Thomas Demenga, Musical Director

Born in 1954 in Bern, internationally renowned soloist, composer and teacher, is one of the outstanding cellists and musical personalities of our time. Thomas Demenga performs as a chamber musician and soloist at many important festivals and music centres around the world, appearances in numerous concerts with fellow musicians such as Heinz Holliger, Gidon Kremer, Thomas Larcher, Hansheinz Schneeberger, Tabea Zimmermann. He is engaged as a soloist by renowned orchestras such as the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, ORF Symphony Orchestra Vienna, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and Zurich Chamber Orchestra. Intensive discussion and exchange of interpretation and creation in the different stylistic epochs. Improvisation and new music are important aspects of his artistic work.
Lecturer at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel. “artiste étoile” at the Lucerne Festival summer 2003, director of the Davos Festival “young artists in concert” from 2001 to 2006. Performances of his double concerto for two cellos in Lausanne, Bern, Zurich Tonhalle, Kronberg Cello Festival, Los Angeles Cello Festival with his brother Patrick Demenga. 2007/08 Composer in Residence at the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Composed the compulsory piece for the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann 2010 in Berlin. From 2011 artistic director of Camerata Zurich. 2012/13 Complete performance of Bach solo suites combined with modern solo works at Wigmore Hall London. The numerous CDs, released by ECM New Series, document his artistic work in an impressive way.