Matthias Höfs & Michael Schöch - Trumpet/flugelhorn & organ/piano

At the age of six, Matthias Höfs declared the trumpet to be “his instrument, because it shines so beautifully”. At just 18, he became principal trumpeter of the Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra. He enjoyed the fascinating world of opera for 16 years. At the same time, Höfs became a member of the GERMAN BRASS ensemble, with whom he enjoyed worldwide success. Ever since the ensemble’s first concert in 1985, he has been writing tailor-made arrangements for himself and his colleagues – arrangements that have inspired the brass world in an innovative, lasting and cross-genre way. With a pioneering musical spirit, Matthias Höfs continually broadens the horizons of his instrument – whether through close collaboration with composers inspired by his unrivalled virtuosity and enthusiasm for experimentation, as an ‘ambassador for the trumpet’ in his home region of Schleswig-Holstein, or through his long-standing partnership with instrument makers Max and Heinrich Thein. Matthias Höfs also passes on his passion for his instrument to his students, whom he has been teaching with great dedication as a professor at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre since 2000.
Alongside his extensive concert career as a soloist and chamber musician, Höfs has produced numerous solo CDs to date. He has also made more than 20 CD recordings with GERMAN BRASS. In October 2016, GERMAN BRASS was awarded the German ECHO Klassik – one of the highest honours for national and international musicians.


Michael Schöch is one of the few musicians who has mastered both the piano and organ repertoires to the same high standard. Winning first prize in the organ category at the ARD International Music Competition – an award presented for the first time in 40 years – he embarked on a career that has taken him to major concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Vienna Musikverein, the KKL Lucerne, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Philharmonie im Gasteig in Munich, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Semperoper in Dresden, and churches such as the cathedrals of Riga, Passau, Merseburg, Mainz and Speyer. As a soloist, he has performed with renowned orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Academy, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the Camerata Salzburg, the St Blasius Academy Orchestra, the Kassel State Orchestra, the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, the Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra Innsbruck and the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen.
Michael Schöch’s work is documented in numerous radio recordings (including ORF, BR, SWR and Deutschlandradio) as well as on CD. Michael Schöch has now released 15 CDs. Amongst numerous other awards, he has won first prizes at the “Franz Schubert” International Piano Competition in Ruse, Bulgaria, the “August Everding” International Organ Competition in Munich, and the ADR International Music Competition in 2011. Since 2015, he has headed the organ class at the Tyrolean State Conservatoire in Innsbruck and, since 2024, has been artistic director of the International Paul Hofhaimer Competition in Innsbruck.