Von der Presse als „phänomenal“ (Süddeutsche Zeitung), „rhythmisches Genie“ (Die ZEIT) und „voller eleganter Perfektion“ (Kōbe Newspaper) gerühmt, finden Auftritte des aufstrebenden Multiperkussionisten Christian Benning weltweit größte Aufmerksamkeit. Überschäumende Spielfreude und virtuose Spieltechnik haben die internationale Karriere des 27-Jährigen in kurzer Zeit an die Spitze der Generation junger Perkussionisten katapultiert. Seine fesselnden Auftritte als Solist und mit seinem Ensemble (Christian Benning Percussion Group), fanden jüngst in den berühmtesten Konzertsälen der Welt statt, darunter in der Hamburger Elbphilharmonie, der Bremer Glocke, dem Prinzregententheater, der Philharmonie sowie dem Herkulessaal in München, dem Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, dem Musikverein in Graz, dem Mailänder Dom, der Sagrada Família in Barcelona, dem Borusan Music House in Istanbul, dem Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, dem George Enescu Saal in Bukarest, der Erlöserkirche in Jerusalem, der ägyptischen Staatsoper in Kairo, dem königlichen Opernhaus in Maskat, dem Culture Center in Ōsaka, der Abbey in San Diego, der Griswold-Hall in Baltimore sowie bei den Vereinten Nationen in New York City. Neben zahlreichen internationalen Wettbewerbserfolgen und Konzertreisen durch Asien, Afrika, Europa und Nordamerika, tritt der so außerordentlich vielseitige Schlagzeuger regelmäßig mit namhaften Ensembles und Instrumentalisten auf. Langfristige Kammermusik-Projekte verbinden ihn u.a. mit Simone Rubino, Cameron Carpenter, dem Arcis-Saxophon-Quartett oder dem Neeb-Piano-Duo. Konzerte in diesen Besetzungen führten ihn bereits zum Rheingau Musikfestival, zum Heidelberger Frühling zu La Folle Journée oder ins Teatro Romano di Verona. Seine hoch geschätzte musikalische Ausdruckskraft bereicherte bereits viele Aufnahme-Produktionen in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Deutschlandfunk, dem Bayerischen Rundfunk, dem Südwest-Rundfunk und ist bei Labels wie Genuin, Prospero oder Audite erschienen, wo er auch eigene Kompositionen eingespielt hat. Jenseits seiner Konzerttätigkeiten als Solist und Kammermusiker übernimmt Christian Benning entscheidende Rollen als Schlagwerker und Paukist bei dem Münchener sowie Württembergischen Kammerorchester, dem Ludwigsburger Festivalorchester oder dem Staatsorchester von Port Louis. Seine Leidenschaft für die Vermittlung seiner künstlerischen Expertise und die Förderung junger Talente führt ihn dazu, häufig als Dozent bei Akademien und Meisterkursen sowie an Konservatorien in Deutschland, Italien, Spanien, Israel und Mauritius tätig zu sein. In seinem stetigen Streben nach Innovation entwickelt Christian Benning derzeit mit CreativeBeats ein revolutionäres Hybrid-Schlaginstrument. Als Stipendiat der Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes und Kulturpreisträger der Süddeutschen Zeitung sowie der Stadt Pasing engagiert er sich darüber hinaus in einer langfristigen interdisziplinären Zusammenarbeit mit Holger Geschwindner und Dirk Nowitzki. Gemeinsam erforschen sie eine Rhythmus-basierte Trainingsmethode für den Profisport. Ein von Benning eigens entwickeltes Notationssystems bildet die Grundlage seines Promotionsstudiums, das er seit Oktober 2022 an der Londoner Brunel University absolviert. Seit 2009 ist Christian Benning an der Münchener Musikhochschule immatrikuliert, wo er nach seinem Jungstudium auch sein Bachelor- und Masterstudium bei Dr. Peter Sadlo, Arnold Riedhammer, Raymond Curfs, Adel Shalaby und Alexej Gerassimez erfolgreich abschloss und gegenwärtig sein Konzertexamen absolviert. Weitere Studienerfahrung sammelte er in den USA bei Robert van Sice am Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University und an der Yale School of Music. Meisterkurse und gemeinsame Konzerte mit Evelyn Glennie, Martin Grubinger, Lang Lang, Juan de la Rubia, Leon Fleisher und Kent Nagano runden seine umfangreiche künstlerische Erfahrung ab. Christian Benning wird von Meinl Cymbals, Meinl Percussion, Meinl Stick&Brush, SchlagZu, AlternateMode und vanLaack ausgerüstet und ist seit 2023 Yamaha Artist.

