Katja Lasser joined the collective in 2019. While studying trumpet at the well-renowned Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Finland) with Pasi Pirinen, she also engaged in professional arts management and has been working in the project management team in CoGNiMUS for several years now.

Currently based in Helsinki, Katja has been working as an apprentice and/or substitute in several orchestras across the country, such as Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish National Opera & Ballet and Oulu Sinfonia. 

Her musical expertise on the trumpet ranges from Baroque and playing on period instruments to exploring new sounds and playing techniques in Contemporary Music. Katja is a founding and board member of the Cologne based ÉRMA Ensemble which specalises in Contemporary Music.

In working with CoGNiMUS, she finds it particularly interesting to break down traditional structures and unwritten rules of the ”classical” music scene and reshape them, in order to open new roads for the musicians as well as the audiences and make concerts attractive and fashionable.

Katja has always been intrigued by different cultures and countries. After being a volunteer mentor for international students during her time at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Cologne, she moved to Finland for exchange studies herself. After having studied and lived abroad for quite some time now, she still enjoys exploring different cultures and embraces any form of cultural exchange.