Community
Times are tough in the cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need to stick together and support one another. The Concerto21 Foundation community aims to do just that. On the one hand, we provide our musicians with mentors specializing in various areas. On the other hand, we want to be a place where musicians can network and support one another. The Concerto21 network also includes the network of the Concerto21 Academy of the Toepfer Foundation, in which over a hundred musicians have participated over the past fifteen years.
Andreas Brandis
label, production, artistic identity
Andreas Brandis is a music producer, artist manager, and entrepreneur. Together with the scholarship recipients, he works to help them uncover the core of their artistic identity. Once they’ve found it, he sometimes accompanies them to the recording studio and helps them find the right label.
Annekatrin Hentschel
Hosting, Public Broadcasting, Digital Formats
Annekatrin Hentschel is an experienced host and editor. For the past ten years, she has been the host of the youth magazine program SWEET SPOT on BR-Klassik. She helps our scholarship recipients prepare for interviews and hosting assignments, and advises them on developing digital formats and collaborating with public broadcasters.
Daniel Buresch
Fashion consulting, Costume Design
Daniel Buresch is a Hamburg-based fashion designer with a keen sense of style, the stage, and personality. His expertise ranges from slow fashion to costume design to hair and makeup. He advises our scholarship recipients on both their public appearances and everyday looks. For him, fashion means endless possibilities: combining classic elegance with innovative, modern ideas.
Georg Stirnweiß
Content, Video
Georg Stirnweiß has already worked on several of the foundation’s video projects. He works in the media production department at Bergson Kunstkraftwerk and is a lecturer in content creation at the Concerto21 Academy of the Alfred Toepfer Foundation F.V.S.
Jonathan Pengl
Concert formats
Jonathan Pengl is the managing director of TONALiSTEN gGmbH and heads the TONALi Stage Academy. His work focuses on supporting young musicians in developing creative concert formats and building sustainable artistic profiles. Together with six of our scholarship recipients, he is organizing the second Concerto21 Foundation Showcase in 2026.
Julia Hülsmann
composition, ensemble direction, jazz
Julia Hülsmann is an exceptional pianist who has devoted her entire life to her passion for music—a passion that is also evident in her work with young musicians. Our jazz and classical musicians have a lot to learn from one another. The fact that we don’t draw a clear line between the two here adds significant value—in composition, those with a classical background often need a little help getting started.
Sandra Knecht
Residency, artistic identity, cross-disciplinary work
Swiss artist Sandra Knecht has been a mentor at the Concerto21 Foundation since 2024. As artistic director, she has led two one-week residencies with eight female musicians; the results of these residencies will be presented for the first time on December 5, 2026, at the Schwere Reiter in Munich.
Sonia Simmenauer
mentoring, classical music
Sonia Simmenauer is one of the most experienced mentors in our network. She works with our classical musicians over long periods of time and supports them with great dedication as they navigate the industry’s many challenges. She has already demonstrated her experience and intuition while working with numerous artists.