THE MENTORING TEAM

Juan María Braceras, Violin (Artistic Director)

Argentine-Brazilian violinist Juan María Braceras is a passionate chamber musician and a versatile artist whose career spans a wide spectrum of musical genres and expressions. Following his studies at the Haute École de Musique de Genèveunder Margarita Piguet-Karafilova and Gábor Takács, and at the Hochschule für Musik Basel in the classes of Adelina Oprean and Amandine Beyer, he graduated with a Soloist Diploma.

He has performed at major festivals and with renowned ensembles such as the Kammerorchester Basel, Geneva Camerata, Basel Sinfonietta, Anima Eterna, and the Gstaad Festival Orchestra. Juan María has collaborated with esteemed artists including Dana Ciocarlie, Christophe Coin, Pablo Márquez, and the Quatuor Mosaïques. Beyond his intensive concert activity, he is deeply involved in cross-genre projects ranging from Brazilian popular music and Tango to contemporary dance. He performs on a 1718 Jacques Bocquay violin, graciously provided through the support of the Pirolo Foundation.

Ekachai Maskulrat, Cello

Thai cellist Ekachai Maskulrat began his cello studies at the age of fifteen, later continuing his education in Singapore, the USA, and Switzerland. His mentors include Apichai Liamthong, Gudula Urban, Martin Grund, Li-wei Qin, Amit Peled, Thomas Demenga, Christophe Coin, and Petr Skalka. As a remarkably versatile musician, he moves with equal passion between chamber music, solo performance, early and contemporary music, and rock.

He is a member of several ensembles, including Ensemble Sonorità, Girandola Consort, Ensemble Quadrel, Van der Waals, and Cell of Hell. Since 2012, he has performed regularly with the Camerata Zürich, the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, and the Basler Festival Orchester. He has served as principal cellist for the Kammerorchester Basel, Geneva Camerata, Basel Sinfonietta, Kammerorchester I Tempi, and Le Cercle de l’Harmonie.

Katya Polin, Viola

Katya Polin was born in Moscow in 1987 and immigrated to Israel in 1991. She began her training on the recorder at age nine and has played the viola since she was fourteen. A graduate of the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, the Giv’atayim Conservatory, and the Jerusalem Music Centre, she has recorded numerous chamber orchestra productions for radio.

A recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship for both viola and recorder since 1998, Katya won first prize at the Maestro Competition at age 13. Her success continued with top honors in the Young Artist Competition, the Paul Ben-Haim Competition, and the International Recorder Competitions in Germany and Montreal. She has appeared at prestigious festivals such as Aspen, Abu-Gosh, and the Brezice Early Music Festival. As a soloist, she has collaborated with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre du Conservatoire Paris. She is a dedicated chamber musician and a member of the Ensemble Phoenix, the Israeli Bach Soloists, and the Kammerorchester Basel.

Federico Abraham, Double Bass

After completing his double bass studies in Argentina, Federico Abraham specialized in Early Music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Jazz at the Jazzschule Basel, and Music Pedagogy at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). He works as a freelance musician across the fields of Early Music, Classical, Jazz, and Tango.

He has performed with prestigious orchestras and ensembles including La Cetra Barockorchester, Zürcher Kammerorchester, Kammerorchester Basel, Capella Gabetta, and Ensemble Artaserse, among others. As a non-classical bassist, he has performed jazz throughout Switzerland and toured extensively with Tango projects such as martes_tango and Orquesta Silencio across Europe, Argentina, and Lebanon. Since 2018, he has led his own jazz project, the Federico Abraham Quartet. Federico teaches double bass and electric bass at the music schools of Windisch and Prova (Winterthur), as well as privately in Basel.