria. He studied flute and audio engineering at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and graduated with distinction in both subjects. A Fulbright Scholarship to study at the University of Miami, further enhanced his education.
He is a founding member of the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra Vienna. Concert tours with this orchestra and several other chamber music ensembles and orchestras have extended over four continents.
Heinz Kohlbauer is an active flute teacher in Vienna and Lower Austria. Furthermore, he runs his own recording studio Absolute Sound. Postproduction and mastering of several live recordings of the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra Vienna were done in his studio.

OBOE

Magdalena Lucia Puschnig

Magdalena Lucia Puschnig was born in Vienna. She started playing the oboe at the music school with Peter Mayrhofer and continued her studies with Prof. Harald Hörth at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where she graduated successfully in 2018. She has attended numerous masterclasses and is a 1st prize-winner of various competitions. Magdalena Lucia Puschnig plays regularly with many well-known Viennese orchestras, such as the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Wiener Staatsoper stage orchestra, and the orchestra of the Volksoper Vienna.

CLARINET

Tobias Fichtinger

Tobias Fichtinger was born in Stockerau and started playing the clarinet at the age of eight. Currently, he is completing his master’s degree at the Music and Arts University of Vienna with Mag. Reinhard Wieser. His musical education includes master classes with Kurt Franz Schmid, Caroline Hartig, Milan Turkovic and others. Aside from the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra, he plays as a substitute with the Wiener Symphoniker, the RSO Vienna, and the Wiener Konzertverein. In addition, he teaches clarinet students at an adult education center in Vienna.

BASSOON

Marion Biber-Janda

Marion Biber-Janda studied with Dietmar Zeman, Stepan Turnovsky and Richard Galler at the University for Music and Perfoming Arts Vienna. She passed both of the final exams in music education and instrumental study bassoon with excellent success. Since 2003, she has been a substitute in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Staatsoper, and Volksoper Wien. From 2007 to 2009, she was principal bassoonist in the Bad Reichenhaller Philharmonie (Germany). Since 2010, she has been a bassoon teacher at the Johann-Sebastian-Bach music school and since 2014, a lecturer at the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Furthermore, she is a member of the ensembles Trio Mignon Wien and Airstaunlich.

Cyril Chalier

Cyril Chalier was born into a Swiss family of musicians. After studying at the Conservatoire in Geneva he moved for a postgraduate course at University of Music and Performing Arts to Vienna, where he is now living with his family. He has performed in many renowned European orchestras such as the NDR Orchestra in Germany, the Orchester de la Suisse Romande in Switzerland, and the RSO in Vienna. Cyril Chalier’s passion belongs to the opera, which is why also the Volksoper Vienna likes to fall back on his services on a regular basis. In addition to his performance work, Cyril Chalier teaches music at the Gymnasium.

Magdalena Pircher

Magdalena was born in Lienz/Tyrol. She began to play the bassoon at the age of eight in her hometown, before continuing her lessons at the Carinthian Conservatory under Bianca Schuster. She has been studying at the University of Music and performing Arts Vienna under Richard Galler since 2013. She went to several master classes under well-known bassoonists. In 2012, she played as a soloist with the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra and had the pleasure to gain experience by playing in some other orchestras as well. For example, she plays as a substitute at the Volksoper Vienna, has had concerts with the Wiener Symphoniker, and has been a member of the Munich Philharmonic’s academy since 2018.

HORN

Nevena Sunjac

Nevena Sunjac was born in Belgrade/Serbia and she took her first horn lessons at the age of twelve. In 2007, she began studying at the Conservatory Vienna Private University. She completed her bachelor's degree with honors and is continuing her master’s studies at the Conservatory Vienna Private University and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. She is a laureate of various competitions in Serbia. She has been a substitute in the RSO Vienna and has performed in various renowned orchestras such as the Wiener Symphoniker, Vienna Chamber Orchester, Tonkünstler Kammerorchester, Haydn Philharmonic, Neue Oper Wien, Stadttheater Baden, Vereinigte Bühnen Wien.

Michael Wachter

Michael Wachter grew up in St. Georgen im Attergau and received his first horn lessons at the age of 10 from Erhard Zehetner in Kremsmünster, where he also attended the Stiftsgymnasium. Following his bachelor's degree with Klaus Zajer, he completed the master's program with Gerhard Kulmer at the Vienna Conservatory. Private lessons with Wolfgang Tomböck, Lars Michael Stransky and Franz Söllner rounded out his training. Michael Wachter won among others prizes in Prima la musica, the Fidelio competition, and Gradus ad Parnassum. He is a substitute at the Vienna Philharmonic, the Wiener Symphoniker, the Volksoper Vienna, the stage orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper, and the Lower Austrian Tonkünstler.
Numerous concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Classics, the Strauss Capelle, the Strauss Festival Orchestra among others have taken him around the world.
Michael Wachter has been teaching at the Music School Laxenburg since 2008.

