Chaemun Im was born in Ulsan, South Korea, where he started playing the double bass at the age of 15 under the guidance of Hyunmin Jang (Ulsan Philharmonic). He continued his studies with Changho Kim and Insun Shin before joining the Korea National University of Arts under Seungho Chang. Chaemun obtained his Master’s degree from the Berlin University of the Arts, studying with Pablo Santa Cruz. His studies continued for exams at the Cologne University of Music with Veit-Peter Schüssler.

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Chaemun has participated in various festivals and academies, including the Orford Music Academy in Canada, Carl Flesch Academy in Germany, Seiji Ozawa Music Academy and Ozawa Matsumoto Festival in Japan. He served as an academy member of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Kaiserslautern Theater, and has played with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Hamburg Staatsoper and Deutsche Radio Philharmonie.

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Chaemun has won numerous prizes in competitions, including the Anton Rubinstein Competition and the Baden-Baden Philharmonie special award from the chief conductor.

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Profile photo credit: Shinjoong Kim

Dan Styffe is a central figure in Norwegian music life. Although born in Sweden, his professional career has been based in Norway. He studied with Göran Nyberg, Knut Guettler, and Gary Karr. He worked as Karr's assistant in 1981-82 before he accepted the position as Principal Bassist with The Norwegian Opera Orchestra and later the same position in The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. Now Styffe was the Co-Principal Bassist in Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra for many years and Professor at The Norwegian Academy of Music and Barratt Due's Institute of Music.

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Styffe played many years in the chamber Ensemble Borealis and is regularly performing at international chamber music festivals and conventions as soloist and chamber musician. He records for SIMAX Classics. He gives Masterclasses around the world and he plays a Gasparo da Saló bass (approximately 1580) owned by Dextra Musica, Sparebankstiftelsen DnB NOR.

Lukas Rudolph is a double bassist who serves as Deputy Principal Bass of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. He began his studies with Axel Bähr and Sándor Budai and continued at the University of Music Würzburg with Prof. Michinori Bunya. His development was supported by masterclasses with renowned players such as Nabil Shehata, Dorin Marc and Giuseppe Ettorre, and he was an academy member of the Mendelssohn Orchestra Academy of the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig under Rainer Hucke.

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Rudolph gained broad orchestral experience with the Bundesjugendorchester and regional youth orchestras in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. As a soloist he has appeared with ensembles including Orchestra Baden-Baden and the Chamber Orchestra Wratislavia, and he received the Carl Flesch Academy Prize for his solo work. His chamber music engagements have taken him to major venues such as Alte Oper Frankfurt and Boulez Saal Berlin.

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Beyond performance, he is a recognized expert on German double bass bows. Since the 2018/19 season he has been a member of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. Committed to education, he teaches at the Skrowaczewski Academy and Saarbrücken University of Music, coaches regional youth orchestra bass sections, and mentors private students—many of whom have won “Jugend musiziert” awards or secured professional orchestra positions.

Nabil Shehata has been Chief Conductor of the Philharmonie Südwestfalen since 2019. He began his conducting career in 2006, receiving guidance from Daniel Barenboim, Rolf Reuter, Lawrence Foster and Christian Thielemann. After early work with youth and chamber orchestras, he made a critically acclaimed conducting debut in Cottbus in 2007 and conducted the Simon Bolivar Orchestra the following year.

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Shehata has led orchestras worldwide, including the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Bilbao Symphony, Osaka Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic and Macau Philharmonic, among others. He also served as Music Director of the Munich Chamber Opera following a successful production of Mozart’s Der Diener zweier Herren, directing a varied operatic repertoire and innovative concert formats that combine music with theatrical elements and composer-focused programmes.

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Recent highlights include productions of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, debuts with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester and Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg, and residencies and collaborations at the Berlin Staatsoper alongside Daniel Barenboim. Born to German–Egyptian parents, Shehata began musical studies early—piano with his mother and double bass from age nine—and later studied with Michinori Bunya and Esko Laine. A prizewinner in major competitions including the ARD in Munich, he was principal double bass of the Berlin Philharmonic (2004–2008) and has commissioned new works for the instrument. Shehata is also dedicated to nurturing young artists and is actively involved with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.

Théotime Voisin’s passion for the double bass began in childhood and has blossomed into a distinguished international career. Praised for his technique, precision and clear style, he has explored much of the instrument’s classical repertoire. He joined the European Union Youth Orchestra for six consecutive years from age fourteen, served as guest principal in the Swiss Romande Orchestra (2013–14), won the principal post at Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in 2015, and since 2016 has been assistant principal double bass at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Since September 2020 he teaches at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. A sought-after chamber musician and soloist, Voisin has performed at festivals including Verbier and the Pablo Casals Festival and worked with notable artists and academies such as the Seiji Ozawa International Academy and Lucerne Festival Academy. His interest in contemporary music includes premieres and ensemble work. Educated at top European conservatoires, he holds multiple competition prizes and recorded a CD of French bass music in 2013; he plays a Jean Auray double bass.