"Throughout the evening Gees played as if he had composed the pieces himself and was therefore extremely vigilant to make sure the performance was carried out according to his inner ear. His eyes were not those of an artist intent on reproduction, but shone rather a lambent look of passion, just as one might imagine the composer as the creator.“ N. Campogrande Michael Gees’ biography certainly justifies the term: exceptional. Few others can claim to have a career already behind them at the tender age of fifteen: Born in 1953 into a world of sound and music, both parents are singers, the piano is his favourite toy at age three. Formal piano lessons follow at age five, and the young musician subsequently goes on to win the Steinway Competition at age eight and receives a scholarship at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
The child prodigy is hailed as “Westphalian Mozart“, takes up studies at the conservatories in Detmold and Vienna and it seems as if he is fast on his way to become an internationally acclaimed pianist. Were it not for the gifted child’s longing to explore the world of sound on his own terms, to playfully experience his self like the great masters’ music, to invent their music all over again, note for note instead of limiting himself to a technical practice regimen. Michael Gees flees the pressure of a predetermined competitional career at the age of fifteen, leaves school, conservatory and home behind, supports himself through odd jobs, works as archeological assistant and, in the process, for the duration of two full years, becomes a sailor.
Chance leads him back to the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, where he resumes his compositional studies and eventually graduates. He now develops first rate pianistic chops on his own, composes a number of works, gains international renown as lied accompanist of extraordinary proportions with Christoph Prégardien and also appears in concerts globally; in Paris, London, New York and Tokio. All the while, he nurses and feeds his preference for combining the performance of music of past masters with living inspiration, thereby creating remarkable performances with his instrument.
In 1989, Gees founds “forum kunstvereint“ in his adopted hometown of Gelsenkirchen; the Consol Theater, also installed by him, opens its doors in 2001 on the confines of the former mining area Consolidation. There, music, dance and theatre projects take shape, where children, youths and adults alike are incited and encouraged to discover and realize their own artistic impulses. A steady number of CDs have been released from 1996 onward on forum kunstvereint, CPO and EMI, showcasing Michael Gees’ range.
Since 2008 Michael Gees is associated to the Netherlands label Challenge Classics. The 2009 release of the Schöne Müllerin with Christoph Prégardien won the MIDEM Classical Award and became Recording of the Year. Michael Gees works on solo-recitals which enjoy breaking with tradition, on modernized lied-renditions, melodramas and stage music.

Born in Groznyy, Russia in the 1990’s Bella grew up in Prague, Czech Republic torn between, and surrounded by many cultures. This has translated to a versatility as a musician – always occupying the space somewhere in between genres, never quite fitting in. As a young musician her first encounters with the stage were in school choirs (where she sang mostly folk and world music, jazz, and soul), and musicals. Bella was conflicted whether to pursue jazz or classical singing, eventually completing her Bachelor’s in Vocal performance in London and her Master’s in Cologne, Germany. There she was involved in a number of Operas, notably singing Hermia in Britten’s A midsummer night’s dream and Celia in Haydn’s La fedeltá premiata at Theater Aachen.
The art song has been a focal point for the young mezzo-soprano ever since she sang her first Debussy mélodie. Her repertoire ranges from Bellini to George Crumb, German Lied as well as Russian romances. In 2015 she won the Czech Song Prize at the Emmy Destinn Awards in London. In that year, Bella met the pianist Michael Gees with whom she sings and improvises in duo.
Her first encounters with free improvisation were with Paulo Álvares, which she continued studying at the Basel Music Academy under Fred Frith and Alfred Zimmerlin. As an improviser she loves to explore the possibilities of using the voice acoustically, often using text in various chamber ensembles, and as a soloist. Performing contemporary music has always been a part of her concert life, recently, she was the vocal soloist in the Basel version premiere of Kagel’s La Trahison Orale lead by Jean Pierre Drouet and will perform in a newly devised interdisciplinary work curated by Hannes Seidl at the ZeitRäume festival.
16 17 Music has taken the singer to concert halls in the UK, Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, Qatar, and Russia. Bella has had the privilege of studying with many accomplished artists, amongst them with Thomas Piffka, Christoph Prégardien, Klesie Kelly, Dalia Schaechter, Sir Simon Keenlyside, Matthew Rose, Josef Protschka, and Yvonne Minton.