THE JUNGE DEUTSCHE PHILHARMONIE brings together top musical talents to form an ensemble of the highest artistic caliber—organized on a grassroots democratic basis, touring internationally, and driven by an unwavering passion for music for over 50 years. It was founded in 1974 by former members of the Federal Youth Orchestra and today comprises approximately 250 students from German music conservatories. Since then, several independent professional ensembles have emerged from the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, such as the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, the Ensemble Modern, and the Ensemble Resonanz. The Junge Deutsche Philharmonie is dedicated to fostering and preparing aspiring musicians for professional careers through ensemble playing that meets professional standards. Alongside the symphony orchestra, there are a number of smaller ensembles which, in addition to exemplary rehearsal of repertoire works, explore contemporary music and develop new concert formats.

SHE SHE POP is a Berlin-based feminist performance collective that emerged in the 1990s from the Institute for Applied Theater Studies in Giessen. Since then, She She Pop has practiced a form of theater that is committed to experimentation. They use the stage as a space of acute public engagement: here, decisions are made, modes of conversation and social systems are tested, and speech patterns and social rituals are rehearsed or discarded. She She Pop sees its mission in exploring the societal boundaries of communication—and in deliberately transcending them within the safe space of art. Incorporating their own biographies is a method—but not the purpose of their work. The members currently are Sebastian Bark, Johanna Freiburg, Lisa Lucassen, Mieke Matzke, Ilia Papatheodorou, Berit Stumpf, and Elke Weber. She She Pop has realized numerous independent theater productions and has been honored with awards including the George Tabori Prize and the European Theater Prize. Their plays “Testament” (2010/11) and “Oratorium” (2019) were invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen. In “Schubladen” (2012) and “Mauern” (2022), they brought performers socialized in both East and West together on stage to engage in a dialogue about personal experiences, cultural backgrounds, and self-images, as well as the question of a shared future.

DIANA SYRSE, composer and singer, is regarded as one of the most captivating voices of her generation. Her awards include the City of Munich Prize, the Teatro La Fenice Prize and the Fedora Audience Award. Her body of work comprises more than a hundred compositions, ranging from lieder to opera, music theatre, orchestral, choral, chamber and electroacoustic music, as well as over fifteen stage productions. Many of her works are composed for her own voice, either as a soloist or in combination with other instruments, and have been performed at international festivals both by herself and by other performers.

As a composer, singer and, on occasion, writer of her own texts, she is interested in creating music through a conceptual and dramaturgical musical development characterised by a dialogue with theatre and text. She is involved in numerous interdisciplinary collaborations and champions new contemporary narratives that focus on politically and socially relevant themes. Her work is characterised by emotional depth, underpinned by voice, text and emotional intensity, situated between rigorous compositional practice and a more instinctive, intimate world of songwriting.

FRIEDERIKE SCHEUNCHEN conducts an exceptionally broad repertoire spanning opera, symphonic and chamber music, ranging from early and contemporary music to experimental formats: She has conducted, amongst others, the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Klangforum Wien (debut in 2027), the Trier Philharmonic Orchestra, the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Ensemble Resonanz, Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble Ascolta, the German National Youth Orchestra, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the SWR Vocal Ensemble and many more. Her conducting engagements have taken her to renowned venues such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Harvard (USA), the Frankfurt Opera and the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, where she provided a live musical accompaniment to a Bundesliga football match together with Matthew Herbert.

Alongside her freelance work, she has been engaged since 2023 as a conductor and musical assistant to André de Ridder at the Freiburg theatre. There, she has taken on the musical direction of several operas, including Sara Glojnarić’s »Neuro-Moon« (world premiere), Ellen Reid’s »p r i s m« (premiere) and Schöllhorn/Koffler’s »Alles durch MOW« (world premiere), as well as conducting established works such as Leoš Janáček’s »Jenůfa«, John Adams’ »Doctor Atomic«, George Frideric Handel’s »Alcina« and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s »The Queen of Spades«.