19.06 THE QUARTET, PERFECTION AND BALANCE

Michelsberg Streichquartett
String quartet from Bamberg

Andreas Zack received his first violin lessons at the age of six, initially from his parents and later from Prof. Sören Uhde and Prof. Conrad von der Goltz within the Precollege program of the University of Music in Würzburg. He subsequently completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees with Prof. Kolja Lessing and Prof. Christian Sikorski at the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart. There he devoted himself intensively to chamber music, receiving important artistic impulses 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 been teaching violin and chamber music at the Municipal School of Music in Bamberg, and in September 2025 he took over as head of the school’s advanced training class.
Masako Sakai-Hersen was born in Japan. She studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts, where she obtained her diploma. She then completed postgraduate studies in Germany at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts with Ulrich Edelmann and Alfred Breith, and later earned a diploma in instrumental and vocal pedagogy at the same institution. She gained orchestral experience with several German orchestras, including the Bremen State Theatre and the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover, and has extensive chamber music experience in various ensembles. Since 1995 she has been teaching violin using the Suzuki method in her private studio in Frankfurt and Offenbach am Main. Since 2005 she has taught violin (as a certified Suzuki teacher) and chamber music at the Municipal School of Music in Bamberg. In 2021 she obtained a Master of Music in Performance for historical instruments (baroque violin) from the University of Music in Würzburg with Dr. Dr. Pauline Nobes.
Meike Beyer, born in Cologne, studied at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen with Prof. Emile Cantor, graduating in Artistic Training and Instrumental Pedagogy. She passed her soloist examination in 2009 after completing postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark. During her studies she served as principal violist of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. Meike Beyer has performed with, among others, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Bochum Symphony Orchestra, and the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne, giving concerts throughout Europe, in China, and in the United States. Since 2011 she has been teaching violin and viola at the Municipal School of Music in Bamberg. She also performs regularly in various chamber music formations, such as the Pietra String Quartet. She is principal violist of the Kammerphilharmonie Hamburg and also plays baroque viola with the orchestra La strada Armonica.
Nico Nesyba (born 1984 in Schweinfurt) studied at the University of Music in Würzburg with Prof. Orfeo Mandozzi and gained additional artistic inspiration from Wolfgang Boettcher, Pieter Wispelwey, Peter Bruns, and Bernhard Schmidt (Mandelring Quartet). After performing with the Aachen Symphony Orchestra and the Hof Symphony Orchestra, he taught cello first at the Fürstenfeldbruck District School of Music and, from the 2022/23 school year, at the Municipal School of Music in Bamberg. Nico Nesyba is a certified Suzuki method teacher. He is active in chamber music with the “Trio Concuerdiá” and the baroque ensemble “Il Cardellino”.