Association

Sebastian Kovacs, Bakk. MBA

Sebastian Kovacs is an angel investor and multiple company founder in Austria and China. The graduate in business administration is responsible for the finances of the association. He supports the association mainly because of the importance of cultural exchange, as this is the basis for deeper cooperation between two nations.

Univ. Prof. Elisabeth Kropfitsch

Elisabeth Kropfitsch is an Austrian violinist and music teacher. She is a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and for several years has also been chairwoman of the violin section (violin examination senate) at the Fritz Kreisler Institute there.

Dr. Jeremy G. House

Dr Jeremy House is an Australian-born educator with a deep belief in the value of international education for a more prosperous and peaceful world. He holds a Bachelor of Education with Honours, a Master of Education, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in International Business, and a Doctorate of Education in the field of Positive Psychology.

He has worked in numerous operational and key strategic leadership positions in boarding schools and has extensive experience in school growth and development. He is dedicated to student-centered learning and maintaining a personal and family-like, high-performance, school culture.

Christian Schulz

Christian Schulz comes from a well-known Viennese musical family and began his musical career as a cellist by studying violoncello. Later he also studied conducting – both at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, today “mdw”.

He performs as a chamber musician, soloist and most recently as cellist of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. From the ranks of this orchestra he founded the “Ambassade Orchester Wien” in 1997 and is still its artistic director.

Schulz was assistant to the star conductors Vladimir Fedosejev, Yakov Kreizberg and Franz Welser Möst.

The list of orchestras he has conducted is considerable: from the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra Bucharest, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Halle State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, to the Tonkünstlerorchester NÖ, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and last but not least the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Opera engagements include the Bregenz Festival. The annual concerts at KAZ (Kunst aus der Zeit), which take place in the course of the Bregenz Festival, establish a close cooperation with the Wiener Concert Verein. This cooperation has resulted in joint concerts, among others at the Vienna Musikverein, and several CD recordings.

Since 2003 Christian Schulz has been Principal Guest Conductor of the Arad State Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania and since 2005 Principal Conductor of the “Mozart Collegium Wien”. He also holds the position of Music Director of the concert series “Schwingungen” in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein.

Christian Schulz is also responsible for a revival and rehearsal of “The Magic Flute” at the Vienna Volksoper in the 2007/2008 season.

Since 2010 he has been appointed as General Music Director of the music program at OKF Tehran. The job includes conducting the AISO Symphony Orchestra, the AIC Choir, as well as the specialized master classes and the newly established Opera Studio.

In addition to his activities as a conductor, Christian Schulz has also been devoting himself to writing his own compositions for several years. In this context, world premieres in Japan, Romania, Iran and Austria (Vienna Musikverein) should be mentioned.

Univ. Prof. Stefan Kropfitsch

Stefan Kropfitsch started his cello learning with Prof. Tobias Kühne, grandstudent of André Navarra.
1st prize at the age of twelve, Dr. Karl Bohm Prize of the Vienna Philharmonic.

Study of violoncello to the unanimous diploma with distinction at the Vienna Academy of Music.
Postgraduate studies with Prof. Wolfgang Herzer ( solo cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic ) complement the artistic experience.
It starts an international career with the Jess- Trio -Wien and in parallel as a soloist. In almost all music centers Stefan Kropfitsch is a guest.
The cellist solo career is sometimes inseparable from that of the Jess- Trio – Vienna , because the trio in its program design calls for a variety of solo work . So ( solo to quintet ) will be in concert in the trio ‘s own series at the Vienna Konzerthaus in all occupations.

Vienna ( Konzerthaus , own cycle in the Mozart Hall annually to six concerts ) , Musikverein, Vienna Society of Friends of Music , Vienna Festival , Jeunesse , Klangbogen , Salzburg ( Mozarteum )
Milan (Teatro Piccolo) , Basel ( Casineum ) , Barcelona ( Palau de Musica ), London ( Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room ) , New York ( Carnegie Hall ), Warsaw ( P hilharmonie , Jerusalem ( Rebecca Crown Hall ), Hamburg ( Music Hall ) Graz ( Stefanien hall ), Linz ( Bruckner House )
Palermo (Teatro Golden ) , Zurich ( Tonhalle ), Hamburg ( Music Hall ), Berlin ( Philharmonie ), etc.

