Oscar Benjamin Hollmer

**Oscar Benjamin Hollmer** was born in Germany in 2010 into a family of musicians. He received cello lessons from, among others, Susanne Bohn-Schultze. Since 2020, he has been a junior student in the class of Professor Christoph Richter at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen and studies with Professor Bonian Tian.

Oscar has actively participated in masterclasses with distinguished cellists including Prof. Troels Svane, Prof. Tanja Tetzlaff, Friedrich Thiele, and Prof. Gabriel Schwabe. He is a scholarship recipient of the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein, where he regularly takes part in its intensive study weeks and artistic activities.

Oscar is a prizewinner of numerous national competitions. He won **First Prize** at the 6th Konrad Adenauer Competition, **First Prize with the highest score** at the 21st *Beethoven Bonnensis* Youth Competition, and the **Special Prize for the Best Interpretation of a Work by Beethoven**, also with the highest possible score. During the past six years, he has received numerous **First Prizes with the highest possible marks** at *Jugend musiziert*, most recently at the national finals in Zwickau in 2023 and in the piano duo category with his sister Frieda Magdalene in 2024.

In addition, his string trio was awarded the **North Rhine-Westphalia Youth Chamber Music Promotion Prize** and the **WESPE Special Prize for the Best Interpretation of a Work of Classical Modernism**. Oscar also received a **Special Prize** from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben. In 2022, he won **First Prize with Distinction** at the Hamburg Instrumental Competition in the solo violoncello category. In 2023, he and his sister were awarded both the **North Rhine-Westphalia Youth Chamber Music Promotion Prize** for their string duo and the **Youth Culture Prize of the City of Wuppertal**. In 2024, he received the **Advancement Prize** at the 39th National Competition *Jugend komponiert*.

Oscar made his orchestral debut in 2022, performing **Luigi Boccherini's Cello Concerto No. 6** with the **Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen** under the baton of **Johannes Klumpp**. He has since appeared at prestigious venues including the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, the Cologne Philharmonie, Château Libermé in Belgium, Schloss Nordkirchen, the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal, the historic town halls of Cologne and Münster, and the universities of music in Essen, Cologne, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, and Detmold.

In 2024, Oscar appeared as soloist with the **WDR Radio Orchestra** under the direction of **Bar Avni** (winner of *La Maestra 2024*) in the New Hall of the Folkwang University of the Arts, performing **Astor Piazzolla's *Grand Tango***. The concert was broadcast on **WDR 3** as part of the program *TonArt* and simultaneously transmitted live on **WDR 4**. Later that year, he performed **Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major** with the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen under the direction of Johannes Klumpp.

Oscar has been a scholarship recipient of the **Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben** since 2021. In 2024, he was also awarded scholarships by the **Langenberg Festival** and the **31st SommerMusikAkademie Hundisburg**. Since 2023, he has been part of a three-year scholarship program of the **North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber Music Centre (Kammermusikzentrum NRW)**.