Alexander Steinbeis

Thomas Ahnert

took over directorship of the Kissinger Sommer, coinciding with the start of the Festival 2022, as the successor of Kari Kahl-Wolfsjäger and Tilman Schlömp. Before that he acted as the director of the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin for 13 years. During that time he was responsible for artistic direction and planning as well as the introduction of numerous innovative concert formats and he worked together with conductors such as Kent Nagano, Ingo Metzmacher, Tugan Sokhiev and Robin Ticciati. From 1999 until 2005 he worked as the artistic deputy manager of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival. Alexander Steinbeis grew up in Upper Bavaria and Great Britain.

grew up in Munich. Studied German, Romance languages and literature, and education in Munich and Würzburg. He is a freelancer for various daily newspapers. In addition to his active working life, Thomas Ahnert is still a cultural editor at the "Saale-Zeitung" (Bad Kissingen), "Fränkischer Tag" (Bamberg), "Coburger Tagblatt" and other newspapers of the Upper Franconia Media Group. Contributions to other newspapers and magazines, program author. Co-initiator of the Bad Kissingen Piano Olympiad in 2003 (at that time the Piano Olympiad was still allowed to be called that) and since then member of the jury. As a practicing and performing musician, violist of a string quartet and double bassist of the Kissingen Chamber Orchestra.

Sonia Simmenauer

Ulrich Hauschild

Since January 2021, Ulrich Hauschild has been manager of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with its designated principal conductor Sir Simon Rattle. As Music Director of the Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels (Bozar), Ulrich Hauschild was responsible for the complete musical program and the development of the artistic mission of one of the most important European cultural centers between 2013 and 2020. Before his time in Brussels, Ulrich Hauschild was managing director of "pèlerinages" Kunstfest Weimar with overall responsibility for the cross-disciplinary curated festival. Between 2005 and 2007 he worked as a consultant for the Lucerne Festival, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Unitel Classica and the Salzburg Festival. As artistic director of the Konzerthaus Dortmund, he was instrumental in shaping the new concert hall's profile in the first years of its development. As personal advisor to Gerard Mortier at the Salzburg Festival and as personal assistant to Robert Wilson, he worked with two of the most influential opera personalities of the 20th century.
After studying economics at the University of Passau, he gained profound knowledge in the early stages of his career.

Manuel Brug

Born in 1965, studied theatre sciences, comparative literature, romance studies and musical sciences at the Ludwig-Maximilian University after he graduated from his ballet training at the Heinz-Bosl Foundation and the Munich University of Music. After having worked at the Bayericher Rundfunk and ARD and as music and dance critic for “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, editor for “Opernwelt”, “Wochenpost” and “Tagesspiegel” he became editor for music and dance for the “Welt” magazine in 1998; in 2017 he attained the position of author there. In 1999 he was awarded the Critic Award of the Salzburger Festspiele. He contributed numerous articles for German and international newspapers and magazines, encyclopedias, anthologies, essays, specialist journals and radio stations. He also wrote the books “Die neuen Sängerstimmen” (2003), “Opernregisseure heute” (2006), “Rolando Villazón – Die Kunst, Tenor zu sein” (2008).