Concerts at many festivals such as the Vienna Festival , International Music Festival in Lucerne , Bregenz Festival , Carinthian Summer , Vienna modern, Ljubljana Festival, Bath Festival, Schnittke days in Bruckner House ( Mastering the cello sonata and the piano trio with Schnittke himself and subsequent performance at the Bruckner House ), International Haydn Festival Eisenstadt , Copenhagen Summer Festival, art spaces Miirzzuschlag etc.

Great deal of attention the recording of the Dvorak Cello Concerto and Tchaikovsky ‘s Rococo Variations in the James Bond film ” The Living Daylights ” ( kiss of death ).

Numerous solo appearances with the following orchestras:

Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra , Lucerne Festival Strings , Orchestra of the Southwest German Radio Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra , Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Ljubljana Symphony Orchestra , NE – Musicians , Vienna Soloists , Collegium Musicum Basel, Josef Suk Chamber Orchestra, Symphonia Amadei Basel, Oakridge Symphony Orchestra , Rome Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, RSO Prague, Bratislava Radio Symphony Orchestra and others.
As a permanent guest of the Vienna Konzerthaus Since 1993 design your own cycle in the Mozart Hall as cellist of the Jess- Trio -Wien .
Numerous CDs at the company EMI and Rondo and Gramola with the trio and as a soloist.

By dedications of many works of modern composers active employment with contemporary music.

Cooperation with well-known composers such as Herbert Willi , Alfred Schnittke, Rainer Bischof , Heinrich Gattermayer , Thomas Daniel Schlee , Meinhard Rüdenauer , Gerold Heitz, Carlo de Incontrera inter alia m. and first performances of those works.

Activity as a juror in numerous national and international competitions.
The cellist Stefan Kropfitsch was 2006 Univ. Professor appointed at the Vienna University of Music for Concert violoncello . The care outstanding cello talent in his own class at the University is adjacent to the international career currently the most pressing concern . The students gain both numerous competitions and auditions with prominent orchestras.
Since 2006 Head of the Institute for Strings and other stringed instruments of the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts.

Univ. Prof. Christoph Hinterhuber

“One of the best, most fascinating piano albums of the year” wrote Fono Forum about his recording of sonatas and rondos by CPE Bach. The English Gramophone magazine chose his recording of works for piano and orchestra by Hummel as “Editor’s Choice”, and his 5-CD recording series of all piano concertos by Beethoven’s contemporary Ferdinand Ries, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, received equally great international attention.

Both through his recordings, which have been released by Naxos, Wergo, Camerata Tokyo and Paladino, among others, and with his worldwide concert activities, Christopher Hinterhuber has established himself internationally as a pianist of enormous range.

His teachers were Axel Papenberg at the Klagenfurt Conservatory and Rudolf Kehrer, Avo Kouyoumdjian and Heinz Medjimorec at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Further studies followed at the Accademia pianistica “Incontri col Maestro” in Imola, Italy with Lazar Berman and Leonid Margarius. He owes important artistic inspiration to Oleg Maisenberg and Vladimir Ashkenazy, among others.

As a prizewinner of international competitions in Leipzig (Bach), Saarbrücken (Bach), Pretoria (Unisa), Zurich (Geza Anda) and Vienna (Beethoven), Christopher Hinterhuber has performed regularly at major festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Ruhr Piano Festival, the Chamber Music Festival Lockenhaus, the Styriarte in Graz, the Carinthian Summer in Ossiach with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yakov Kreizberg, Sylvain Cambreling, Kirill Karabits, Jakub Hrusa, Christian Arming Bruno Weil, Andrés Orozco Estrada, Dennis Russell Davies, Bertrand de Billy, Ari Rasilainen, Adrian Leaper, Howard Griffiths, Hubert Soudant, Alfred Eschwé or Beat Fur- rer and orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Klangforum Wien, the Vienna and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, the MDR Orchestra Leipzig, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique Luxemburg and others. a.

In 2002/03 he represented Austria together with violinist Patricia Kopatschinskaja in the series “Rising Stars” at Carnegie Hall and the most prominent European concert halls.

