Lara Salamon graduated with honors from the Zurich University of the Arts in 2021. She specialized in pedagogy and contemporary music under Matthias Ziegler and was awarded a special prize.

She has performed with the Collegium Novum Zürich, Ensemble TaG, Musikkollegium Winterthur, and the Pforzheim Theater, among others. She regularly performs with the Neuchâtel Symphony Orchestra and has been a member of the Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra since 2021 and the Forum Neue Musik Ljubljana.

Previously, she studied in Lausanne with José-Daniel Castellon and graduated with honors in both her bachelor's and master's degrees. She was part of renowned youth orchestras such as the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra and received the Nicati de Luze scholarship.

Since 2022, she has been teaching at the music schools in Kilchberg and Thalwil and works as a freelance musician.

Shoko Miyake was born in Japan. She received her musical education at the Tokyo College of Music (Japan) with Michiaki Hama and Kenichi Furube, and at the Escuela Superior de música Reina Sofía (Madrid, Spain) with Hansjörg Schellenberger, followed by studies at the Zurich University of the Arts (Switzerland) with Louise Pellerin and Martin Frutiger, supported by scholarships from the Rohm Music Foundation, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Fundación Isaac Albeniz. Additionally, she played as an intern with the Bern Symphony Orchestra and deepened her repertoire in various orchestras and operas.

Shoko Miyake regularly performs with the Bern Symphony Orchestra, Zurich Opera House, Capella Andrea Barca, Winterthur Music Society, Camerata Bern, Camerata Zurich, Camerata Salzburg, and the Gstaad Festival Orchestra. Under conductors Bernard Heitink, Adam Fischer, Andrey Boreyko, Ingo Metzmacher.

She performed at various festivals such as the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), Omaggio a Palladio Vicenza (Italy), Hstaad Menuhin Festival (Switzerland), Kunstfest Weimar (Germany), Encuentro de Música Santander (Spain), and the Bach Festival in Leipzig (Germany), with the respective orchestras as well as in chamber music formations.

Since 2026, Shoko has been the lead singer of the Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

Joel Cardoso ist ein portugiesischer Klarinettist und offizieller Backun Artist. Er ist Mitglied des City Light Orchestra (KKL Luzern) und arbeitet regelmässig mit dem Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, dem Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, der Argovia Philharmonic sowie dem Philharmonischen Orchester Freiburg zusammen.

He has won over 20 international competitions, including 1. Prizes at the Carlino Clarinet International Competition (Italy, 2023) and the Thailand International Clarinet Competition (2021), as well as a scholarship from the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe. Concert performances took him to festivals in Lucerne, Zermatt, Grafenegg, and Davos, among others. He also performed with the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra and was invited to the Zermatt Music Festival & Academy twice.

Joel Cardoso currently lives in Switzerland and is pursuing a solo master's degree at the University of Lucerne (his third master's degree). He studied with Paolo Beltramini, Robert Pickup, François Benda, and Jordi Pons, among others. Joel Cardoso is the official artist for Backun, D’Addario, and SCV Ligatures.

Seit 2024 ist er Konzertmeister des Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

Christian Sandgaard wurde in St. Gallen geboren und ist heute nebst Saxophonist vor allem eines: Vollblutmusiker.

Musikalisch sehr breit interessiert, bewegt er sich vielseitig zwischen den Stilen und spielt nebst seinem Hauptinstrument Saxophon auch ab und zu mit anderen Instrumenten. Sein Musikstudium an der Hochschule der Künste Bern – mit Hauptfach Saxophon bei Christian Roellinger – schloss er 2022 mit Auszeichnung ab. Christian Sandgaard ist als Kammermusiker (u.a. Lamineur-Quartett), Solist, Orchestermusiker und Instrumentallehrer aktiv und leidenschaftlich unterwegs in der ganzen Schweiz. Die Liebe zu Ausdruck und Klangvielfalt der Musik steht im Zentrum seines künstlerischen und vermittelnden Wirkens. Damit will er Leute um sich berühren und inspirieren.