Ursina Maria Braun's musical career is characterised by its enormous versatility. A prizewinner of the Leipzig Bach Competition, she is active as a soloist and chamber musician as well as a solo cellist in renowned ensembles, and is also a sought-after composer. She began her training as a junior student with Thomas Grossenbacher at the Zurich University of the Arts, where she also received composition lessons from Andreas Nick. Her Bachelor's and Master's studies with Clemens Hagen and Heinrich Schiff then took her to the Mozarteum University Salzburg and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Additional studies with Reinhard Goebel deepened her interest in historical performance practice, which she has made an essential focus of her work. During her studies, Ursina Maria Braun received numerous awards, including first prize at the international CONCORSO 12 Enrico Mainardi in 2012, the study award of the Migros Kulturprozent in 2016, and second prize and the audience prize at the International Bach Competition Leipzig. During the coronavirus pandemic, she initiated an innovative concert series on the Kapuzinerberg in Salzburg and won second prize at the Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges in 2021. With her chamber music partners such as Kit Armstrong, Denes Varjon, Pietro de Maria, Florian Birsak, Reinhard Goebel, Julian Prégardien, Dmitry Smirnov, Lorenza Borrani, Alfredo Bernardini, Franziska Hölscher, Erich Höbarth, and Dorothea Oberlinger, she has performed at festivals such as Styriarte Graz, Carinthischer Sommer, Thüringer Bachwochen, Bachwochen Ansbach, Suoni delle Dolomiti, Stresa Festival, and Mittelfest and has already performed in concert halls such as the Wiener Musikverein, Teatro della Pergola in Florence, Wigmore Hall in London, and Konzerthaus Berlin. As principal cellist of the Concentus Musicus founded by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, she is part of one of the most respected ensembles for historical performance practice. In addition, she performs as a principal cellist with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata Salzburg, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. As a composer, Ursina Maria Braun receives commissions from the Musikpodium Zürich, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Swiss Chamber Concerts, Azahar Ensemble, Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sinfonietta de Lausanne. The Salzburg-based cellist regularly passes on her enthusiasm for music in projects with students at the Zurich University of the Arts, the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, and the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana and leads a cello class at the Tirolean State Conservatory in Innsbruck.

Florian Birsak's first musical steps took him through the sound world of the Baroque. As a child, he exclusively played the harpsichord and clavichord, and he still regards the music from Frescobaldi to Bach as his musical home. Birsak first began his training in his native city of Salzburg and continued it at the University of Music and Theatre Munich. He received important inspiration for his artistic maturation from formative personalities such as Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Kenneth Gilbert, and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Prizes followed at international competitions such as the Festival of Flanders in Bruges and the Mozart Competition in Salzburg. In 2003, together with the cellist Isolde Hayer, he received the August Everding Prize of the Munich Concert Society. An essential part of his musical and scholarly interest lies in the appropriate execution of the figured bass in all its stylistic facets. As a soloist and chamber musician, Birsak has performed in ensembles such as the Camerata Salzburg, Hofkapelle München, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, L’Orfeo Barockorchester, Zefiro Barockorchester, Armonico Tributo, Oman Consort, Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Bern, and Concentus Musicus Wien under conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Roger Norrington, Simon Rattle, Sigiswald Kuijken, Giovanni Antonini, Christopher Hogwood, Ivor Bolton, Thomas Hengelbrock, and many others. Recently, Florian Birsak has increasingly focused on solo performance as well as on his own chamber music projects with selected programmatic objectives. In 2013, he was appointed professor of harpsichord at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, and he also serves as acting head of the department of Early Music and initiated and directed the “Innsbruck Baroque” academy, which offered master classes and workshops in the field of historical performance practice from 2014 to 2019. In 2021, he joined the Baroque programme of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and has also led a fortepiano class at the Mozarteum Salzburg since 2023.

Italian-Australian pianist Jonathan Ferrucci has given concerts as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe, Australia and the United States. He has performed in Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall and Milton Court Concert Hall in London, Carnegie Weill Hall in New York and the Fazioli Concert Hall in Italy, among other venues. Jonathan is a prize winner of numerous competitions, such as the International Bach Competition in Leipzig, the Royal Overseas League, the Jaques Samuel Intercollegiate Piano Competition. A Kirckman Society Artist for 2022-23 and Keyboard Trust Artist since 2019, Jonathan’s recent work includes a seven-date tour of the United States, focused around the Goldberg Variations, and concerts in Italy with the Orchestra da Camera di Perugia, playing as a soloist and together with his mentor Angela Hewitt. Other recent concert activity includes a tour of Oregon as “Rising Star”, recitals in Padua for Amici della Musica di Padova (Sala dei Giganti), Vicenza (Teatro Comunale), Florence (British Institute – Lord Acton Library), Perugia for the Trasimeno Music Festival, Rome (Villa Torlonia). Jonathan’s Wigmore debut in 2017 was recorded live and released as a CD. His recent concerto performances have been with the Orchestra da Camera di Perugia (2023 and 2022), Roma Tre Orchestra (2021) and the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra in Leipzig (2018). Jonathan’s repertoire ranges from baroque music to contemporary composers. His main focus, however, is J.S. Bach’s: in 2020 he began his study of the Goldberg Variations, and has since performed them in the UK, Italy and the US. As for future projects, his exploration of Bach’s music continues with the complete keyboard Toccatas. Upcoming performances include recitals with the seven Bach Toccatas in Florence and Città della Pieve, and the Goldberg Variations at Kings Place, London, in March 2024. Born in Florence, Italy, Jonathan studied at the Florence Conservatoire L. Cherubini, where he completed his Bachelor degree with honours, then at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he continued his studies with a Masters, followed by Artist Diploma and a one year Artist Fellowship. Along the way, his studies have been supported through scholarships and grants by the Leverhulme Trust, Jessie Wakefield Award, Guildhall School Trust, Tait Memorial Trust and Kirckman Society. In addition to his training with Giovanni Carmassi in Florence, and Joan Havill at the Guildhall School in London, his artistic sensitivity has been profoundly influenced by Angela Hewitt, with whom he has worked since 2014, and by his studies with Robert Levin, Aldo Ciccolini, and Zhu Xiao-Mei. His journey has been inspired along the way by masterclasses with Murray Perahia, Richard Goode, Christian Zacharias, Dmitri Bashkirov and Peter Frankl. Parallel to his time spent at the piano, Jonathan is a dedicated Ashtanga Yoga practitioner. He considers Yoga integral to his work as a musician and essential in life.