Martin Posegga | Annegret Schmiedl | Alexander Doroshkevich | Ruth Velten

 Biography

Since its inception in 2005, the sonic.art saxophone quartet has created a furore at German and international concert venues, thrilling music-lovers and music critics alike.

The quartet enthusiastically performs works which in almost all cases originally composed for their instruments and initiates the creation of new works in collaboration with composers.

The ensemble's uniqueness is also underscored by many prizes won by the young quartet. Among its commendations are First Prize and the Grand Prize of the International Chamber Music Competition for New Music in Cracow, Poland, the German Music Competition Award and the Switzerland's Classical Music Award.

sonic.art was also named a winner of the Salieri-Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition as well as the International Chamber Music Content in Almere, the Netherlands.

In 2010 Germany's Jeunesses Musicales awarded the ensemble its 'Best Newcomer Ensemble' prize.

The ensemble has gained valuable insight from its mentors and fellow musicians Prof. Eberhard Feltz (chamber music/string quartet), Prof. William Forman (trumpet), and Jacques Ammon (piano).

After intensive studies at the Berlin, Basel, and Cologne State Music Conservatories, the sonic.art saxophone quartet has itself begun teaching at conservatories and universities campuses in Germany and abroad.

The concert artists place a strong emphasis on their collaboration with important composers of New Music such as Sophia Gubaidulina, Helmut Lachenmann, Walter Zimmermann, Georg Katzer, Olga Neuwirth, Fabien Lévy, and Steffen Schleiermacher.

Concert tours have already taken the quartet throughout Europe as well as Asia, America and Africa. sonic.art has appeared in concert at the 'Warsaw Autumn', Festival de Mexico, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festivals and the Cambridge Summer Music Festival and is a welcome guest at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Berlin Philharmonic, Gasteig München and the Osaka's Izumi Hall.

The quartet's debut CD was released on the GENUIN classics label in cooperation with Deutschlandfunk in early 2010.