The Roaring Dames were formed especially for the UFA Film Nights 2026 as a nine-member ensemble consisting exclusively of female musicians. The ensemble features Kornelia Kulothungan on cello and Samar Hafez on double bass, who also performs as principal double bassist with the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra. Karola Elßner, a member of the Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, plays saxophone and clarinet, while Mathilde Conley performs on trumpet. Banjo and guitar are played by Eva Beneke, a highly sought-after soloist and chamber musician. Silke Lange performs on accordion, while the percussionist is yet to be announced. At the piano is Meg Morley, an acclaimed pianist, composer, and improviser who regularly performs at international silent film festivals.
The ensemble is led by violinist Luiza Labouriau. She has played the violin since the age of five and has won numerous chamber music awards, including first prize at the 2021 International Chamber Music Competition Beethoven in seiner Zeit with Trio Egmont. Luiza Labouriau recently recorded with Trio Egmont for NAXOS and also leads a wide range of chamber music and interdisciplinary projects that bring together music, dance, theater, and vocal performance.
The Roaring Dames will perform the world premiere of a new score by Tobias Schwencke. As a composer, pianist, and arranger, Schwencke is equally at home in a wide range of musical styles, from classical music to hip-hop, contemporary music to techno, and from Baroque madrigals to Persian spoken-word performance. In 2021, his score for CARMEN received its world premiere at the UFA Film Nights, performed by ensemble KONTRASTE.
Schwencke has worked with directors including Herbert Fritsch, Leander Haußmann, Anna Bergmann, Claus Peymann, and Manfred Karge. His compositions have been premiered by ensembles such as Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Musikfabrik NRW, and the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne.
The Roaring Dames were formed especially for the UFA Film Nights 2026 as a nine-member ensemble consisting exclusively of female musicians. The ensemble features Kornelia Kulothungan on cello and Samar Hafez on double bass, who also performs as principal double bassist with the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra. Karola Elßner, a member of the Big Band of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, plays saxophone and clarinet, while Mathilde Conley performs on trumpet. Banjo and guitar are played by Eva Beneke, a highly sought-after soloist and chamber musician. Silke Lange performs on accordion, while the percussionist is yet to be announced. At the piano is Meg Morley, an acclaimed pianist, composer, and improviser who regularly performs at international silent film festivals.
The ensemble is led by violinist Luiza Labouriau. She began playing the violin at the age of five and won second prize in the 2018 Pinerolo e Torino Città Metropolitana International Chamber Music Competition. Labouriau is also one of the founders of the experimental chamber ensemble Impulsia, which brings together string players and singers from Berlin’s University of the Arts and the Hanns Eisler School of Music.
The Roaring Dames will perform the world premiere of a new score by Tobias Schwencke. As a composer, pianist, and arranger, Schwencke is equally at home in a wide range of musical styles, from classical music to hip-hop, contemporary music to techno, and from Baroque madrigals to Persian spoken-word performance. In 2021, his score for CARMEN received its world premiere at the UFA Film Nights, performed by ensemble KONTRASTE.
Schwencke has worked with directors including Herbert Fritsch, Leander Haußmann, Anna Bergmann, Claus Peymann, and Manfred Karge. His compositions have been premiered by ensembles such as Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Musikfabrik NRW, and the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne.
