Team

Univ.-Prof. Sae-Nal Lea Kim
Artistic Director

Sae-Nal Lea Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, and has lived in Germany since the age of seven. She began her musical education at the Karlsruhe University of Music under Prof. Peter Eicher and continued her studies at the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media in the class of Prof. Bernd Goetzke. She successfully completed her studies there with diplomas in Instrumental Pedagogy, Artistic Training, and the Concert Examination. Kim is a multiple prizewinner of national and international competitions (including Piano Campus Pontoise and the German Music Competition) and has received numerous scholarships from prestigious institutions.

Her active concert career regularly takes her across Germany, the USA, Asia, and many European countries. She has performed in renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall), the Beethoven Hall in Stuttgart’s Liederhalle, the Nuremberg Opera, the Hanover Opera, and the Great Broadcasting Hall of NDR Hanover.

Together with Prof. Dr. Sabine Genth-Zotz (Marienhaus Klinikum Mainz), Sae-Nal Lea Kim launched the concert series CORDA, a collaboration between the Marienhaus Klinikum Mainz and the University of Music Mainz, with a particular focus on social projects, which are close to her heart. She also undertook the Korean translation of the book Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli – On the Quest for Perfection by Jochen Köhler, published in November 2022 by Marco Polo Verlag Korea.

Sae-Nal Lea Kim was a long-time lecturer in piano at the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media and taught at the Institute for the Early Advancement of Musically Gifted Children (IFF). In 2018, she assumed a substitute professorship at the University of Music Mainz, where she was appointed Professor of Piano in September 2023.

Rolf Ehlers
Director of the Landesmusikakadmie
Rheinland-Pfalz

As a bridge between theory and practice, Rolf Ehlers has made significant contributions in recent years in both music management and as a singer. Initially, as managing director, he advanced the Camerata Vocale Freiburg, establishing this outstanding chamber choir on the international festival scene. He then successfully managed the affairs of the Balthasar Neumann Choir and Ensemble under Thomas Hengelbrock for three years.

As a singer, his high tenor voice first featured in professional and broadcast choirs before he shifted his focus to smaller, soloist-based ensembles. His extensive musical experience is reflected in numerous CD recordings (including with Musica Fiata, La Chapelle Rhénane, Les Cornets Noirs, and the Dufay Ensemble).

Since 2014, Rolf Ehlers has been the Director of the Landesmusikakademie Rheinland-Pfalz. In this role, he has become a sought-after member of numerous juries for music competitions and awards.

Univ.- Prof. Thomas Hell
Professor of Piano
University of Music Mainz

Professor of Piano and Piano Chamber Music at the University of Music Mainz. Studied piano under Prof. David Wilde at the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media (HMTM) and music theory with Prof. Reinhard Febel. Active internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, with a strong focus on piano music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Winner of the First Prize at the Orléans Concours international de piano d’Orléans.

Produced numerous recordings, including Études pour piano by György Ligeti (WERGO), Ives’ Concord Sonata (Piano Classics), and Béla Bartók’s two violin sonatas (Tacet), among others. Featured in radio and television broadcasts. Conducts masterclasses and serves as a jury member in international competitions.

Barbara Feilen
Head of Communications & Press
University of Music Mainz

Barbara Feilen has been responsible for event management and communications at the University of Music Mainz since 2015. In close collaboration with the university leadership, faculty, and students, she plans and coordinates over 200 events annually—ranging from class evenings and recital exams to special event series, large choral and orchestral concerts, and opera productions. Prior to this role, she worked as a dramaturge for drama at the State Theater Mainz.

Prof. Dr. med. Sabine Genth-Zotz
Chief Physician for Cardiology Marienhaus Klinikum Mainz

Together with Prof. Sae-Nal Lea Kim, she launched CORDA – Music with Heart and Soul – a collaborative concert series featuring students from the University of Music Mainz, held in the chapel of the Marienhaus Klinikum. Supporting talented artists is a cause close to her heart. She is the mother of a 15-year-old son and resides in Wiesbaden.

Marius Klee
Financial Industry

Studied economics and works as a department head for an IT company, having previously spent many years as a management consultant in the financial sector. Marius has lived in the USA and Kenya, and his fascination with the diversity of cultures has made him a passionate world traveler. To him, music is a universal language that connects and touches people everywhere. As a child, Marius was an enthusiastic guitar player and often performed on stage as part of a band during his teenage years. He primarily supports GRADUS in an organizational capacity. Marius is married to pianist Sae-Nal Lea Kim.

Dr. med. Carla von Bruchhausen
Specialist in Radiology
Partner at Radiomed Wiesbaden

Her aspiration is for GRADUS Mainz to help children and young people gain direct access to music. GRADUS (steps) signifies that every step in musical development is equally important—the key is to take them, whether as a listening child, a teenager on a school stage, an adult amateur musician, or a concert pianist. She lives in Wiesbaden, is a self-employed radiologist, is married, and has a son.

Dr. med. Thomas Tüschen
Pediatrician

Thomas Tüschen is a pediatrician and cellist. In addition to his work as a pediatrician at the Women’s Clinic of the Marienhaus Klinikum Mainz, he is an active performing and teaching cellist both nationally and internationally. For 35 years, he played as a principal cellist with the German Pediatricians’ Orchestra. With the “Ensemble Medici,” he has performed across Europe. His deep passion lies with “Ghetto Classics” in the Korogocho slum of Nairobi, where he has been teaching cello and chamber music for years, helping some of his students transition from the slum to scholarships at international institutions. He also maintains a long-standing connection as a cello coach with the National Youth Orchestra of Kenya. Thomas Tüschen engages in a dynamic exchange with the members of the “Enkare String Quartet,” Nairobi’s first professional string quartet, both as a guest soloist and as an advisor.

Wolfgang Günthner
Assistant Principal Double Bassist
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie
Rheinland-Pfalz

Wolfgang Güntner has been the Assistant Principal Double Bassist of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz since the 2011/2012 season.

Raised in Bamberg, he completed his musical training at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts under Prof. Günter Klaus, the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Prof. Stephan Petzold, as well as the music universities of Mannheim and Munich with Prof. Heinrich Braun. He gained additional artistic inspiration from masterclasses with Klaus Stoll, Duncan McTier, Christine Hoock, and Günter Klaus.

Wolfgang Güntner was a member of the Landesjugendorchester Bayern, the Bundesjugendorchester, and the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. During his studies, he was engaged for projects with the SWR Symphonieorchester Baden-Baden and Freiburg, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, and Pfälzisches Kammerorchester. He was a scholarship recipient of the State Collection of Rhineland-Palatinate and Villa Musica.

As an educator, Wolfgang Güntner has been invited by the Stamitz-Orchester Mannheim, the Landesjugendsinfonieorchester Hessen (LJO), and the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, and he continues to train the next generation of musicians. Alongside his orchestral duties with the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, he regularly performs with the “Going Home Festival Orchestra” in Seoul, South Korea. Additionally, he is passionate about chamber music and frequently performs as a soloist.

Michael Schmidt
Master Piano Technician

Michael Schmidt has been working as an independent master piano technician in the Wiesbaden, Mainz, and Rheingau regions since 1990.

He spent many years servicing the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden and has been responsible for the pianos at the Wiesbaden Kurhaus for over 30 years. Additionally, for more than a decade, Mr. Schmidt has cared for the Steinway grand pianos at the University of Music Mainz and the concert instruments of the Wiesbaden Music Academy. His preferred area of expertise is the repair of high-quality grand pianos.

Over the years, Mr. Schmidt has had the opportunity to work with many renowned artists, particularly through his involvement with the Rheingau Music Festival.