A special project was the recording in sound (Schubert, Rachmaninov, Schön- berg) and image (Christopher Hinterhuber’s hands) for the French-Austrian film “The Piano Player” after Elfriede Jelinek directed by Michael Haneke (awarded the Grand Jury Prize in Cannes 2001).

An important part of his activity is chamber music, so he is a member of the Altenberg Trio Vienna, which plays its own cycle at the Vienna Musikverein. Radio and television recordings for ORF, DRS2, NHK, SWR and others round off his artistic activities and underline his outstanding standing within the younger generation of Austrian pianists.

He is professor of piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.

Daniel Serafin, MA

Daniel Serafin is the son of the Austrian chamber singer Harald Serafin and Inge Serafin, his half-sister is the soprano Martina Serafin. After graduating from the Vienna International School, he studied singing and acting at the Mozarteum Salzburg, the Vienna Conservatory and the Juilliard School in New York, where he received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees.

Serafin’s broad repertoire, which includes opera, operetta, musical and lied, ranges from classical to modern works to crossover. He has sung roles such as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Silvio in I Pagliacci, Sid in Albert Herring, as well as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, Josef in Wiener Blut, Count Homonay in Der Zigeunerbaron and Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My fair Lady, among others.

Serafin first appeared at the Wiener Kammerspiele and the Theater in der Josefsstadt, where he was a permanent ensemble member in the 2004/2005 season. He has performed at numerous opera houses and concert halls worldwide. In 2012 he made a world tour with his song program Verboten und Verbannt – Entartete Musik, a tango program with the Orchestra National de Argentine conducted by Leonard Cohen. In 2014 he went on a world tour with his solo programs Danny spielt auf and American Songbook. Furthermore, he made guest appearances at various festivals, e.g. the Seefestspiele Mörbisch as well as the Musikfestival Steyr.

From 2013 to 2017, Serafin was the organizer and producer of the Austrian Music Theater Award. In 2016, he took over the artistic direction of the annual Viennese Opera Ball New York.

Serafin headed the cultural marketing of the Esterhazy Betriebe from 2017 to 2019, and in 2019 he was appointed artistic director of the Opera in St. Margarethen Quarry. Since 2017, he has also been president and board member of the Friends Schlossquartier Eisenstadt Association and the Friends of the Opera in the Quarry.

Serafin lives in Vienna and New York.

Mag. Sarah Längle

Sarah Längle was born and raised in the Principality of Liechtenstein.

Her studies in classical singing led her to the Conservatory of the City of Vienna, where she took on first engagements in Vienna and Japan. Her opera singing career then led her to Germany where she worked as a soloist at various theaters. There she had the good fortune to enact some of the great roles in her field. In recent years, her singing focus has shifted more to the concert stage.

Sarah Längle has always been interested in other people’s peculiarities, their differences and similarities. She was able to live out this interest on the opera stage by immersing herself in other characters and exploring and understanding the different stories and characters.

In 2015, this curiosity also led her to train as a life coach at the prestigious Dr.Bock Coaching Academy in Berlin, allowing her to explore different characters off stage as well.

During the same year, her world also opened up towards China, where her Chinese colleague (now partner) provided her with the opportunity to both give concerts and teach. The curiosity and openness that she encountered in China and the immersion into a culture that had been foreign to her until then enriched her tremendously.

This experience has created in her a great desire to contribute to connecting the Chinese and the European cultures and, above all, to bring people closer together. Especially in today’s times, when the signs point more to separation than connections, Sarah wants to build bridges, uncover commonalities, and arouse curiosity for each other.

With her partner, also a musician, she started in 2017 with large classical New Year’s concerts in the porcelain city of Jingdezhen. Musicians and singers from Europe and the surrounding area of Jingdezhen came together in an orchestra and performed both Western and Chinese works together.

In 2019, the project was expanded to include concerts of small ensembles such as classical quartets, solo artists, as well as jazz and pop bands throughout the year.

And even though they so far primarily used music as a unifying language, they also welcome other art forms to realize their idea of connecting both cultures.

