Maighréad McCrann has been 1. Concertmaster of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra since 1993. In 1997 she was appointed Professor of violin at the University of Performing Arts in Graz. During this time she has also enjoyed a versatile career as a soloist, chamber musician and directing chamber orchestras from the violin. Her passion for teaching has resulted in many master classes and intense coaching with the youth orchestras of Spain, Catalunya, Columbia, the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra and the National Orchestral Institute in Washington.
Born in Dublin where she studied with Brian McNamara, she graduated from Trinity College of music in 1984 and commenced studying in Vienna with Ernst Kovacic. Further violin lessons with Sándor Végh and David Takeno. She was a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and played baroque violin with Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s Concentus Musicus.
Herbert Kefer was born in Eisenerz, Austria, in 1960. At the age of five he received his first musical education on the violin. Subsequent he continued his studies with Prof.Karl Frischenschlager in Leoben and with Prof.Karl Stierhof at the University of Music in Vienna.
In 1986 he graduated with distinction.
In 1980 he founded, together with 3 colleagues, the Artis-Quartet. From 1984 to 1985 they spent one year in Cincinnati/Ohio with the LaSalle-Quartet to profit from their knowledge as much as possible.
After that, an international career including concerts at all well known festivals (“Salzburger Festspiele”, “Schubertiade Feldkirch”, “Wiener Festwochen”, “Casals Festival” etc.) had begun. Furthermore they produced about 30 CD´s, which were frequently honoured with the Grand Prix du Disque or the Diapason d´Or. In 1991 Herbert Kefer was appointed to be in charge of a Viola class at the University of Music in Graz / Institution Oberschuetzen.
Moreover, he is a demanded soloist as well as a soughtafter partner for several chambermusic formations.
From 2005-2010 he was director of the „Weinklang-Festival“.
Julian Arp was born in 1981 in northern Germany into a big family of musicians. He began to study at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin and learned from Jens Peter Maintz, Boris Pergamenschikow, David Geringas and Eberhard Feltz.
As a soloist and chamber musician, he performs worldwide, playing at venues including Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, and the Berlin Philharmonie.
For over twenty years he has formed the duo Arp/Frantz with the pianist Caspar Frantz. Together they have won a number of prestigious competitions, including the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Competition, the German Music Competition and the International Chamber Music Competition „Premio Vittorio Gui“ in Florence.
Julian Arp is dedicated to a broad repertoire and is increasingly involved in the performance and creation of new music. Composers such as Samir Odeh-Tamimi, Sven-Ingo Koch, Sarah Nemtsov and Violeta Dinescu have written works for him.
Since autumn 2013 Julian Arp has held a professorship for violoncello at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and is also a sought-after lecturer at international master classes.
I-Ting Chen was born in 1986 in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. At the age of five she received her first piano lessons and, in a few years, later she also learned to play the violin. With piano teachers such as Yunae Lee, Mag. Dr. Mühlböck, she received a sound piano education in the music schools in Tainan City, Taiwan and continued with concert studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. She went to the classes of Professors Alexander Jenner, Heinz Medjimorec and Noel Flores and received valuable musical impulses. After graduation, she gained further chamber music experience while studying at the Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität, where she was able to expand her knowledge of instrumental correpetition with Prof. Denise Benda.
She won several national and international competition prizes, including 1st prize of Taiwan National Student Competition of Music in 1998, Taipei Chopin Piano Competition- 2nd and Polonaise special prize in 1999 and 2002, Dr. J. Dichler Piano Competition in Vienna- 4th and special prize in 2005.
She has been working as a répétiteur at the Institute for String Instruments at the University of Arts in Graz since 2012.
Among her solo and chamber music concert activities are debut with orchestra ( Mendelssohn 1st piano concerto) in Tokyo /Japan at the age of 14, solo recitals such as Chopin recital in Taipei and Tainan City, in Johannes Nepomuk Chapel, Bösendorfer Salon, Haus Hofmannsthal in Vienna. As a pianist and répétiteur, she was allowed to participate in many master classes and competitions as well as concerts in Switzerland, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Austria.
