Johannes Festerling

Johannes Festerling received his first musical training at the Kreismusikschule Wernigerode in the Harz Mountains Region (Saxony-Anhalt) of Germany.

He studied classical guitar with Prof. Jens Wagner at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen, where he was already intensively involved in performance practice on historical guitar and lute instruments. He subsequently took up studies in early music with Prof. Joachim Held and has since performed regularly both as a soloist and as a continuo player, including with the European Hanseatic Ensemble (Manfred Cordes), Utrecht Company of Music, Musica assoluta (Hannover), the Boys' Choir Unser Lieben Frauen Bremen (Ulrich Kaiser) and various chamber music ensembles. In 2020 he was cultural ambassador for the State of Bremen at the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of German reunification. He has received much encouragement and inspiration from masterclasses with renowned lutenists such as Nigel North, Paul O'Dette and Evangelina Mascardi.