Sarah Wegener
ability cannot be disputed. The placement of her voice is flawless, she has the complete range of ambitious tone colour, superb timbre that still remains smooth even at a high volume, and perfect legato. Neue Züricher Zeitung

Sarah Wegener enthrals listeners with the richness and warmth of her voice and approaches every role in a chamber musical way, whether it be contemporary, classical or romantic repertoire. She regularly works with Kent Nagano, Philippe Herreweghe, Emilio Pomàrico, Tonu Kaljuste, Heinz Holliger, Frieder Bernius and Michael Hofstetter. Concerts and recitals have taken her to the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, RuhrTriennale, Rheingau Music Festival, Konzerthaus Berlin, Tonhalle Zurich, Wiener Konzerthaus, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Casa da Música Porto, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and to the Bozar Brussels. Opera engagements have taken her to the Royal Opera House London, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Wiener Festwochen among others.

Following her double bass studies, the British-German soprano studied singing with Prof. Jaeger-Böhm in Stuttgart and took part in masterclasses with Dame Gwyneth Jones and Renée Morloc.

Highly regarded as a performer of both classical and romantic repertoire, as well as contemporary compositions, Sarah Wegener recently sang Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (Eliahu Inbal, Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg), Dvořak’s Stabat Mater and Haydn’s Sieben letzte Worte (Philippe Herreweghe, Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, Collegium Vocale Gent), and, in a sensational concert in Graz, Strauss‘ Vier letzte Lieder. In 2015 she made her debut with the NDR Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Hengelbrock performing Jörg Widmann’s Dunkle Saiten who also dedicated the solo part in his work Labyrinth III to her. Sarah Wegener has further formed a close artistic relationship with the composer Georg Friedrich Haas. due to her unique ability to interpret microtonal music. She has premiered several of his works and was nominated for “Singer of the Year” by Opernwelt magazine in 2011 for her interpretation of the main role of Nadja in his opera Bluthaus. Recently she gave her debuts in his opera Morgen und Abend at the Royal Opera House London and the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Her discography comprises recordings with Frieder Bernius of arias by Justin Heinrich Knecht (Carus), Korngold’s Die stumme Serenade (CPO) Schubert’s Lazarus (Carus) and Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor (Carus), as well as Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle under Tonu Kaljuste (Carus) and a CD with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra under Heinz Holliger (Hänssler Classic). Her first song CD with Götz Payer ‘Into the Deep Sea’ will be released on CAvi-music soon.

Sarah Wegener will kick off the 2017/18 season with Kent Nagano and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal: after their successful collaboration with Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Bach’s St.Matthew’s Passion and Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem in several concerts in Montréal last season, will she now perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 as well as a chamber music evening. She will also sing concerts with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Jörg Widman in Munich, the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna under Cornlius Meister at the Wien Modern Festival as well as Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the KlangVerwaltung Orchestra under Enoch zu Guttenberg, again in Munich. Solo evenings will take her to the Musikkollegium Winterthur and the Schwetzinger SWR Festival among others.

Götz Payer
The German pianist Götz Payer began his musical education at age 7 as a member of the Stuttgarter-Hymnus Boys’ Choir.

After completing a first degree in German literature and philosophy at the University of Stuttgart, he studied piano performance with Gotlinde Sudau and Konrad Elser at the Conservatorium of Music in Lübeck. Götz Payer found himself developing a particular interest in art song, which led him to continue his studies in Irwin Gage’s class for Lied interpretation at the Conservatorium of Music in Zürich, from which he graduated with distinction. He received scholarships from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now.

Recent concerts have taken him throughout Europe, the USA and to Asia. He has been invited to perform at high-profile events such as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the Rheingau Music Festival, the Tonhalle Zürich, the Opera Lille, The Altlanta Opera and the Philharmonie Köln.

As a chamber musician he has worked with renowned groups including the King’s Singers, Cantissimo, and the Amaryllis Quartet.

Götz Payer’s artistry has been documented on various CDs as well as in radio and television productions. As the official accompanist for numerous master classes, he has worked with many of the world’s leading artists, including Grace Bumbry, Helene Schneiderman, Hedwig Fassbender, Renée Morloc, Sibylla Rubens, Ulrike Sonntag, Christa Pfeiler, Ernst Haefliger, Kurt Moll, Matthias Goerne, Christoph Prégardien, Rudolf Piernay, Rudolf Jansen, James Wagner, Cornelius Hauptmann, Alberto Zedda und Gerd Uecker. As a committed teacher Götz Payer has been invited to give master classes in Germany and Russia, alongside teaching his own classes for Lied interpretation at the Conservatorium of Music in Cologne and the Conservatorium of Music in Frankfurt am Main.