Special Project October 2026

Louisa Oppawsky was born in June 2007 and began playing the violin at the age of 6. She joined the “talent support” programme of the Heilbronn municipal music school and, at 13, entered the pre-college in Würzburg as an early-entry student. In 2023 Louisa became a junior student at the Stuttgart University of Music, studying with Prof. Christine Busch. She has played in the Landesjugendorchester since 2021 and in the Bundesjugendorchester (National Youth Orchestra of Germany) since 2023, with which she also toured Great Britain and other European countries in January 2025.

In her home town she was soloist and leader of the Heilbronn Youth Symphony Orchestra. She was a long-standing member of the “Amadé” network, with performances at Mannheim Palace, and has taken part in national and international competitions. She won prizes at the international violin competition in Wrocław and, in 2023, a first prize and the UNESCO special prize for the best chamber music performance as a violin/viola duo at the Concorso Internazionale Città di Palmanova.

Louisa is also a multiple national prizewinner at the “Jugend musiziert” competition. Most recently, in 2024, she received a first national prize with maximum points in the piano/violin duo category, as well as the Carl Schröder Förderpreis.

In April 2025 she took part in “Musik Miteinander” at the Kronberg Academy. Louisa completed her Abitur in July 2025 and began her Bachelor’s degree with Prof. Christine Busch at the HMDK Stuttgart in October 2025.

Since October 2025 she has also been a scholarship holder of the Benno-Kittel-Stiftung.

Louisa has attended masterclasses with Martin Tittor, Prof. Herwig Zack, Prof. Ingolf Turban, Eduard Sonderegger, Prof. Christine Busch and Prof. Kirill Troussov.

Louisa plays a violin by Gian Carlo Guicciardi, on loan from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.

Anna Katharina Ringger, born in 2006, had her first violin lessons at the age of six, switched to the viola at 13, and had also begun playing the piano at seven.
Her musical talent drew attention early on, and she was repeatedly honoured at the Jugend musiziert competition, including several first national prizes – both in chamber music and as a soloist – as well as special prizes at WESPE.
She has attended numerous masterclasses, including with Hartmut Rohde at the International Mendelssohn Festival, and has gained extensive orchestral experience as a member of various youth orchestras, including, since 2022, the Bundesjugendorchester (BJO), where she has served as principal, among other roles.
As a result, she has already had the opportunity to play in renowned halls such as the Golden Hall in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Elbphilharmonie and the Berliner Philharmonie.

She has been taught by Lydia Bach since 2022 and will study with Prof. Stefan Fehlandt at the HMDK Stuttgart from October 2026.

Marc Strokov, born in 2008, began his musical training on the cello in 2015 with Giga Khelaia at the Stuttgart Music School. He has won numerous national and international competitions, including the Rovere D’Oro International Giovani Talenti Music Competition 2024 and the International Gustav Mahler Cello Competition 2022.
He has also repeatedly won first prizes at the national “Jugend musiziert” competition and at the Beethoven Bonnensis competition.

Alongside his competition successes, he has appeared as a soloist with the Brenzhaus Orchester Stuttgart and played at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. In 2025 concerts follow with the Heidelberg Philharmonic and in a piano trio. His musical development has been supported by masterclasses with renowned professors, including Stefan Fehlandt, Hugo Rannou, Mario de Secondi and Eduard Sonderegger. As a member of the Bundesjugendorchester he has also already performed in many renowned concert halls, such as the Elbphilharmonie, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Vienna Musikverein.

He has received scholarships from the Dr. Lang Foundation and the Ruth-Ilse Lenz Foundation, and has been supported by the Jürgen Ponto Foundation since 2022. Since October 2022 he has played a cello from the German Federal Musical Instruments Fund.

Patrick Giesel is a young musician who, despite his age, can point to an impressive range of experience. He was trained by Jorma Panula, the master behind the legendary Finnish “conducting miracle”, whose school has produced many of today’s most sought-after podium stars, such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Klaus Mäkelä and Sakari Oramo, among others. Another important mentor was Dan Ettinger, from whom he learned a great deal about the craft of opera.

At 18 he conducted a professional orchestra for the first time, at 19 he conducted in an opera pit in Italy for the first time, and at 20 he conducted his first professional concert in the Beethoven Hall of the Liederhalle Stuttgart. Besides conducting and playing the cello, his own compositions for orchestra, choir or chamber ensemble have also been performed in a wide variety of halls across Europe.

He received particular musical and personal inspiration from Daniel Barenboim and Jörg Widmann, and has also had private lessons from such great figures as Daniele Gatti and Marek Janowski. He has already worked with a wide range of opera and concert orchestras in Finland, Italy, France and Germany, and also in his home city of Stuttgart with musicians from the renowned professional orchestras, or members of the Berlin Philharmonic.