TRUMPET

Michael Bednarik

Studied with Prof. Josef Pomberger at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and graduated in 2008 with distinction in trumpet perfomance. He regularly substitutes in numerous renowned orchestras such as the orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper, stage music of the Wiener Staatsoper, Volksoper Vienna, Bruckner Orchestra Linz, Lower Austrian Tonkünstler, Vienna Mozart Orchestra, Sinfonietta Baden. He has played under Riccardo Muti, Pierre Boulez, Stefan Vladar, Dennis Russell Davies, Alfred Eschwé, Johannes Wildner, Christoph Eschenbach. Among his highlights as a principal trumpet is his performance of Leopold Mozart’s trumpet concerto with the Vienna Mozart Orchestra in the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein.

Josef Hofbauer

Josef Hofbauer was born in Vienna and studied the trumpet with Carole Dawn Reinhart at the Vienna Music University. In 1990, he received his performance degree. With a wide interest in music styles, he started his own jazz band while still busy with his classical education. Later he continued his studies with the legendary Maurice André. In 1986, he made his solo debut in the famous Wiener Musikverein. Concert tours have taken him to most European countries, as well as North Africa, Korea, Japan, China, Brazil, and the United States. As a soloist, he has fourteen CDs to his credit in various musical styles. Several renowned Austrian composers have written concertos for him. In 2008, he founded his own band (www.jh5.at) which goes along with him on tours from Monaco to Shanghai.

Jörg Schafferer

Jörg Schafferer was born in Vienna in 1972. He received his first musical education from his father. At the age of 14, Jörg Schafferer began to study preliminary at the Conservatory Vienna (MUK) with Prof. Schwameis. After that, he studied trumpet with Prof. Karl Steininger and completed his studies with distinction in 1997. Jörg Schafferer has substituted in many orchestras: Wiener Symphoniker, NÖ Tonkünstler, Volksoper Vienna, VSOP, Ensemble die Reihe, and many others. On several tours, he has travelled to Scandinavia, Japan, Russia, China, Brazil, USA, Canada, and others. From 2000-2010, he played at the Kammeroper Vienna. Since 1998, he has been performing with the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra.

Christof Zellhofer

Christof Zellhofer studied Trumpet in Vienna and Malmö. He is currently freelancing in Vienna, playing with all of the great Viennese symphony and opera orchestras, including the orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna Philharmonic, Wiener Symphoniker, orchestra of the Volksoper Vienna, Tonkünstlerorchester Niederösterreich, and the ORF – Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has played under the baton of international conductors like Riccardo Muti, Franz Welser-Möst, Zubin Metha, Georges Pretre, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Neville Marriner, and many others. Additionally, you can hear him as soloist and chamber music partner in classical music as well as in the field of jazz, pop, and improvised music.

TROMBONE

Filip Rozic

His musical career began with Bruno Sulzbacher, where he received his first lessons on the tenor horn at the age of 8. At 14, he switched to the tenor trombone in the music branch of the Stiftsgymnasium Admont with Siegmund Andraschek. This was followed by the preparatory course at the Anton Bruckner Private University Linz with Johann Reiter. In addition to the Musikgymnasium Dreihackengasse in Graz, he attended the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatory, where he was taught by Wolfgang Tischhart. Filip is currently studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Otmar Gaiswinkler. During his ongoing education, he has participated in numerous orchestral projects, such as the Operetta Orchestra Vienna, the SSO and the COOV, which also enabled him to visit countries such as China, the Balkans, Scandinavia, and Japan on tours.

PERCUSSION

Daniel Piedl

Daniel Piedl was born in Hungary and studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz / Oberschützen under Prof. Martin Kerschbaum.
He plays in numerous ensembles such as the Wiener Symphoniker, Kristjan Järvi's Absolute Ensemble, La Stagione Frankfurt, Solamente Naturali Bratislava, Il Giardino Armonico, Prisma Vienna, Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra, Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich, Julian Rachlin & Friends, Concentus Musicus Wien, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Wiener Konzertverein, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Barocca de Sevilla, Strauss Festival Orchestra, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, Solistes Européens Luxembourg, Wiener Kammerphilharmonie, Symphony Orchestra Vorarlberg, Symphony Orchestra of the Volksoper Vienna, Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra, Vienna Mozart Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Vienna Classical Players, stage orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper, etc. Numerous tours at home and abroad.
Since 2011, he has been a full member of the orchestra at the Stadttheater Baden.

Johannes Tremel

Johannes Tremel regularly participates in the Concentus Musicus Wien, the Wiener Symphoniker, the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra, the Graz Opera and the ORF Radiosymphonie - Orchester. Since 2012, has been a percussionist in the Jeunesse Orchestra where he has participated in international tours. Since 2012, Johannes Tremel has been studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (performance and IGP) with Dieter Seiler (principal timpani Wiener Symphoniker) and since autumn 2016 with Univ. Prof. Thomas Lechner (principal timpani Vienna Philharmonic) at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (performance). Since April 2018, Johannes Tremel has been a percussion teacher at the Joseph - Matthias - Hauer Music School in Wiener Neustadt.