about us
The name reflects the musical programme. The ensemble's repertoire ranges from delicate tones, bird sounds and fiery wildness and includes music from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and early Baroque to the modern era. The clash of different sound worlds is a particular fascination for the ensemble in its musical work. The adaptation of early music or the rearrangement of historical melodies meets modern improvisation and close collaboration with contemporary composers, vocal polyphony meets jazz and folklore. This creates new and enriching perspectives for all genres. At the same time, ensemble feuervogel presents the sound diversity of its instruments. Playing with parameters such as space characterises their concerts, as well as an openness to cooperation with other art forms such as poetry, visual art and dance.
ensemble feuervogel was founded in 2017 at the Freiburg University of Music and currently consists of recorder players Nura Natour, Tabea Popien, Mathis Wolfer and Felix Schlenker as well as percussionist Min-Tzu Lee and soprano Carine Tinney. In York, they performed at the Early Music Festival 2019 as part of the International Young Artists Competition. As winners of the Förderpreis Alte Musik Saar, they won a production at Saarländischer Rundfunk in the same year. In 2023, they were awarded third prize at the International Van Wassenaer Concours Utrecht. The ensemble has also performed at the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival and the Innsbruck Early Music Festival, among others. Masterclasses with renowned musicians such as Han Tol and Peter van Heyghen complemented their musical development. Works by Agnes Dorwarth (*1953) and Maximiliano Alejandro Soto (*1991) were premiered by the ensemble. In early 2024, their debut album The Queen's Masque was released on the Coviello Classics label, with which they have already made guest appearances on WDR and Deutschlandfunk. They were also included in the Schloss Weißenbrunn Foundation's programme in 2024 with their children's programme Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär’.
Mathis Wolfer
The recorder player and harpsichordist Mathis Wolfer captivates not only with his charm and amiable stage presence but also with astonishing technical precision and virtuosity. Born in Heidelberg in 2000, he joined the University of Music Freiburg in 2019, where he is currently pursuing a double degree in recorder and harpsichord under the guidance of Prof. Stefan Temmingh, Laura Schmid, Prof. Jean-Christophe Dijoux, and Michael Behringer. He is a prize winner of various international competitions such as the Open Recorder Days Amsterdam and Jugend Musiziert and also a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation. He has been an active member of ensemble feuervogel since 2020. Additionally, he teaches at the Music School Freiburg.
Nura Natour
The versatility of Nura Natour is not only evident in her resume but also audibly present in her sonically diverse playing. Born in Kaiserslautern in 1998, she has been studying at the University of Music and the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg since 2017. After completing her bachelor's degrees in Music Education and German, as well as Recorder in the artistic-pedagogical profile, she has been pursuing a master's degree in Recorder with Prof. Stefan Temmingh and a master's degree in Music Theory with Prof. Philipp Teriete since the fall of 2020. She is active internationally in various ensembles, both chamber music and solo, and is a prize winner of the '3rd Tel Aviv International Recorder Competition' with her ensemble 'DuoLegno.' Nura Natour is also involved in teaching, offering instruction in recorder and music theory. In 2020, she joined ensemble feuervogel as a member.
Min-Tzu Lee
The percussionist, born in Tapei, Taiwan, in 1990, is a true surprise package. In her, immense strength is combined with meditative serenity. She possesses a special talent for shaping sounds, showcasing atmospheric, free improvisations on modern percussion instruments, as well as virtuosity on historical percussion instruments such as the frame drum. She completed her bachelor's degree under the guidance of Prof. Guo Guang-Yuang and Prof. Schü Bo-Nien in Taipei, and subsequently pursued a master's degree at the University of Music Freiburg with Prof. Bernhard Wulff. Since 2017, she has been performing with ensemble feuervogel. Additionally, she is actively engaged in both educational and artistic pursuits, performing in a duo with percussionist Franz Lang and as a soloist.
Carine Tinney
Carine Maree Tinney studierte an der Edinburgh Napier University bei Andrew Doig und Paul Keohone, wo sie mit dem „Harold Gray Prize for Solo Singing“ ausgezeichnet wurde. Nach einem Masterstudium im Fach Liedgestaltung bei Gerhild Romberger und Manuel Lange an der Hochschule für Musik Detmold absolvierte sie dort ein Masterstudium im Fach Operngesang. Seit 2019 ist sie Mitglied des renommierten Ensembles Sollazzo. Als leidenschaftliche Interpretin des Liedgesangs, des Oratoriums und der Alten Musik, gibt sie Konzerte weltweit, u.a. in Schottland, Deutschland, Österreich, Spanien, Frankreich, Belgien, China, Japan und in den USA. Sie wurde mit mehreren Preisen ausgezeichnet, u.a. beim Hugo-Wolf-Akademie Internationalen Wettbewerb für Liedkunst in Stuttgart und beim Alumni/ASTA-Wettbewerb für Liedgesang. Sie erhielt das BECA-Bach-Stipendium in Barcelona und war 2021 „Artist in Residence“ beim Zentrum für Alte Musik Köln. Seit 2022 arbeitet sie mit ensemble feuervogel zusammen.
Tabea Popien
In musician Tabea Popien, the ensemble has found a bubbling source of creative energy. Born in Cologne in 1994, she came to the University of Music Freiburg in 2014, where she completed a bachelor's degree in recorder with Prof. Agnes Dorwarth and Isabel Lehmann, as well as a teaching degree with a focus on music education and German studies at the Albert-Ludwig University Freiburg. She is currently pursuing a specialized master's degree in Medieval and Renaissance Music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. In addition to chamber music, her work focuses primarily on holistic pedagogy and the exploration of music from various cultures, such as traditional Japanese or Arabic music. She is a founding member of the ensemble, and since 2015, she has been supported as a fellow by the Studienstiftung Villigst.
Felix Schlenker
As a versatile talent, Felix Schlenker not only masters playing the recorder but has also found his second musical home in jazz vocals and electric bass, especially in soul. He enriches the consort with both his groove and his ability to play low recorders. Born in Bad Urach in 1990, Felix Schlenker studied music education with a major in recorder at the University of Music in Karlsruhe and Freiburg under the guidance of Prof. Karel van Steenhoven and Prof. Agnes Dorwarth. He also studied jazz vocals with Filippa Gojo. Like Asako Ito, Min-Tzu Lee, and Tabea Popien, he is a founding member of the ensemble."