Members
Daniel Agi
Flute
Daniel Agi's fascination with the sheer inexhaustible wealth of forms of playing and aesthetics, as well as ever new challenges, are the reasons for his passion for contemporary music.
Daniel studied with Hans-Martin Müller and Robert Aitken in Cologne and Freiburg and earned a Master's degree at the International Ensemble Modern Academy.
He can be heard regularly with ensembles such as hand werk, of which he is a founding member, and the Hannover-based Das Neue Ensemble.
He is also at home playing classical repertoire as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician and often appears as a guest with the Duisburg and Düsseldorf Philharmonic Orchestras and the Ensemble musikFabrik.
As a vocalist, he explores the world of distorted vocal sounds, drawing inspiration from the vocal styles of extreme heavy metal. With his intense performances, he has appeared at festivals such as Gaudeamus in Utrecht and Musica in Strasbourg, among others.
As a teacher, Daniel Agi has passed on his knowledge in workshops at Harvard University, the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore and the Musikhochschule Dresden.
Heni Hyunjung Kim
Clarinet
Heni Hyunjung Kim wurde in Seoul, Südkorea, geboren und lebt seit 2010 wieder in Deutschland. Seit 2011 widmet sie sich aktiv der zeitgenössischen Musik, in der sie ihre musikalische Ausdruckskraft sowohl durch ihr klassisches Instrument als auch durch verschiedene Klangobjekte sowie Ad-hoc-Instrumente, ihre Stimme und Körperbewegungen vielfältig entfaltet. Dabei zeigt sie eine offene Haltung, indem sie unterschiedliche Spielformationen der zeitgenössischen Musik erkundet und erprobt.
Sie absolvierte ihr Diplom an der Musikhochschule Köln (Wuppertal) und erwarb zwei Master-Abschlüsse, einen in Neuer Musik und einen in Professional Performance an der Folkwang Universität der Künste Essen. Darüber hinaus war sie Stipendiatin der Internationalen Ensemble Modern Akademie in Frankfurt. Sowohl als Solomusikerin als auch als Mitglied von Ensembles trat sie wiederholt auf renommierten Festivals auf, darunter das Impuls Festival in Graz, die Gaudeamus Muziekweek in Utrecht, die Münchener Biennale, die Warszawska Jesień, AchtBrücken in Köln, das ManiFeste im IRCAM in Paris, die Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, das NOW Festival in Essen, das OPENING Festival in Trier und das Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival in Südkorea. Von 2018 bis 2019 war sie Gast bei zwei Theaterproduktionen am Jungen Theater Münster, wo sie sowohl als Klarinettistin als auch als Performerin tätig war. Sie ist Mitglied von „Ensemble S201″ und gibt regelmäßig Solokonzerte.
Jae A Shin
Violin
Jae A Shin studied New Music at the Folkwang UdK Essen with Barbara Maurer and Günter Steinke and was at the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt 2020/21. During this time she produced two CDs with Ensemble Modern - 40 miniatures for the anniversary "Beschrenkt" and "A House of Call - My Imaginary Notebook" by H. Goebbels. She has performed at numerous festivals, such as the NOW! Festival Essen, the Berliner Festspiele, Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, impuls Festival Graz, Wien Modern, Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival in Korea and at the same time as a soloist in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Korea. In the field of New Music she has collaborated with many composers and artists such as Manos Tsangaris, François Sarhan, Mark Andre and Günter Steinke, premiering many works and playing live music at various exhibitions. She can currently be seen as a guest violinist at Staatstheater Mainz, Schauspielhaus Bochum and also as a composer at Schauspiel Köln.
Niklas Seidl
Violoncello
Niklas Seidl, born in 1983, studied composition, cello and baroque cello in Leipzig, Vienna and Cologne.
His interest in contemporary music has led him to regular guest appearances as a cellist with ensembles such as Klangforum Wien, Ensemble musikFabrik, Stuttgarter Vocalsolisten, Ensemble ascolta, ensemble SMASH, ensemble SurPlus, Thürmchen Ensemble, SCHOLA Heidelberg, mam:manufaktur für aktuelle Musik, the Hessischer Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra and various chamber music and solo concerts.
