Tomohiro Arita stammt aus Osaka, Japan. Schon im frühen Kindesalter erlernte er die Geige und entdeckte mit 15 Jahren die Bratsche für sich. Sein Studium absolvierte er an einer der angesehensten Hochschulen Japans, der Tokyo University of the Arts. 2014 gelangte er beim ›Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition‹ in Birmingham in die Finalrunde. Beim ›Salzburg Mozart International Chamber Music Competition‹ in Tokyo errang er den 2. Platz.

Tomohiro Arita solierte u.a. beim Geidai Philharmonia, dem Birmingham Conservatoire String Orchestra und trat bei verschiedenen Festivals wie dem Schweizer Verbier Festival, dem Luzern Festival und dem Le pont Music Festival in Japan auf. Neben seiner Tätigkeit als Akademist bei der Deutschen Kammer­philharmonie Bremen studiert er derzeit an der Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin.

Zuzana Schmitz-Kulanova was born in Slovakia and began taking violin lessons at the age of six. Her move to Igor Karsko at Lucerne Music College – where she obtained her diploma in concert and solo performance with honours – was followed by continued studies with Vesselin Paraschkevov at the Folkwang University of Arts in Essen.

Between 2007 and 2017, she was concertmaster of the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra in Essen and has held the same post with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra since 2016. The violinist is a very welcome guest performer with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne and the Aachen Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Zuzana Schmitz-Kulanova has frequently performed with the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra as well as with the Kosice State Philharmonic and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra.

Her particular passion is for chamber music. She is a founder member of Ensemble Ruhr, with whom she performs regularly in a variety of chamber music formations. She has been a member of The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen since 2017.