Young Turkish mezzo-soprano Feride Büyükdenktas made her bachelor at the State Conservatory Istanbul and continued her voice studies with Ulf Bästlein at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. She received further coaching by Christoph Prégardien and Julius Drake at the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme and joined masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender, Romualdo Savastano, Charles Spencer, and Roberta Alexander as well as acting classes at the Summer Art Festival of the University of Minnesota. Recently she works on Lied interpretation with Holger Falk. Feride Büyükdentas is the winner of the First Prize of the Young Opera Singers Competition in Istanbul, the Voice Competition Izmir and the Nordfriesische Liedpreis of Schleswig Hollstein. She performed the parts of Cherubino and the Sorceress in „Dido and Aeneas“ at the Istanbul Opera House as well as Hänsel in „Hänsel and Gretel“ at the University of Music and Performing Arts and covered for the role of Stephano in Gounod’s „Romeo et Juliette“ at Opera House Graz. In concert, she performed the world premiere of Robert Bauer's „Night music for Ashraf Fayadh“ under the direction of Ingo Ingensand at the Stephaniensaal Graz and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater at the Reiterkaserne Graz. Her engagements in the 2018/19 season include the second Wood Sprite in "Rusalka" and the role of Annio in "La Clemenza di Tito" at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt. At the Graz Opera, she performed the title role of Bononcini's The Beheading of John the Baptist. Next season, she returns to the Stadttheater Klagenfurt as Dorothée in Massenet's "Cendrillon" and will be heard as part of the Mahler Festival at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam in Mahler’s "The Song of the Earth”

Pianist Gisela Jöbstl is a passionate chamber musician. Together with mezzosoprano Klaudia Tandl she is a prizewinner at the 11. Internationalen Art Song Competition Stuttgart and the Schubert-Competition Dortmund in2018. Liederrecitals have led her throughout Europe. Born in Friesach, Austria Gisela got her first musical training at the age of five. Later she studied with Adrian Cox at the University of Music and Preforming Arts, Vienna. Important influence on her as a pianist had her studies with Julius Drake at the University of Music and Preforming Arts, Graz. She participated in masterclasses with Roger Vignoles, Robert Holl, Helmut Deutsch, Birgid Steinberger, Olaf Bärund Ann Murray and was a scholar of the Residential Lieder Masterclass and the Schubert Institut, Baden. Since 2017Gisela has held a lecture position in piano at the University of Music and Preforming Arts, Vienna.