He is a founding member of the chamber music ensemble hand werk in Cologne and leise dröhnung in Frankfurt. He is also a permanent member of ensemble mosaik, where he is currently the artistic director.
Since 2005 he has been working on audio pieces and instrumental compositions, which have been performed at many festivals and concert series.
Together with the artist Paulette Penje, he created various film works in the duo KOMBÜSE and in the entertainment series with Paul Hübner.
Lives as a composer and cellist in Cologne/Berlin and also takes photos from time to time.
Er lebt in Köln und Berlin, fotografiert vieles und ist weiter auf der Suche.
Thibaut Surugue
Piano
Thibaut Surugue ist Pianist mit Schwerpunkt zeitgenössische Musik. Sein künstlerisches Engagement wurde 2021 mit dem Förderpreis des Landes NRW ausgezeichnet.
Seine umfangreiche Tätigkeit im Bereich der Neuen Musik führte ihn zur Zusammenarbeit mit 2e2m (Paris), dem Chamber Orchestra of Europe, dem Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt), dem Ensemble Musikfabrik (Köln) und vielen anderen, sowie mit Künstler:innen wie u.a. Brigitta Muntendorf, Rebecca Saunders, George Benjamin, Eivind Buene, Tom Coult, Georg Kröll und Enno Poppe. Als Solist oder mit Ensemble spielte er Produktionen für den WDR, für NEOS und Wergo, sowie Auftritte u.a. beim Klavier-Festival Ruhr, beim Festival d’Automne Paris und beim Daegu Contemporary Music Festival (Korea).
2023-25 war er zudem Dozent für Hauptfach Klavier im Masterstudiengang Neue Musik an der Folkwang-Universität der Künste in Essen.
Surugue absolvierte ein Klavierstudium in Paris bei Hortense Cartier-Bresson, in Brüssel bei Jan Michiels (Konzertexamen mit der Auszeichnung »great distinction«) und schloss seinen Master für Neue Klaviermusik bei Pierre-Laurent Aimard an der HfMT mit Bestnote ab. Darüber hinaus war er Stipendiat der Internationalen Ensemble Modern Akademie in Frankfurt.
Thibaut lebt in Köln und arbeitet an der Rheinischen Musikschule.
Moritz Koch
Percussion
Moritz Koch, born 1997, regularly works with internationally known ensembles such as MusikFabrik, Ensemble Modern, NoTabu and many others. He earned his Bachelor degree 2019 at HfK Bremen with Olaf Tzschoppe and his master’s degree with Rainer Römer. He received his concert exam at HfMT Cologne with great distinction. Until 2023 he was a scholarship holder at Tonali Hamburg. In 2020/21 he was a scholarship holder at the International Ensemble Modern Academy Frankfurt.
His concert activities range from jazz drummer to opera productions with, among others, HR-Sinfonieorchester, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Wiesbaden State Theater and the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra. For several years he has focused on contemporary music and ensemble playing as well as working with contemporary composers. Concert tours in this area have taken him to Argentina, Thailand, China, Brazil, Israel, Poland, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, among others. He also produced CD recordings for NEOS and Kreuzberg Records.
Hanna Fink
administration
Hanna Fink, born 1991, earned a degree (BA) in Art History and Musicology from the University of Cologne and a Master (MM) in Integrative Music Theory from the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen. She teaches music theory and musicology at Folkwang and is involved in various projects in the field of composition pedagogy and music education, including work for the Philharmonie Essen, among others.
She is responsible for the development and archiving of *MusikTexte* and has served as editor-in-chief of *MusikTexteOnline* since 2025. In addition, she works as a writer for various magazines and for broadcast (WDR, SWR, HR).
For several years, she has been curating, organizing, and hosting concerts and workshops featuring contemporary music in Cologne and the Ruhr region, including for the Gesellschaft für Neue Musik Ruhr e.V., Landesmusikrat NRW, and others.
She is active in cultural politics and currently serves as chair of the City of Essen's Cultural Advisory Board.
Hanna Fink has been working with hand werk since 2017.