Professional Norwegian/Swedish horn player Lene Skomedal is a prestigious musician. During her 20 years as a professional musician she has worked with numerous orchestras and ensembles in many countries, such as principal horn in Copenhagen Phil and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, to a great number of projects with most opera houses, orchestras and other ensembles in the Scandinavian countries. Lenes career includes all forms of performances, as a soloist, chamber music and teaching masterclasses, like recently in Royal College of Music and Guildhall School of music and drama in London. But also, frequently appears in worldwide festivals and events, such as Corno Brass Music Festival (Poland), Encuentro Internacional de Cornos (Chile), Fjord Classics (Norway) among others.
“BREATHE MUSIC” is Lene´s own brand and her very own style of yoga, coaching, breathing therapy and mental training – for musicians.
Through various workshops for large or small groups, Lene´s work reaches all over the world and most recently at academies like Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London, UK) as well as for many professional orchestras. Her personal clients that range from very young students to world star soloists, conductors and musicians in Berlin Phil, LA Phil, Concertgebouw Orchestra among others can testify to her brilliant skills and life changing moments that benefits their playing and well-being.
Born in Toulouse 1991, Maxime learned to play the horn at the Conservatoire Régional de Versailles in the class of Gilles Mahaud. In 2010, he entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in the class of André Cazalet, where he obtained his Master’s degree in 2015, with distinction.
During masterclasses or internships, he receives advice from great masters such as Jean-Michel Vinit, Benoit De Barsonny, Marie-Luise Neunecker, Francis Orval, Radovan Vlatković… Maxime is regularly called upon to play in national orchestras such as the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre national de Lille, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris and Orchestre de Paris, where he has played under the baton of great conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Christoph Eschenbach and Herbert Blomstetd.
In 2012 he founded with his friends Pierre Badol, Clément Charpentier-Leroy and Alexis Crouzil the HORNormes quartet which he will perform many concerts with, across France and Switzerland in various original shows. In 2013 Maxime won the audition in the academy of the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan and between 2013 and 2016, Maxime has been principal horn of the Orchestre national des Pays de Savoie. Since December 2016, he has joined the Geneva Chamber Orchestra as second horn. He is also a professor at the Swiss National Youth Orchestra since 2022. Moreover, Maxime has participated as a teacher in the 2021, 2022 and 2024 editions of CITGUAD.
She began her horn studies at the Sociedad Musical de Alboraya with Gabriel Diago, continuing her training at the Conservatorio Superior de Música “Joaquín Rodrigo” in Valencia with D. José Rosell, at the Staatliche Musikhochschule Freiburg with Bruno Schneider and with Javier Bonet in modern and natural horn.
Her numerous awards and scholarships include the prize at the Città di Porcia International Competition and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation scholarship.
She is frequently invited to perform as a soloist at national and international festivals such as the British Horn Society, as well as to collaborate with various European orchestras, including her continuous collaboration as horn soloist with the Berliner Philharmoniker. As a teacher she has been invited by young orchestras such as the JONDE, OJA, JOGV, and conservatories such as the Guildhall School of Music and Drama or Berklee College of Music.
She has been a member of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid (Teatro Real) and since 2002 she has been principal horn of the Orquesta de Valencia. He is also a member of the Quintet Cuesta, Dreisam ensemble and Metal.lògic Ensemble. Currently she has released her first solo CD “Se hace saber”, some of the pieces included are written for Maria.
Diego was born in Valladolid, Spain, where he began playing the horn at the age of 8 under the tutelage of Carlos Balaguer. He continued his studies at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid with Radovan Vlatković and Rodolfo Epelde, before entering the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Jeff Bryant, Timothy Jones, and Nigel Black.
He is currently principal horn of the London Symphony Orchestra, having previously held the positions of third horn and principal horn with the Philharmonia. He also frequently performs as guest principal horn with the San Francisco Symphony, London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as with the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, he was also principal horn of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra.
In addition to his orchestral activities, Diego has performed as a soloist with Schumann’s Konzertstück and the Philharmonia and Helmut Lachenmann’s My Melodies and the LSO. He also frequently performs chamber music with Philharmonia Winds and the Wigmore Soloists, alongside artists such as Michael Collins, Isabelle van Keulen and Benjamin Gilmore.
Since September 2022, Diego has been professor at the Royal College of Music.
Raquel began her studies at the age of seven at the Sociedad Musical Unión de Pescadores (Valencia) with José Sanchis Montañana and studied elementary and professional music at the José Iturbi Municipal Conservatory of Music in Valencia with Manuel Járrega. She graduated from the Joaquín Rodrigo Conservatory of Music in Valencia with Juan José Llimerá Dus and Eduardo Gabriel Moreno, having completed a year of ERASMUS at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg with Bruno Schneider. Raquel furthered his studies by completing a Master’s degree with Markus Maskuniitty at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hanover. She has received several first prizes in national competitions, both as a soloist and with chamber ensembles. She has been a member of youth orchestras such as the JONDE. Raquel has participated in several orchestral projects such as the Gustav Mahler Academy 2018, Sommer Musik Akademie Schloss Hundisburg and International Youth Tchaikovsky Orchestra. She completed a Praktikum with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester in Mainz and was an academician with the Orquestra Simfònica de les Illes Balears and the Orquesta Nacional de España. She regularly collaborates with professional ensembles such as the Madrid Symphony Orchestra, the Spanish National Orchestra, the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, etc. In the field of education, she has participated in various courses and is currently a horn teacher at the Adolfo Salazar and Teresa Berganza Professional Conservatories of Music in Madrid and at Forum Musikae – Escuela Superior de Música.
Born in Sedaví (Valencia), he studied at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Valencia, the Conservatoire National de Region in Versailles, and later in Munich. In 1987 he joined the Spanish National Youth Orchestra (JONDE) and later the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), regularly collaborating with numerous Spanish orchestras. Since 1991, he has been principal horn of the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada.
As a soloist, he has performed major horn concertos by Richard Strauss, Förster, Jiri Pauer, Gordon Jacob, and Mozart, premiering in Spain Mozart’s concert fragments. He has also performed works by Britten, Mercadante, and pieces written especially for horn and orchestra. His activity includes chamber music in various ensembles and innovative projects for solo horn and electroacoustics. He has appeared as guest musician with international orchestras in the United States, Israel, Italy, and Colombia.
Alongside his artistic career, he teaches horn and orchestral repertoire at the Higher Conservatory of Music of the Basque Country (Musikene). Author of the method Warm up, presented at the Beijing International Book Fair, he has shared his work across five continents. A renowned pedagogue, he gives masterclasses worldwide and lectures on interpretation, stage fright management, emotional intelligence, and psychological preparation for musicians.