Rie Koyama
born in 1991, comes from a Japanese family of musicians and grew up in Germany. By the age of 22 she had already won first prize as a bassoonist in 23 important national and international competitions, including The Muri Competition 2013, the 37th German Music Competition 2012, the 57th Competition German Music Conservatory Competition in 2009, the international Academic Oboe and Bassoon Competition in Lodz, Poland in 2008, as well as in the German national competition “Jugend musiziert” in 2006. Additionally, she received the DAAD-prize (prize of the German Academic Exchange Service). In September 2013 she was awarded second prize at the 62nd ARD International Music Competition (no first prize was awarded) and as awarded a special prize for the best interpretation of a commissioned work. Rie Koyama has received scholarships by the Jürgen Ponto-Stiftung, the Rohm Music Foundation. In Japan and a one year scholarship from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben in May 2012. She has already appeared as a soloist with leading orchestras, including the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, the Brandenburg State Orchestra, the Heidelberg Philharmonic Orchestra Heidelberg, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Aargau Symphony Orchestra, the Korean Chamber Orchestra, the Schleswig-Holstein Symphony Orchestra, the Osaka Symphony Orchestra, the Polish Chamber Philharmonic, the Szczecin Chamber Orchestra, the Szekerland Philharmony in Romania, as well as the Haydn String Orchestra in the Netherlands. Since 2004 she has been a bassoonist with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Dennis Russell Davies and Michael Hofstetter. She has also been a bassoonist with the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim under the direction of Sebastian Tewinkel since 2008 and the Bach Collegium Stuttgart under the direction of Helmuth Rilling since 2010. Rie Koyama is studying at the Trossingen University of Music with Professor Akio Koyama.

Clemens Mueller
was born in Tuebingen. After graduating from school he studied piano at the Trossingen University of Music with Tomislav Nedelkovic-Baynov and in Saarbrucken with Thomas Duis. Parallel to this he completed a study in song interpretation and chamber music in Trossingen and Berlin. His most formative teachers include Wolfram Rieger, Irwin Gage and Peter Nelson. Clemens Muller could easily draw attention to himself as a laureate of numerous prestigious competitions. He has received awards from the 39th German Music Competition, the 59th Competition of German Music Schools, the Paula Lindberg-Salomon Competition “Das Lied” and the Concorsi Internazionali della Val Tidone. Most recently he received the Elsa-Neumann scholarship from the Land of Berlin. Moreover, he has received scholarships from the Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg (Stuttgart), the Paula and Albert Salomon-Foundation (Amsterdam), the Justus Hermann Wetzel-Foundation (Berlin), the Hans and Eugenia Jütting-Foundation (Stendal) and the Richard Wagner Society Association (Saarbrücken) and was selected for the German Music Council’s 58th “Concerts of Young Artists.” His versatility as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist has taken Clemens Muller to festivals such as the Schwetzinger Festival, the Donaueschingen Festival, the Weingartner Music Days, the Bayreuth Easter Festival and the Liedforum in Berlin. In addition to his concert activities throughout Europe he has been invited to concert tours of Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Currently Clemens Müller teaches piano at the Trossingen University of Music.