Ulrich König was first prizewinner in the national ›Jugend musiziert‹ competition and a member of the RIAS Youth Orchestra Berlin. He studied the oboe in Berlin, Hanover and Stuttgart. During this time, he played with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and the European Union Youth Orchestra.

He became a member of The Deutsche Kammerphil-harmonie Bremen in 1988 and was thus one of the first wind players to be admitted to the orchestra as a partner. He has also performed as a soloist with the Kammer-philharmonie and has made guest appearances for example at Gidon Kremer’s Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival and Lars Vogt’s ›Spannungen‹ chamber music festival at Heimbach Power Station.

Ulrich König also enjoys adapting and arranging pieces – ranging from classical works for The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen’s wind soloists to pop music for his ensemble ›Das ABBArtige Quartett‹.

As a schoolchild, Ulrike Höfs realized that all she wanted to become in life was a musician. After participating successfully in several music competitions and gaining first orchestra experience in the regional and national youth orchestras and the Young German Philharmonic, Ulrike Höfs originally studied under Prof. Renate Greiss-Armin, then with Prof. Peter-Lukas Graf. She already played with The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie during her student days. As a partner, she has been a permanent member of the orchestra since 2003.
For her, the special thing about her favourite orchestra is the energy flow onstage and the supportive way the team pulls together.

Apart from her work with the orchestra, Ulrike Höfs enjoys playing chamber music and devoting time to her family. She loves the beaches of northern Germany, white wines from her native region of Rhine Hesse, good food and books.

Kiveli Dörken’s temperament, passion and dedication to music can be felt in every moment of her concerts. Her infectious enthusiasm and engaging charisma give her a close rapport with her audience. She likes to talk to them before she sits down at the piano and explore the boundaries of sound possibilities and artistic expression. Her musical path began as a 7-year-old pupil of the renowned piano teacher Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, by whom she was taught for ten years. She then continued her training with Lars Vogt, with whom Kiveli Dörken still studies in Hanover.

Dörken’s concert activities have already taken her to many renowned concert halls and to most countries in Europe, China and the USA. She has performed at the Kissinger Sommer, the ‘Spannungen’ festival in Heimbach, the Gezeitenkonzerte, the Schwetzinger Festspiele, the ‘Sommets musicaux’ in Gstaad and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. Highlights included performances for the Dalai Lama in 2007 and in 2009 for the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington D.C. In 2015, together with her sister Danae, Kiveli Dörken founded the Molyvos International Music Festival on the Greek island of Lesbos and of which she is Artistic Director. Between the financial crisis and the refugee drama, the festival not only brings the tradition of classical music to Lesbos but has become a beacon of hope for the region.