Seit 2024 ist Christian Stimmführer im Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

Fabian Grimm was born in 1996. He began his musical education in 2004 at the Sursee Region Music School and went on to study music at the HSLU Music via the Fachmittelschule Musik in Baldegg. In Michael von Schönermark's class, he completed his bachelor's degree and master's degree in music education, which he completed in summer 2022.

He began sharing his fascination for music during his studies by teaching bassoon and theory as well as conducting in the Seetal region of Lucerne and at the Sursee music school. He now also teaches at the Kerns music school and the Rothenburg music school.

Neben seiner Tätigkeit als Musiklehrer ist er als freischaffender Musiker tätig und spielt unter anderem regelmässig im City Light Symphony Orchestra Luzern mit.

Seit 2022 ist Fabian Stimmführer im Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

Keita Kitade wurde 1975 in Tokyo geboren. Nach seinem Abschluss an der „Toho Gakuen School of Music“ in Tokyo (1999), erhielt er das Orchesterdiplom und absolvierte das Konzertexamen an der Musikhochschule „Carl Maria von Weber“ in Dresden (2005). In der Zeit von 2005-2008 studierte er in der Solistenklasse, sowie im Nachdiplomkurs (CAS Jazz) an der ZHDK Zürich. Er besuchte den Trompetenunterricht bei Prof. Kenji Tamiya, Prof. Peter Lohse, Prof. Claude Rippas, sowie den Jazzunterricht bei Daniel Schenker.

Er ist Mitglied der Sinfonietta Schaffhausen und wirkt in zahlreichen Berufsorchestern mit. Nebenbei unterrichtet er an unterschiedlichen Musikschulen im Kanton Zürich als Trompetenlehrer und Ensembleleiter. Als Arrangeur ist er für seine Ensembles und eigene Projekte tätig. Seine Bearbeitungen werden vom Verlag „MusicTrans“ herausgegeben.

Keita has been a section leader in the Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra since 2021.

Mats Janett (born 1987 in Lysekil, Sweden) has worn his horns all over Europe – from Stockholm (Bachelor of Music) to Vienna (Magister Artium) to Aalborg (deputy principal hornist 2015–2016).

He has called Zurich home since 2017 and can be heard playing pipes, baroque, natural, and modern horns in Switzerland and the surrounding area. When he's not playing, he enjoys riding the train with his son to attend his singing wife's concerts.

Mats has been a section leader in the Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra since 2022.

Andreas Betschart completed his music studies at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, majoring in trombone with Prof. Markus Wüest, and graduated in 2012 with a Master of Arts in Instrumental Pedagogy. As a tenor and bass trombonist, he is both a permanent member and a sought-after guest in various orchestras and ensembles, including the Graubünden Chamber Philharmonic, Camerata Cantabile, and Zuger Sinfonietta. Darüber hinaus ist er regelmässig bei Produktionen am Theater Rigiblick in Zürich zu hören.

He is a co-founder of innovative chamber music groups, with which he explores new artistic paths. In addition to his artistic work, Andreas Betschart teaches as an instrumental instructor at several music schools in the Canton of Zug. He is a co-founder of mi.arte and has also worked in the press office of the Salzburg Festival. In 2016, he earned an Executive Master in Arts Administration (EMAA) from the University of Zurich. He subsequently took on the role of cultural commissioner for the municipalities of Oberägeri and Unterägeri in the canton of Zug, where he is responsible for the cultural program.

Since 2026, Andreas has been the lead singer of the Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

After completing her vocational training as a media designer, Irmgard Ripfel studied euphonium with Thomas Rüedi at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, where she successfully completed a teaching diploma and a master's degree in performance. She obtained a master's degree in wind music direction at the Bern University of the Arts.

The euphonist has played in the aulos Wind Orchestra, the Zurich Opera House, the Young Philharmonic Orchestra of Central Switzerland, the Lucerne Festival Academy and the Lucerne Brass Ensemble. She has performed with the Ophicleide as a member of the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble and with L'Arpa Festante. From 2010 to 2018 she was conductor of the Brass Band Musikgesellschaft Hohenrain. Irmgard Ripfel teaches at the Lenzburg and Rothrist music schools and is a member of the Brass Band Imperial Lenzburg.

