Australian violinist Glenn Christensen was born and raised in the regional Queensland town of Mackay, where he received his early music education through the Suzuki Method with local teacher Diane Powell. Glenn then studied with Michele Walsh at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University and graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Music, First Class Honours. He was also the first person ever to be awarded the three highest prizes – the Conservatorium Medal, the Music Medal and the University Medal.

From late 2020, Glenn has appeared as Principal 2nd Violin with Die Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen. From 2014 to 2020, Glenn was a core member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and has held the position of Principal First Violin in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Concertmaster of the Australian Youth Orchestra. He has performed as Guest Concertmaster or Principal with each of these orchestras, as well as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Glenn has performed with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Metropolitan Orchestra, Sydney. He was a finalist in the 2014 ABC Young Performer Awards, and in 2009 won every category in the prestigious Kendall National Violin Competition.

The German-Irish cellist Nuala McKenna, born in 1993, studied at the music colleges in Lübeck, Freiburg and Basel with, among others, Jean-Guihen Queyras. She performs regularly with the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam and with the Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble under the direction of Thomas Hengelbrock. She is a member of the Chamber Music Foundation ›Villa Musica‹ and her instrument for over five years – a cello bearing the label ›Joseph Guarnerius, second half of the 18th century‹ – is on loan from the German Foundation Musikleben.

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.

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.