OBOE

Mickey Margaret Hansen is an oboist and conductor and currently acts as Assistant Conductor to the Vratsa Symphony Orchestra in Bulgaria. In the past year, she has appeared in performance with the Solti Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Sinfonia, Belgrade Chamber Orchestra, and the Vratsa Symphony Orchestra. In 2024, Mickey won the 1st prize with Outstanding Laureate in the World’s Best Musicians competition from Warsaw, Poland. Previous positions include as director of Chor auf dem Asterstein in Germany, vocal coach and accompanist for Calvin Youth Vocal Ensemble, and music director at Bethel Presbyterian and Burk’s UMC, where she frequently directed members of the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and created ensemble arrangements in multiple styles of music. She will be giving masterclasses at the Centro Superior de Música de Galicia, has given masterclasses in conducting at the Washington State Chorister’s Guild, and has been an adjudicator at the ISAS Arts festival for schools in the southwestern United States.
After showing dedication and accomplishment in oboe and piano in her early years, Mickey attended The Boston Conservatory and studied with English hornist Robert Sheena of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Her other principal oboe teachers and mentors include international soloist Alex Klein and David Weber. In the past year, Mickey has acted as principal oboe of the Sofia Philharmonic for its international tours in China and the USA. She has been a member of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Alamo City Opera, Al Bustan Festival Orchestra (Lebanon), Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, and Crested Butte Music Festival. As a soloist, Ms. Hansen has performed with the Spokane Symphony and ProMusica Arizona Orchestra, and was a prizewinner at the Boston Woodwind Society’s competition in 2010 and 2011. She has appeared with many other orchestras, including the San Antonio Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, Tulsa Symphony, and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Orchestral fellowships have taken her throughout Europe, including the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme (England), Zoltan Kodaly World Youth Orchestra (Hungary), and International Orchestral Institute Attergau (Austria), where she was a featured performer and speaker on Germany’s Deutschlandfunk for her oboe improvisation with folk harp. Ms. Hansen has resided in Germany, the USA, and Bulgaria, and has taught in the public school classrooms on both continents. Her specialty in teaching the AP Music Theory exam lead her to create study content for high school students world wide.
Ms. Hansen holds degrees from The Boston Conservatory, Wichita State University, and Centro Superior de Música en Galicia, Spain. She is a proud Alumni Mentor to support and guide student musicians at the Berklee School of Music.

CLARINET

"Extremely gifted and accomplished as a clarinetist, he's a natural chamber musician, communicative, expressive, instinctive and always thoroughly prepared"
Mathew Jones (acting head of chamber music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama London)

"He's a diligent and sensitive musician"
Julian Farrell (Former principal clarinet at Academy of Saint Martin in The Fields London)

Former clarinet and chamber music teacher at the Barenboim-Said Foundation, Simón Ibáñez is currently clarinet Professor at Wiener Musikakademie.
He has performed in halls such as Barbican Hall , Royal Festival Hall , “Palau de la Música Cata-lana ”, “Gran Teatre del Liceu “, “Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia” “Altes Rathaus”…, with conduc-tors like Sir Colin Davies ,Vladimir Azkenazhy, Diego Mason, Valery Gerguiev or Adrian Leaper.
Mr. Ibañez has been featured as a soloist with orchestras like Budweis Philharmonic or Guatema-la National Youth Orchestra. He has obtained good critics in England and Switzerland, he was first prize in the Ivan Sutton Competition in London.
He usually play recitals with piano and chamber music in places like London, Liverpool, Viena, Venice, Barcelona, Gothenburg or Brussels. Soon he will appear as soloist with The Tallinn Inter-national Youth Orchestra and made his presentation tour in Costa Rica with recitals and master-classes.
Simón studied at “Conservatorio Superior de Música del Liceo (Barcelona) and completed his BMus(Hons) qualification with Professor Isaac Rodriguez. Later he was accepted at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama of London to study the “Artist-Masters Orchestral Training” with the London Symphony Players and Professor Julian Farrel.
He has taken part in masterclasses with Andrew Marriner, Michel Lethiec, François Benda, Ro-man Guyot, Mark Nuccio, Calogero Palermo, Valdemar Rodriguez, Ronald Spaendock or Harry Mäki.
Simón is also Artistic Director at the “La Vilavella International Masterclass” with resident musi-cians like David Rejano (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Liina Leijala (Barenboim-Said Foundation and Wiener Musikakademie) or Julio Lopez ( Münchener Philharmoniker).

FLUTE - PICCOLO

Raphael Leone the former flutist and piccolist of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

He achieved his basic music education as a music teacher in Basel (Switzerland) under Joseph Bopp. He continued his postgraduate studies amongst others under Jean-Pierre Rampal, Torkil Bye and Gottfried Hechtl. As an Orchestral player he started his career in the Orchestra Radio Basel, his path led him to the Oslo Philharmonics and Symphony Orchestra Durban (South Africa), and in 1972 to the Vienna Symphony. It was followed by intensive chamber music activities in Europe, Asia and the USA. 1988 he was teaching at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and since 1989 at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 1991 he founded the “Österreichische Flötengesellschaft”, where he is still the chairman.

In numerous workshops, especially for Piccolo, he wants to inspire flutists for the tiniest instrument, to provide literature for Piccolo and to enable approach for inexperienced players too. (The last master classes were in Buenos Aires, Manila, Bangkok, Tokyo and Seoul, in Italy at the Conservatorio di Pesaro (3 times), Trieste, Senigaglia, Bolzano and Latina (Rome). 

BASSOON

Bianca Schuster is the solo-bassoon of the Vienna Volksoper. Born on 28.12.1973 in Vorarlberg. From 1979-83 attending elementary school Mittelberg, 1983 Gertrud von le Fort school of Oberstdorf and 1987-92 Musikgymnasium Feldkirch, matriculation examination on June 22, 1992 From 1981-84 private lessons in guitar, violin and from 1984-86 1983 Piano.

Bassoon training in 1987 with Professor Allen Smith on Vorarlberg Conservatory and 1993-1999 concert bassoon with Prof. Milan Turkovic at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. From September 2001 to June 2002 Studied with Prof. Michael Werba at the Vienna Conservatory.

Participation in various host classes given by Prof. Karl Öhlberger, Daniele Damiano, Richard Galler and William Waterhouse.

1989 and 1991 first prize with distinction and special prize at the betting competition "Young Musicians". From 2001 Solofagottistin at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt (2007 premiere of her devoted bassoon concerto by Guido Mancusi). Since 2008 Head of the bassoon class at the Conservatory of Klagenfurt. .

In addition, first bassoonist of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Philharmonic, the orchestra "Spirit of Europe", the Vienna Chamber Opera, the Vorarlberg State Symphony Orchestra, substitutes-activity with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna State Opera, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and at the Lower Austrian sound artists. Concerts with renowned conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Bernard Haitink, Seiji Osawa and Franz Welser-Möst. Continuous participation in the Forum and sound in the ensemble "The Series". 1996-1998 Substitutenvertrag in the Bruckner Orchestra Linz as 1/2. Bassoonist.