Chamber concert Ballhaus Wedding

Duke Ellington allegedly once stated: “There are simply two kinds of music: good music and the other kind.” Jarkko Riihimäki has always been passionate about many kinds of music.The son of two choir conductors, he grew up in a musical household.

Growing up, he spent a lot of time wherever his parents were working. Whether in music schools, choir rehearsals, or churches; you name it, Jarkko was there soaking it all in. ”Of course it was all about playing with other kids”, he says, “but I guess something of that music in the background must have stayed. I remember that certain pieces always made me emotional. Also the sound of the organ gave me chills — sitting next to my father playing it was the coolest thing. Made me kind of proud as well.”

Jarkko started learning instruments at an early age. He started cello when he was 5 and piano a year later. “Many of even my closest friends now don’t know that I played the cello. And for 11 years! I guess I was a very bad student; playing around with the neighbourhood kids was much more important than practicing. But the absolute highlight was playing Dvorak’s 9th symphony in a youth orchestra. For me, having played the cello is pretty much the core for becoming a music arranger, especially when writing for the orchestra. So despite the lack of motivation from time to time, I’m very thankful for those years; they gave me a lot.”

Playing piano was more of a natural thing for him. “Already as a child I would spend hours at the piano, just trying to learn things I had heard. A pop song, something we sang in the school, or even the tunes from tv shows. That might sound like a joke, but trying to learn those TV theme songs was actually not unlike arranging. For some kids I might have been a little weird, going around with a Sony Walkman on and listening to Mozart. But then again, an hour later it was Wham or Michael Jackson. It was only later that I started seeing a connection between different styles. Going from pop music to listening to jazz was a natural path. And the more I learned the harmonic progressions of jazz, the better I began to understand harmonic structures in orchestral music.”

While studying at the renowned Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Jarkko’s main interest were in the area of German and French art song (Lied and mélodie). “I took all the classes I could and participated in numerous masterclasses. I also accompanied my fellow students’ lessons, which was really the best way to gather repertoire.” Later this experience would become essential when working at the College of Music Berlin (UDK). Also playing with singers feels very natural for him. “As a pianist one has to understand how a singer breathes, and softly manipulate the music towards the end of a phrase so that it sounds organic and natural. Breathing together is, of course, the key to any kind of music.”

An open musical mind led Jarkko to play and study many kinds of music. A workshop of the late Horace Boyer in Connecticut was a mind-blowing experience for him at age sixteen. “That definitely gave me a kick to learn about African-American musical traditions. He would even let me play, I still remember that the song was It’s my desire, an original of his. Wow… there was something about this music that gave me the feeling as if I had known it for a very long time.” Only a couple years later he became the pianist of the Helsinki – based choir “His Master’s Noise”, a job he kept for the next six years.

As an arranger, Riihimäki feels most at home when working with different musical worlds simultaneously. ”Let’s say there is a production with a pop artist, and s/he sings with a classical orchestra. I am familiar with the pop aesthetics, but I also know how a classically trained musician reads the music. So it’s about making the group of musicians understand each other. When writing for an orchestra I feel like a kid in a candy store, there are so many possibilities!”

Rodrigo Bauzá, born in 1983 in Formosa (Argentina), studied violin in Uruguay and Argentina with Jorge Risi and Ljerko Spiller, as well as with Alberto Lysy at the Menuhin Academy in Switzerland. He then continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig, where he completed his diploma and concert exam under the guidance of Professor Mariana Sirbu.

Rodrigo Bauzá was a member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig for several years, working with conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Daniel Harding, and Gustavo Dudamel. Since 2014, he has been a member of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.

His chamber music partners have included Christian Zacharias, Caroline Widmann, Jean-Francois Heisser, and Marie-Elisabeth Hecker. From 2008 to 2013, he was a member of the Cuarteto Arriaga, with which he performed across Asia, Europe, and South America. The Cuarteto Arriaga has performed in venues such as the Wigmore Hall in London, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Dolles Journées in Nantes and Tokyo, and the Quincena Musical de San Sebastián. They were invited by Gidon Kremer to the “Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus” and performed several times at the Palacio Real in Madrid, playing on the famous Stradivarius instruments owned by the Spanish royal family.

Rodrigo Bauzá is a highly versatile musician, also passionate about jazz, Argentine folk music, and tango. He was introduced to music as a child through the popular songs of his homeland and through improvisation. Upon arriving in Europe, he continued to explore these styles, studying jazz, among other subjects, at the Leipzig Conservatory, where he received lessons from pianist Richie Beirach. As a jazz violinist, he performs in various ensembles, including collaborations with Diego Piñera, Peter Ehwald, and Christian Ugurel. In Argentina, he has played with prominent musicians from the pop music scene, such as singers Juan Quintero and Liliano Herrero, as well as clarinetist Marcelo Moguilevsky.

In 2013, he founded the Cuareim Quartet, a string quartet that primarily focuses on jazz through original compositions and arrangements. The Cuareim Quartet recorded their first CD in 2015, together with Marcelo Moguilevsky.

Andreas Kipp, born in 1975 in Hameln, began his first cello lessons at the age of six with Frauke Rottler. He continued his musical education with Christiane Aydintan before enrolling in studies with Michael Sanderling at the Hochschule für Musik „Hanns Eisler“ in Berlin. After completing his diploma in Berlin, Andreas Kipp furthered his studies with a postgraduate course in Frankfurt am Main. From 1995 to 1999, he was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra and the European Union Youth Chamber Orchestra.

In 1998, he began working with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, initially as an intern and later as an academy member. Andreas Kipp also played as a substitute with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, where he had a temporary contract from 2006 to 2009.

Since 1994, Andreas Kipp has been active in chamber music as a member of the cello quartet “Berliner Cellharmoniker.” The ensemble won the “Charles Hennen” International Chamber Music Competition (Netherlands) and the Violoncello Ensemble Competition in Beauvais (France), and received the Special Prize of the City of Beauvais, the EMCY Special Prize “Dancing Angel,” and the Förderpreis of the European Cultural Foundation “Pro Europa.”

The ensemble’s performances on renowned stages and at prestigious music festivals, such as the Rheingau and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festivals, as well as appearances in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and several CD productions, demonstrate the vibrant engagement of this cross-over ensemble.

Nhassim Gazale was born in 1983 in Concepción (Chile) and began his first double bass lessons at the age of fourteen.

He was a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra as well as the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, before starting to work with the orchestra of his hometown.

In 2009, he was successfully accepted at the Hochschule für Musik „Hanns Eisler“ in Berlin, where he began studying with Prof. Esko Laine. In 2013, he switched to the class of Prof. Janne Saksala.

He spent a year as an academy member with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and became a permanent member of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin starting in the 2011/12 season. In December 2014, he moved to the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.