Dr. Ulrich Grossrubatscher

Ulrich Grossrubatscher, a native of Brixen, South Tyrol, and raised in Gröden, is a professional with a diverse range of experiences. He earned a Ph.D. in Psychology and Pedagogy from Paris Lodron University in Salzburg and embarked on a career as a psychologist in Salzburg-Klessheim and Gröden.

In addition to his psychology work, Ulrich Grossrubatscher pursued a passion for music and received private vocal training. He became a member of the prestigious Wiener Staatsopernchor in 1990, where he had the opportunity to perform as a soloist under the direction of renowned conductors, including Carlos Kleiber, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Colin Davis, and Horst Stein.

Beyond his artistic pursuits, Ulrich Grossrubatscher served as the Managing Director of the “Konzertverein Wiener Staatsopernchor,” showcasing his leadership abilities and dedication to the arts. ,,Furthermore, he is co-founder chairman of the Gustav Mahler Chor”.

Ulrich Grossrubatscher also had the privilege of participating in the Salzburg Festival for several years, contributing both as a chorister and a soloist, which furthered his reputation in the world of classical music.

Ulrich Grossrubatscher lives in Vienna.

尹超 Stella Chao Yin

Former opera singer (soprano) at the Shanghai Opera House, Bachelor of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Master of University of Sydney; former General Manager of Overseas Real Estate at JD Finance; co-founder and vice president of the elite business women’s platform HERose Club; vice president of the Austrian Chinese Musicians Association; founder and CEO of Ripple Overseas.

Since 2008, she has transitioned from the opera stage to the business stage, providing high-net-worth clients with domestic and international asset allocation, education planning, and real estate financial services. She has extensive domestic and international resources and high-end connections; she is passionate about the promotion of classical music and cultural exchanges between China and the West, supports charitable causes, and promotes the development of women’s power.

In 2009, she co-initiated the establishment of the HERose Club, adhering to the spirit of “gathering and promoting women’s power,” dedicated to helping women achieve spiritual growth, a sense of belonging, and business partnerships through trusted channels. The HERose Club has registered members in 21 countries and regions, influences 300,000 corporate decision-makers, and nearly 2 million new media users, making it one of the largest, most deeply serviced, and most influential women entrepreneur platforms globally. Stella is also a member of the judging panel of the HERose Awards, known as the “Oscar for Business Women,” one of the most credible and influential awards for business women.

In 2016, she helped establish the “HERose Charity Fund,” affiliated with the China Women’s Development Foundation, aiming to spread the culture of philanthropy, support international public welfare exchanges, and provide support for women’s development.

In 2021, she launched the “HERose Ultra Sound” video channel, combining high-quality networking resources and music cultural resources, dedicated to the dissemination of classical music and artistic content, both online and offline, domestic and international. It aims to build a bridge between music and business, exploring the development path of classical music in the new era.

In September 2023, she successfully hosted the 10th Women’s Business Era Grand Ceremony in Shanghai, where Maye Musk gave a wonderful speech to thousands of female entrepreneurs and businesswomen. In October 2023, she participated in the Global Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI) and Family Office North America Summit in the United States. Yin Chao won the International ICON Award for her outstanding leadership and achievements, and for her positive contributions to social, economic, and sustainable development. In November 2023, she facilitated the visit of Maestro Domingo to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where President Liao Changyong announced the establishment of the Domingo Master Studio and appointed Maestro Domingo as an Honorary Professor and Honorary Dean of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Opera House.

In 2024, she obtained the exclusive authorization from the Audrey Hepburn family to introduce the world-class women’s power exhibition – Audrey Hepburn Memorial Exhibition and Hepburn Film Week to China, paying tribute to this globally renowned fashion icon and humanitarian while inspiring more young people to achieve themselves and improve the world in uncertain times.

Robert Werner

Robert Werner began receiving piano lessons from his father, who mastered eight instruments, at the age of four.

He studied at the Vienna Conservatory, and at the end of his studies, the musician toured Europe with various bands.

Upon returning to his hometown of Vienna, Robert Werner intensified his piano skills under the tutelage of Vienna jazz pianist Walter Hörler.

Additionally, Robert Werner studied solo singing, art song, and oratorio at the Prayner Conservatory and was subsequently called to the Raimund Theater in Vienna as an operetta tenor, where he performed on stage in various roles for four years as a member of the ensemble.

