Marion von Tilzer
Austrian-born composer/pianist Marion von Tilzer is an intriguing musician, in particular due to her talent of merging completely different styles in a surprising and original way. Her synthesis of Indian classical music with contemporary western music has lead to collaborations with musicians, choreographers and filmmakers from different parts of the world, as a composer and performer with her own groups. Her projects have been labeled stunning, fascinating and accessible at the same time.

In 2012 she won the first prize of the Donemus Composition Competition for 'Rote Schuhe', a musical suite, performed by The Bezetting Speelt throughout the Netherlands in 2013. In 2015 the album 'Secret Keymasters' was released on Challenge Records together with fellow pianists Michael Gees & Frans Ehlhart with original compositions of all three musicians. Marion's new CD with her music written to the fairy tale 'Das Verschenkte Weinen' by W. Heiduczek was released by Buchfunk as an Audiobook during the Leipzig Bookfare in March 2018.

Marion recorded her highly acclaimed album Kirvani Revistedwith her chamber ensemble, the Marion von Tilzer Ensemble. She was commissioned to write two pieces for the Radio Symphony Orchestra of the Westdeutsche Rundfunk in Cologne, Germany. One of pieces received an honorable mention (Theodore Front Prize). Other commissions include a composition for the city of Amsterdam, which was premiered in the renowned Concertgebouw Hall. Her piece "Die Verlassene Stadt" an orchestral work was commissioned by the VU kamerorkest for their 20th anniversary and premiered in Amsterdam in 2012. It is dedicated to the victims of the Chernobyl disaster.

Marion von Tilzer is based in Amsterdam, where she studied piano at the Amsterdam Conservatory.

Bella Adamova
“A voice that apparently can do anything” — mezzo-soprano and improviser Bella Adamova grew up in Prague, Czech Republic torn between, and surrounded by many cultures. This has translated to a versatility as a musician – always occupying the space somewhere in between genres. She completed her Bachelor’s in Vocal performance in London’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and her Master’s in Cologne, Germany.

The art song is a focal point for the singer. Her repertoire ranges from Bellini to George Crumb, encompassing German Lied as well as Russian romances. Laureate of the International Robert Schumann Competition in 2021, the Czech Song Prize at the Emmy Destinn Awards in London, the Martinů Prize at the International Dvořák Competition, and a finalist at the 2020 Bundeswettbewerb Gesang in Berlin. Bella sings and improvises in duo with pianist Michael Gees, their debut album Blooming was released in 2019 on Challenge Records. She made her debut with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava performing Mahler’s Rückertlieder under Chuhei Iwasaki. With conductor Tomáš Netopil and harpsichordist Barbara Maria Willi she appeared at the Maraton Hudby Brno, and Hudební Kroměříž festivals. Upcoming highlights include a return to Fondation Royaumont for a Mahler recital as well as a debut at the Rudolfinum singing de Falla’s El Amor Brujo with Radek Baborák for the Czech Chamber Music Society.

During her studies she was involved in a number of operas, notably singing Hermia in Britten’s A midsummer night’s dream and Celia in Haydn’s La fedeltà premiata at Theater Aachen. In the coming season she will appear as the Third wood sprite in Rusalka at Theater Bielefeld. Most recently, Bella was a finalist at the international Cesti competition at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music.

Her first encounters with free improvisation were with Paulo Álvares, which she continued studying at the Basel Music Academy under Fred Frith and Alfred Zimmerlin. As an improviser she loves to explore the possibilities of using the voice acoustically, often using text in various chamber ensembles, and as a soloist. Performing contemporary music has always been a part of her concert life, recently, she was the vocal soloist in the Basel version premiere of Kagel’s La Trahison Orale lead by Jean Pierre Drouet and has performed in a newly devised interdisciplinary work curated by Hannes Seidl at the ZeitRäume festival.

Bella has had the privilege of learning from, amongst others, Lynton Atkinson, Thomas Piffka, Anne Sofie von Otter, Thomas Hampson, Christoph Prégardien, Klesie Kelly, Eva Nievergelt, Dalia Schaechter, Simon Keenlyside, Josef Protschka, Christian Immler, and Kateřina Kněžíková.