The duo Strings&Noise - Maiken Beer (cello) and Sophia Goidinger-Koch (violin) - was founded in 2015 and is the logical consequence of a friendship and long-running collaboration. These Vienna-based musicians are both members of the ensemble STUDIO DAN, play together in formations such as the Platypus Ensemble and The Black Page Orchestra and have been part of many projects of the JazzWerkstatt Wien.

These two performers share the common belief that new music should be exciting and inspiring - not only for the initiated, but also for the untrained ear. In this collaboration, they search intently for the endless possibilities of sound and noise, unafraid to explore the limits of their instruments and their own playing. With relish and glee they tear down misperceptions that string instruments – especially when played by women - are made only for sweet-sounding melodies.

After several acoustic duo concerts and their music/dance performance DICE (developed together with the dancer Eva-Maria Schaller) they are now continuing to expanding their focus.

Since 2017, strings & noise has been increasingly attentive to pieces that incorporate other media, such as video and electronics, or performance elements. Thus, the two musicians also specifically award commissions to composers who work in this direction, and have been able to bring five world premieres to the stage.