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‹.

Born in Japan, pianist Kimiko Imani graduated with Prof. Anatol Ugorski at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold.

She celebrated her successful debut as a concert soloist at Suntory Hall in Tokyo with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. This was followed by performances with a number of prestigious orchestras in Japan and Germany.

As a GWK Music Award winner, the passionate and dedicated chamber musician regularly performs at major music festivals and international concert series in Europe and Asia.

Her musical partners have included such internationally renowned musicians as bassoonist Sergio Azzolini and oboist Maurice Bourgue. Together, they make up the Maurice Bourgue Trio, an outstanding ensemble that since 2011 has performed at numerous international concert halls and this year recorded its first CD.

Other CD recordings featuring Kimiko Imani are with oboist Pavel Sokolov in 2008 and bassoonist Marceau Lefevre in 2014.

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.