Born to a Japanese musical family in Stuttgart in 1991, this young bassoonist grew up in Baden Wurttemburg. She completed her studies with Akio Koyama in Trossingen and Dag Jensen in Munich. Rie Koyama plays her instrument with an intensity that is seldom heard. This young musician has won first prize in 24 national and international awards to date including the Muri Competition, the German Music Competition, the Internationial Academic Oboe and Bassoon Competition in Łódź/Polen as well as the German Music College Competition. In 2013 she won Second Prize in the Bassoon category of the ARD International Music Competition (where no First Prize was awarded). She also won the Special Prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned piece.

Rie Koyama has won scholarships from the Jürgen Ponto Foundation, the Rohm Music Foundation in Japan and in 2012, was awarded a one-year scholarship of the German Music Foundation. As soloist, she has already performed with several well-known international orchestras in Europe and Asia and frequently appears as guest soloist at eminent music festivals. She is a regular member of a number of chamber music ensembles including Trio Walter, the Veits Quintet and the Franz Ensemble. Rie Koyama has recorded a number of solo and chamber works. Her next solo CD, produced together with the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen, is due to be released in 2012. She has been Principle Bassoon with the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen since September 2015.

Joshua Weilerstein is the Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, where his contract has been extended until the end of the 2020/21 season. He enjoys a flourishing guest-conducting career and has established a number of close relationships both in Europe and the USA, including the NDR Radiophilharmonie, BBC Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic, where he was assistant conductor. Joshua Weilerstein is known for his clarity of musical expression, unforced manner and natural musicianship.

In the 2019/20 season Weilerstein will return to orchestras such as Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. At the beginning of the season, he will lead the Orchestra de Chambre de Lausanne on a tour to Germany and will also make his debut with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

During his time as Assistant Conductor with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Weilerstein was actively involved in the orchestra’s Young People’s Concerts. In August 2018, he conducted a specially devised programme, ›The Sound of an Orchestra‹, for the BBC Proms which was inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s televised presentations in New York and was described as »…an exhilarating musical ride through three centuries’ worth of orchestral music to try to investigate ‚the sound of an orchestra‘.« (Bachtrack)

An advocate of easy communication between the stage and audience, Weilerstein welcomes discussion about all aspects of classical music, programming, and the experience of concert-going.