20.06 THE BAMBERG QUARTET IN THE FOREST

Michelsberg Streichquartett String Quartet from Bamberg

Andreas Zack began violin lessons at age six, first with his parents, then with Prof. Sören Uhde and Prof. Conrad von der Goltz at the Würzburg University of Music Precollege. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees with Prof. Kolja Lessing and Prof. Christian Sikorski at the Stuttgart Academy of Music and Performing Arts. There he immersed himself in chamber music studies, receiving key influences from Prof. Stefan Fehlandt, the Vogler Quartet, and the Mandelring Quartet. Concert tours with various ensembles have taken him to the United States, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Since 2013, Andreas Zack has taught violin and chamber music at the Bamberg Municipal School of Music, and in September 2025 he took over direction of the school’s advanced training class.

Masako Sakai-Hersen was born in Japan. She studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts, earning her diploma. She then completed postgraduate studies in Germany at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts with Ulrich Edelmann and Alfred Breith, followed by a diploma in instrumental and vocal pedagogy at the same institution. She gained orchestral experience with German ensembles such as the Bremen State Theatre and the Hannover Radio Philharmonic, and built extensive chamber music experience in various formations. Since 1995 she has taught violin using the Suzuki method in her private studio in Frankfurt and Offenbach am Main. From 2005 she has been a certified Suzuki violin teacher and chamber music instructor at the Bamberg Municipal School of Music. In 2021 she obtained a Master of Music in Performance for historical instruments (baroque violin) from the Würzburg University of Music with Dr. Dr. Pauline Nobes.

Meike Beyer, born in Cologne, studied at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen with Prof. Emile Cantor, earning degrees in Artistic Training and Instrumental Pedagogy. She passed her soloist examination in 2009 after completing postgraduate studies at the Aarhus Conservatory of Music in Denmark. During her studies she served as principal viola of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. Meike Beyer has performed, among others, with the Stuttgart Philharmonic, Bochum Symphony, and Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra, giving concerts across Europe, China, and the United States. Since 2011 she has taught violin and viola at the Bamberg Municipal School of Music. She also performs regularly in various chamber music groups, such as the Pietra String Quartet. She is principal viola of the Kammerphilharmonie Hamburg and plays baroque viola with the orchestra La strada Armonica.

Nico Nesyba (born 1984 in Schweinfurt) studied at the Würzburg University of Music with Prof. Orfeo Mandozzi, drawing further inspiration for his playing from Wolfgang Boettcher, Pieter Wispelwey, Peter Bruns, and Bernhard Schmidt (Mandelring Quartet). After performing with the Aachen Symphony Orchestra and Hof Symphony Orchestra, he taught cello first at the Fürstenfeldbruck District Music School and, from the 2022/23 school year, at the Bamberg Municipal School of Music. Nico Nesyba is a certified Suzuki method teacher. He is active in chamber music with the “Trio Concuerdiá” and the baroque ensemble “Il Cardellino.”