"Elena Margarita Kakaliagou is a greek-austrian french horn player and performer, currently based in Berlin. Starting out with piano lessons, she moved on to the French horn at the age of 18. After completing her studies in Athens/GR with Vangelis Skouras, she moved on to KUG-Graz/AT to continue her education under the teaching of Hector McDonald. Instructed by Erja Joukamo-Ampuja, Elena obtained her Master's degree from Sibelius Academy/FI in 2010 in French horn and chamber music. During her career, Elena has received scholarships from Klangforum, Impuls Academy and Ensemble Modern with teachers like Mike Svoboda and Bill Formann.

Elena's field of specialization is free improvised and contemporary music, next to classic chamber music. She has performed premiers with ensembles like Ensemble Linea, Schallfeld and KNM Berlin in Festivals like Ultraschall Berlin/DE, Maerz Music/DE, Randspiele/DE, Musica Nova/FI, Lá-bas/FI, Musica/FR, Warsaw Autumn/PL, New Adits/AT, Ultima/NY, Kaleidophon/AT, newadits/AT, Tour de Babel/FR, Sound Live Tokyo/JA ao. She has worked with individual artists as Riikka Innanen, Phill Niblock, James Andean, Ingrid Schmoliner, Katharina Klement, CC Hennix, Robin Hayward, Simon Martin, Matias Guerra, Thomas Noll, to name but a few.

Elena is the co-founder of the Helsinki-based 'Rank Ensemble', the Austrian trio 'PARA', the Duo Kakaliagou/Schmoliner, the Duo Guerra/Kakaliagou and is a member of Zinc & Copper, Zeitkratzer and the ensemble of CC Hennix."

"Ingrid Schmoliner (* 1978 in Villach) is an Austrian musician (singing, piano) of New Music and Jazz - which also touches improvisation and volkmusik. Life and Work

Before her classical studies at the Kärntner Landeskonservatorium in Klagenfurt, Schmoliner had a piano interest in improvised, experimental and contemporary music. Further, she was trained in classical singing but also in jazz singing. As a gastsolist, she sang at the Graz opera in the opera Buio by Hannes Kerschbaumer. The composer Denovaire wrote the Solostimme for her as an altist in the Muata Erdn choir.

Together with Pascal Niggenkemper (double bass) and Joachim Badenhorst (saxophone), she released the album Watussi. In the Trio Taro (with Matthias Erian and Martin Schönlieb) she recorded the CD flaechten (Ostblock). There is also a composition for piano solo by and with Ingrid Schmoliner on record and two albums of the trio Para with Elena Kakaliagou (horn and voice) and the contrabassist Thomas Stempkowski. She also worked with Xu Fengxia, Clayton Thomas, Marco Eneidi, Daniel Lercher, Susanna Gartmayer and Frantz Loriot.

He is also active as a music teacher. She also teaches in the disciplines of overtone singing and yodeling. She has also devoted herself to "researching pianos and the ideal wood preparations for years."

Schmoliner received the promotion prize for music in Carinthia in 2013."

"Thomas Stempkowski lives and works as a double bass player and composer in Vienna and is the organizer of the monthly concert series "QUANTEN - Chamber for Music".

Only after learning and practicing two professions (structural engineer and cabinet maker) for several years did Thomas Stempkowski turn to the double bass. After the first instruction by Angus "Bangus" Thomas, music became more and more important in his life, so that he finally studied with Harald Putz and Uli Langthaler Jazzbass at the Conservatory of the City of Vienna (today Music and Art University of the City of Vienna).

1998-2004Concert diploma in jazz at the Music and Art Private University of the City of Vienna (H. Putz, U. Langthaler)

2004-2009Bachelor of Arts in concert double bass at the Vienna Conservatory Private University (A. Ackerman, H. Mayr)

2007-2010Master of Arts in concert jazz at the Anton Bruckner Private University (P.Herbert)

Master classes with Prof. Johannes Auersperg and Tim Dunin

Oct 2016 - March 2017Parental leave professorship at the State Conservatory of Klagenfurt for jazz bass and pedagogy

Due to his busy activity as a musician, Thomas Stempkowski moves effortlessly between the different genres. He seeks and lives the resulting longing for music free of categorizations in his own projects. This search is concentrated in free music. He composes and plays for various theater, film and cabaret productions, leads his own projects in areas such as new and free music, jazz and electronics / acousmatics.

Appearances a. with Cremerata Baltica (Lockenhaus), Hugo Wolf Quartet (Lockenhaus), Facil Say, Clark Terry, Harold Jones, Robert Opratko, Lou Grassi, Donald Robinson, Wolfgang Reisinger, Franz Hautzinger, Susanna Gartmayer, Marco Eneidi, Agnes Heginger, Michael Fischer, Vienna Improvisers Orchestra, Ingrid Oberkanins, Simon Frick, Judith Reiter, Vasile Marian, Thomas Berghammer. Various free orchestras and chamber music in the Vienna area.

Since 2009 Thomas Stempkowski has been a substitute for the stage orchestra of the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Volksoper (e.g. P. Hindemith "Cardillac" premiere October 17, 2010, WAMozart "Don Giovanni" premiere November 14, 2015, P.Eötvös "Tri Sestri" premiere 06.03 .2016)

Since January 2012 he has been organizing the monthly concert series "QUANTEN - Chamber for Music", which subsequently acts as a community of interests and a platform for contemporary music-making: from composed to improvised and back ... Previous guest musicians, among others. Karl Sayer, Alessandro Vicard, Thomas Berghammer, Jean - Christophe Mastnak, Susanna Gartmayer, Judith Reiter, Franz Hautzinger, Maria Frodl, Simon Frick, Karl Ritter, Andrej Prozorov, Andreas Schreiber, Peter Herbert, Agnes Heginger, Wolfgang Reisinger, Ingrid Oberkanins, Michael Fischer, Meaghan Burke, Burkhard Stangl, Katharina Ernst, Didi Kern, Igor Gross, Bernadette Zeilinger, Werner Zangerle, Jakob Gnigler, Arnold Noid Haberl, Máté Pozsár, Melissa Coleman, Pia Palme, Thomas Lehn, and many more."