Radek Baborak was born in Pardubice in 1976 into a musical family. He commenced his horn studies at the age of 8. At the age of 12 he was a winner of the Radio Competition Concertino Prague. From 1989 to 1994, Radel Baborak studied horn with Prof. Bedrich Tylsar, who systematically guided him toward success. Baborak completed his studies at the Music Academy in Prague with honours.

Baborak has been a winner in numerous competitions including the International Radio Competition of the UNESCO, 1st prize in the ARD Competition Munich, as well as the Grammy Classic Award in the Czech Republic, where he was also honoured as »Talent and Discovery of the Year«.

Meanwhile Baborak has gathered worldwide concert experience and has made guest appearances with famous orchestras in Germany and abroad – including the London Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Tokyo Philharmonic and the NHK Orchestra.

He has appeared in several TV broadcasts in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Germany and Japan and gives recitals at renowned festivals and the major cultural centres around the world.

Baborak is also a keen chamber musician and regularly performs – with his Afflatus Quintet – as well as with other chamber music formations with renowned colleagues such as Eduard Brunner, Ingolf Turban, Emmanuel Pahud, Maurizio Pollini, leading Vienna Philharmonic members.

His repertory comprises the complete horn works – from virtuoso baroque and classic concertos to the great romantic works and to contemporary music.

Still only in his early thirties, Ryan Wigglesworth has rapidly established himself as one of the foremost composer-conductors of his generation. He studied at New College, Oxford and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Between 2007-9 he was a Lecturer at Cambridge University.

He was recently announced as the next Principal Guest Conductor of the Hallé orchestra, to take effect in September 2015. He is currently Composer in Residence at English National Opera. As a conductor he is equally at home in repertoire ranging from the baroque to the present day. His recent recording with the Hallé of orchestral works by Harrison Birtwistle received awards from Gramophone and BBC Music magazines. His own orchestral song cycle, Augenlieder, was awarded the vocal prize at the 2010 British Composer Awards.

As a conductor he has worked with the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, DSO Berlin as well as with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Wigglesworth’s compositions has been commissioned by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the Aldeburgh Festival as well as for the BBC Proms. His first opera, written for English National Orchestra, will premiere at the Coliseum in the 16/17 season.

The Junge Deutsche Philharmonie unites excellent Young musicians from German-language music academies, selected through auditions, and forms them into a musically demanding ensemble. It is part of the democratic constitution of the orchestra that its musicians serve on numerous committees. Members of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie thus acquire qualifications that go beyond musical performance. The orchestra members meet several times a year for concentrated rehearsal periods, followed by international concert tours. With its own festival FREISPIEL, the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie has also made ist mark on cultural life in Frankfurt, offering cross-genre and experimental Event formats.

Today, former members of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie play in the leading orchestras and hold chairs at music academies. Another lasting influence is exerted through the other ensembles which grew out of the orchestra, for example the Ensemble Modern and Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen, the Ensemble Resonanz or the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.

The Junge Deutsche Philharmonie works regularly with internationally renowned artists. Since July 2014, Jonathan Nott has taken over from Lothar Zagrosek as “Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser”.

In addition, the Berlin Philharmonic invites the orchestra each year to the Philharmonie in Berlin, where its concerts are broadcast live from the Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall.