Semion Gurevich – violin
Violinist and violist Semion Gurevich is regarded as one of the notable representatives of historical performance practice in his generation. His playing combines technical precision with a lively, expressive sound, spontaneity, and a deep understanding of style and expression—from early Baroque music to late Romanticism.
He gained international recognition through numerous awards, including the International Handel Competition in Göttingen, the Biagio Marini Competition in Neuburg, and the H.I.F. Biber Competition. Earlier prizes at the Henryk Wieniawski Competition, as well as the David Oistrakh and Shostakovich Competitions, attest to his versatile musical background.
He performs on European stages as a soloist, concertmaster, and chamber musician. He has extensive experience in directing various ensembles (including Boulevard Baroque, the Orchestra for Early Music Vorpommern, and Cappella Memoria) and regularly collaborates with leading groups such as the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Il Pomo d’Oro, Gli Incogniti, and Lautten Compagney.
As a chamber musician, he actively performs with early music ensembles he founded—Ensemble Paradigma, Duo Agion, and The Late Train—and has worked, among others, with Giovanni Antonini, Amandine Beyer, Xenia Löffler, Anna Fusek, Hanna Herfurtner, Gerd Amelung, Sol Gabetta, and Anastasia Kobekina.
He has participated in numerous CD recordings (including productions with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin / Harmonia Mundi).
After studying at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin (Prof. U. Wallin), he specialized in historical performance practice at the Berlin University of the Arts (Prof. I. Huntgeburth) and at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Prof. L. Schayegh). He has received important artistic guidance from Rachel Podger, Amandine Beyer, Martyna Pastuszka, as well as Tabea Zimmermann, Maxim Vengerov, Gidon Kremer, and Mstislav Rostropovich.
Edi Kotler – violin
Edi Kotler, born in Israel and raised in Tel Aviv, has been living in Berlin since 2015. He began his studies at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University with Prof. Lena Mazor and subsequently continued at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin with Prof. Stephan Picard, where he completed his Bachelor’s degree. He later pursued his Master’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden with Prof. Natalia Prishepenko.
In July 2022, he won First Prize at the York Early Music Competition in the United Kingdom with his string quartet, the Protean Quartet. With the ensemble Himmelhofkapelle, he was awarded Second Prize at the Berlin Bach Competition as well as the Audience Prize at the Aviv Competition. He has also received First Prize in the String and Chamber Music Competitions of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, First Prize at the National Violin Competition in Raanana, and awards at the “Tel Aviv 2010” and “Turgeman” competitions.
Edi is an active performer across a wide musical spectrum. He is a member of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and regularly appears as a guest musician with the Geneva Camerata, the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Reflektor, and the Lautten Compagney.
He has participated in the Musethica program and is a founding member of the Impuslia Ensemble and the ensemble Illtupia. He performs regularly at festivals in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Israel, and the United States.
Alongside his work on the modern violin, Edi is deeply engaged in historically informed performance practice and Baroque violin. He regularly takes part in workshops, chamber music, and orchestral projects, collaborating with artists such as René Jacobs, Bernhard Forck, Georg Kallweit, Amandine Beyer, Christoph Coin, and Jan Freiheit.
Monika Grimm – viola
Monika Grimm is a versatile violist who grew up in the rural village of Hirzel in Switzerland. Her musical journey began with studies under renowned violists such as Michel Rouilly, Ulrich Knörzer, and Hartmut Rohde in Zurich and at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK), where she developed an early fascination with historically informed performance practice. This interest led her to study Baroque violin with Monika Baer and ultimately to her appointment as a Monteverdi Apprentice under the direction of Sir John Eliot Gardiner in 2016. Since 2018, she has been a member of the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. In the same year, she also began collaborating with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.
Monika Grimm enjoys moving freely between different eras and musical styles. From 2022 to 2024, she performs on the modern viola with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin.
In her free time, Monika enjoys the beauty of nature, especially in the mountains.
Agnieszka Skorupa – harpsichord, fortepiano
Agnieszka Skorupa plays the piano, fortepiano, and harpsichord. She is active both as a soloist and in chamber music, and is also engaged in teaching. She teaches piano and accompanies at the University in Cottbus (BTU). Previously, she taught at the University of the Arts in Berlin as well as at the music academies in Poland. She also leads courses in piano and harpsichord at the Rheinsberg Music Academy.
She has performed with ensembles such as the New Century Chamber Orchestra and Daniel Hope, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester at the Berlin Philharmonie, and the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra, and has taken part in major festivals including the Göttingen International Handel Festival, Bachfest Leipzig, the Utrecht Early Music Festival, the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival and the Stagioni Festival with Giovanni Antonini.
Agnieszka Skorupa is a laureate of numerous international competitions and festivals. Most recently, she won first prize at the Göttingen International Handel Competition 2023, the Biagio Marini Competition in Neuburg an der Donau 2023, and twice the Early Music Ensemble Competition at the University of the Arts Berlin (2023 and 2024). At the 2025 International H.I.F. Biber Competition in Austria, she received two special prizes.
Her artistic achievements have been recognized with an award from the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, as well as two scholarships from the Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education. She has also received support from the Paul Hindemith Society in Berlin and is currently a scholar with the Förderverein Pianomuseum e.V., where she has been provided with a clavichord from the Dohr collection.
She studied at the University of the Arts Berlin with Avinoam Shalev and Lucas Blondeel, as well as at the music academies in Poznań with Alicja Kledzik and in Katowice with Katarzyna Drogosz.
