Anja Manthey was raised in Wilhelmshaven, not far from the orchestra’s current home city of Bremen. She left the North Sea town to study at the University of Music in Hamburg and Freiburg. She joined the then Chamber Orchestra of the Young German Philharmonic back in 1982.

Apart from a busy orchestra schedule and regular chamber music appearances in various ensembles, she is particularly interested in the humanities. In 2012, she graduated with distinction in Musicology, German and English. For many years, Anja Manthey has contributed her enthusiasm and wealth of experience in these subjects to organizing and holding the concert introduction events ›en passant‹ and ›Auftakt‹ (engl. ›Prélude‹) for the Bremen subscription concerts.

Her favourite leisure pastimes – beyond music and musicology – include reading. In 2020, she was awarded her doctorate (DPhil).

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.