The artist then advanced to the top tier, joining the Vienna State Opera and becoming a permanent member of the Vienna State Opera Chorus. For 26 years, Robert Werner sang in countless choral and solo parts, working with renowned conductors. During these years, he also took private singing lessons with the celebrated singers Prof. Hilde Zadek and Prof. Gottfried Hornik.

His interest in composing his own music pieces grew through collaboration with Prof. Heinz Neubrand, a composer, pianist, and orchestra conductor, one of the greats of the Austrian music scene.

In 2005, Robert Werner composed his first musical to the texts of Myorah B. Middleton. Since then, he has composed for notable figures such as painter Ernst Fuchs, tenor José Carreras, magician Siegfried (of Siegfried and Roy), and Italian world figure skating star Carolina Kostner, who performed a beautiful routine to his composition “Solamente per Carolina.” As a gifted pianist, Robert Werner regularly performs at the Vienna Philharmonic Ball at the Musikverein.

Robert Werner uniquely interprets well-known melodies from classical, jazz, and rock music on the piano with virtuosity. His original compositions round out an inspiring program.

Music is his life, and thus this highly versatile artist feels at home in numerous genres. His many international travels have taken him to China, Zurich, Leipzig, Berlin, Venice, Paris, Munich, Bolzano, and many other places.

Monika Medek

Monika Medek studied singing at the University of Music and Performing Arts in the city of music itself, Vienna. A soprano, Monika continued to follow her passion by attending Vienna’s Music Conservatory. Upon successful graduation, she was admitted to the Conservatory’s Opera School where she studied under Lucia Meschwitz and Michael Pinkerton. Monika is an alumni of the class of 2007. She studied with KS Michael Pabst, KS Grace Bumbry, KS Kurt Equiluz and others. Continually working towards her dream of being on stage, Monika developed her acting skills concurrently with her singing; her natural talent was refined during a multi-year education at acting school.

Monika Medek most recently sung the part of Leonore in an adaption of Ludwig van Beethovens “King Bela” but also gained experience by singing Agathe in Weber’s „Der Freischütz“, Senta in Richard Wagner’s „The Flying Dutchman“. She mastered numberous roles, such as First Lady in Mozart’s „Magic Flute“ (at the Baden City Theatre and at Vienna’s Akzent Theatre), and also Pamina, again in Magic Flute. Monika has inspired her audience in various countries as the Mother in Humperdinck’s „Hänsel und Gretel“, Lady Billows in Britten’s „Albert Herring“, Giulietta in Offenbach’s „The Tales of Hoffmann“, Cherubino in „Le Nozze di Figaro“, Dorabella in „Cosí fan tutte“ and Wellgunde in Richard Wagner’s „Das Rheingold“.

Monika Medek is a frequent concert artist, her solo performances have led her across Europe and further abroad. These large-scale productions included Soprano-solo-parts like Symphony No.8 by Gustav Mahler (Soprano II, Una poenitentium), A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, Te Deum by Georges Bizet, The Bells by Sergej Rachmaninoff, Stabat Mater by Antonín Dvorák, as well as both soprano solos from the Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise), Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s Second Symphony and from Beethoven 9th Symphony at the Golden Hall of Vienna Musikverein, where she again will perform in December 2023.

It was in the Great Hall of the Wiener Konzerthaus when she mastered the soprano part in Johannes Brahms‘ A German Requiem and also sang the world premier of Vijay Upadhyaya’s Prayer Flags at the same location, where a CD was recorded. More recently, Monika could be heard and seen in the Great Hall with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, where another CD was recorded. In September 2016 she sang with China National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Darrell Ang at the Beijing Concert Hall the soprano part in the Symphony Prayer Flags by Vijay Upadhyaya, the concert was broadcast live on CCTV and reached an audience of approximately 300 million people. The freelance opera singer has enjoyed concert tours in Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Germany, Luxembourg, Japan, China and Thailand.

Monika Medek gives regular concerts with her trio CLARIVOCE founded in 2020. In addition to a large number of Austrian festivals, the trio has already been seen in Prague, Bratislava, Luxembourg, Sarajevo and with concert films (pandemic) for Mexico, France, Switzerland and Italy.