CV

Stephan received his first cello lessons at the age of seven.  In 1990 and 1995 he was a finalist and prizewinner in the “Jugend Musiziert” competition.  Stephan studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory from 1998 to 2002 with Prof. Dimitri Ferschtman and Prof. Monique Bartels.  In 2002 he received his Bachelor degree and went on to enrich his studies with Prof. Gregor Horsch.  In June 2005 Stephan achieved his Masters degree, following which he received further teaching from Guido Schiefen and Ulrike Schäfer.

From 2006 til 2015 Stephan was under contract with the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra Enschede. He is cellist at the Cello Octet Amsterdam. From 2015 til 2019 he was Chamber Musiuc Coordinator at the Royal Concertgebouw Ochestra. Sinds July 2019, he is artistic programmer and Coordiator at Amsterdam Sinfonietta.

As a soloist he has performed with the Bachorchester Ratzeburg and the Jugendsinfonieorchester Lübeck.  In 2005 he performed Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto accompanied by the Helicon Kammerorchester Groningen.  Stephan has worked intensively on the solo cello repertoire and reached the semi-final of the Vriedenkrans competition in Amsterdam with a purely solo programme.  Stephan continues to play concerts regularly across Europe in various instumental combinations, including performances at the Mozart Festival in Augsburg, the Rhein-Sieg Festival, the Würzburger Bachtagen and the Lucern Festival. 

Stephan is regularly engaged by orchestras such as the Gürzenich Orchester Cologne, where he will perform in the 2007/2008 season as Principal Cello and as Sub-principal Cello.  Other orchestral engagements include the Sinfonieorchester des Westdeutschen Rundfunks Cologne (WDR), the ASKO and Schönberg Ensembles in Amsterdam, and the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt, involving numerous radio and CD recordings.  Concert tours have taken him to France, Spain, Norway, Iceland and China.