Franka HERWIG

Franka Herwig, born in Berlin in 1984, studied classical accordion with Margit Kern, Gerhard Scherer and Max Bonnay, graduating from the University of Art and Music in Bremen (Germany) and the Conservatoire National Régional in Paris (CNR).

She won the Opus Klassik "Kammermusikeinspielung des Jahres" with Ensemble Mini in 2021, and was awarded first and second prize at the Bundeswettbewerb Jugend musiziert national competition in Germany in 2002 and 2004. Franka Herwig was awarded the famous Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes scholarship between 2007-2010, followed by grants from the Pradé-Stiftung, Petermann-Stiftung and Oscar und Vera-Ritter-Stiftung. In 2018 she won second prize at the International Composition Competition in Adelboden/Switzerland.

Franka Herwig has toured the world as a soloist and chamber musician, performing in almost every European country, as well as in the USA, China and South Korea.

Since 2014 she has played regularly with Camerata Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam).
She has been a member of Ensemble Mini (Berlin) since 2010 under the direction of Joolz Gale, and since 2017 of Alma Mahler Kammerorchester ( Paris). With all these ensembles, she has performed in the finest halls such as Berliner Philharmonie, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Tschaikowsky Hall and Zaryadye Hall in Moscow, Mozarteum Salzburg, United Nations in New York and accompanied soloists such as Barbara Hannigan, Matthias Goerne and Christian Tetzlaff. In 2019, with Hugo Rodriguez and Alessandro Maggioni, she will form the IMAGINAria Trio, which will perform a show of their own creation designed for young and very young audiences. They will perform throughout Europe and in China.

She has performed with numerous contemporary music ensembles, including Ensemble Mosaik, Ensemble Resonanz and Ensemblekollektiv. She has been invited by orchestras such as Berliner Sinfonieorchester, Junge Münchner Philharmonie ,Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock and Deutsches Sinfonie Orchester. She has also been invited by the London Ear Festival, Counterflows Festival in Glasgow, Klangwerkstatt Berlin, Ultraschall Festival Berlin, Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival in South Korea, as well as the Contemporary Arts Festival Budapest, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, Festival Musica-Musika Bilbao, Spain, Festival de Musique de Menton, France, Platonov Arts Festival Russia and others. She was artist-in-residence at the Centre of Contemporary Arts in Glasgow, Scotland in 2016.

She is a member of the Junge Deutsche Oper Berlin and performs as a stage musician at Malanhua Childrens Theatre in Shanghai, China, Staatstheater Würzburg, Hebbel am Ufer Berlin, Opera Lab Berlin.

Contemporary music is also a major focus of her repertoire. She collaborates with composers and has performed numerous premières. Much of her work has been broadcast on radio, television and CD.