Irmgard has been a section leader in the Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra since 2021.

Simon Styles was born in Leicester, Great Britain, and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Stuart Roebuck. He was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra under Claudio Abbado for two years. Between 1979 and 1982 he was principal tuba of the Noordholland Philharmonic Orchestra in Haarlem, Netherlands. In 1982, he joined the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, where he was principal tuba for over 40 years until his retirement in 2022. During this time, he also performed with many of the world's great orchestras, including the Philharmonia (London), the London Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, to name but a few.

Simon Styles was professor of tuba and brass ensemble at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts for 35 years, and many of his former students have held positions in orchestras in Switzerland and abroad.

During his stay in Holland he began to build his career as a soloist, with frequent appearances on Dutch television and radio as well as recital and concert performances at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and elsewhere. In 1981 he won first prize in the Yehudi Menuhin "Live Music Now" competition. As a soloist, Simon Styles has performed all over the world in cities as diverse as Chicago and Tokyo, Birmingham and Lucerne, where he gave a full recital at the Lucerne Summer Festival, the only time the tuba has ever been used as a solo instrument at this prestigious festival.

Seit seiner Pensionierung ist Simon Styles aktiv als Dozent tätig und trainiert Ensembles wie das Schweizer Jugend-Sinfonieorchester sowie Blech- und Blasorchester und gibt Privatunterricht.

Seit 2024 ist Simon Stimmführer im Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

David Gurtner, born in 1987 in Winterthur, graduated in percussion and timpani from the Zurich University of the Arts with Klaus Schwärzler, Rainer Seegers and Raphael Christen and studied vocals with David Thorner. He completed his Master of Arts in Music Performance in 2015 and his Master in Music Education in 2019, both with honours.

He was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and today performs regularly as a freelance percussionist with the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Winterthur Music College Orchestra, the Zurich Opera Orchestra, the CHAARTS Chamber Artists, and various other ensembles and orchestras. Touring took him across Europe and to China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Argentina, and various CD recordings document his work.

He is a member of the Basel-based DeciBells drumming ensemble and the Zucich Chamber Singers, of which he was the co-director until 2025. He is also a member of the management and bar manager of the Gaswerk cultural center in Winterthur, and works as a sound specialist for the Canton of Zurich.

Since 2025, David has been the lead singer of the Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

Masahiro Vermeer kam 1986 in Sagamihara, Präfektur Kanagawa, in Japan zur Welt. Mit 11 Jahren begann er im Wind Orchestra Club Kontrabass zu spielen. Nach der Matura studierte er zunächst Politik und Wirtschaft in Tokyo und schloss mit dem Bachelordiplom ab. Anschliessend studierte er an der Aichi Unversity of the Arts Kontrabass unter Reo Watanabe. Ab 2013 studierte Masahiro Vermeer dann in der Schweiz an der ZHdK und absolvierte ein Bachelor- und Masterdiplom unter Duncan McTier. Danach komplettierte er eine Ausbildung unter Ruslan Lutsyk an der HKB Bern.

Masahiro Vermeer wirkt als freischaffender Kontrabassist in verschiedenen Orchestern und Ensembles mit, wie beispielsweise der Sinfonietta Schaffhausen. Ausserdem unterrichtet Masahiro Vermeer Kontrabass.

Masahiro has been a section leader in the Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra since 2022.

His enthusiasm for music and language has accompanied him from a young age. Even as a teenager, Martin Hollins could be found not only behind the music stand, but also behind the microphone. His musical journey began with the Zurich Boys' Choir, while at the same time he became fascinated by the trumpet - a hobby that he actively practised for around 30 years, most recently with the Stadtmusik Zürich.

With his communicative nature, it is not surprising that he quickly takes on the role of presenter at many music events. With charm, humour and ease, he creates a lively connection between the orchestra and the audience.

Today, the Zurich native works as a project manager in the healthcare sector. Although he now sits in the audience more often than on stage, his love of music in all its facets remains unchanged.

Seit 2021 ist Martin Hollins Moderator an den Konzerten des Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra.