IT’S TIME TO
Get To Know Us
Amanda Becker
studied classical singing in Frankfurt Freiburg and Berlin, but she has always sung jazz as well. She is based in Berlin performing as a classical singer and as a jazz singer. She came up with let me LIED you years of separating both genres in which she had possibilities of working with fantastic musicians in jazz and classical music, some of which joined her for the project. Books and poems by feminists such as Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Grada Kilomba, Angela Davis a.o. always gave her hope and stability in her personal life but especially in her career as a singer in a mostly white culture and music scene in Europe.
Justine Eckhaut
is the artistic director and pianist of Berlied Festival, an innovative Lied festival in Berlin. She has had the chance to perform at Opéra de Lyon, at Konzerthaus Berlin, at Bregenzer Festspielen, and also at Konzert Theater Bern.In 2021, together with lyric soprano Marie-Pierre Roy, they record for swiss Label Prospero Le long du quai, a French Mélodies album dedicated to the poet Sully Prudhomme, first to receive literature Nobel Prize. 2019/2021, Justine Eckhaut takes part in the Liedacademy Heidelberger-Frühling Festival and Schubert Woche, Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin, under the artistic direction of Thomas Hampson. Together with soprano Margot Genet, they have had a duo since 2016. Their work is supported by Eric Schneider, Hartmut Höll, Helmut Deutsch, Sarah Tysman and Axel Bauni. Moreover, she regularly collaborates with austrian bass-baryton Philipp Mayer, latvian mezzo-soprano Vizma Zvaigzne, german soprano Amanda Becker. Since April 2019, Justine has acted as an accompanist for singing lessons in the classes of professors Elisabeth Werres, Caitlin Hulcup et Aris Argiris at the University of the Arts (UdK), Berlin. She is pianist and coach of the Berliner Mädchenchor, directed by Sabine Wüsthoff. Justine Eckhaut is a prize-winner at the International Piano Competition of Collioure and supported by the French program ‘Adami’.With a deep love for playing ensemble music, Justine has had the opportunity to perform within the International Modern Ensemble Academy (2016) at the Klangspuren Schwaz Festival, Austria. She collaborates regularly with Kammerensemble Neue Musik (KNM) Berlin. After training in Lille (CRR), Justine Eckhaut continued her studies in CNSMD Lyon, where she studied solo piano with Florent Boffard and piano accompaniment with David Selig.
Roz Macdonald
is a double bass player and composer originally from Scotland, who has been living and working as an in-demand bass player in Berlin since 2017. She composes regularly for various ensembles, including her own trio, who are soon to release their debut album. Roz studied jazz at Leeds College of Music where she received the Yamaha Jazz Scholarship for outstanding musicians upon graduating in 2016. Since then she has played around Europe with some of the top renowned jazz musicians in the world including Scott Hamilton, Bruce Barth, Perico Sambeat and Zoe Rahman.
Béla Meinberg
is a German pianist, based in Hamburg and Berlin. He has worked with some of the finest Jazz musicians around including Billy Hart, Seamus Blake, Matt Penman, Chris Cheek, Doug Weiss and John Stowell. His playing characterises a lyrical approach, always swinging and a good sense of humour – constantly aiming to build on his musical ability. Whilst respecting the tradition of jazz, his priority is always searching for something new, both as a instrumentalist and as a composer. Béla has been featured in great festivals and locations during his career, such as the ElbJazz Festival, Auditorio Alfredo Kraus Las Palmas and Jazzsommer Augsburg. He was awarded first prize at the Steinway solo piano competition of Hamburg, as well as third prize at Yamaha solo piano competition Nuremberg. With trio MMO he released the album „MMO feat. Chris Cheek – the hiker“. The „Béla Meinberg Trio“ released its first album „It’s a Game“ on Bandcamp in May 2020.
Gur Liraz
was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1988 and started playing guitar at the age of 9. Soon after, his journey with jazz music began. He took jazz at the prestigious Thelma Yellin High School. He spent 4 years studying under jazz guitar master Ofer Ganor. Later, Gur turned to classical guitar, studying with internationally acclaimed guitarists Seth Josel and Ruben Saroussi and placing third in the Young Guitarists Competition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music. After an eight-month stay in New York, where he took lessons with guitar legend Peter Bernstein, Gur moved to Berlin in 2013 and soon became involved in the city's rapidly developing jazz scene. With his quartet, he joined singer Amanda Becker on her debut album 'You're Looking at Me'. The two also recorded a duet album - 'Ask Me Now' in 2023. His debut album 'Squiggles' will be released on 19 May 2023 on London-based music label UBUNTU Music and features his compositions from this period.
