Elke Funk-Hoever was born in 1966 in Esslingen. After secondary school, she studied violoncello at the Music Academy in nearby Stuttgart with Rudolf Gleisner, at the Arts Academy in Berlin with Wolfgang Boettcher and at the Juilliard School of Music in New York with Zara Nelsova. In addition, she completed a number of master classes, among others with Heinrich Schiff, Natalia Gutman, A. Navarra and R. Rogoff. Elke Funk-Hoever received scholarships from the Study Foundation of the German People, the Banff Centre in Canada, the German Academic Exchange Service and Rotary International. She received prizes from a number of competitions. She has appeared as soloist with the Berlin Symphony, the Symphony Orchestras in Barquisimeto and Caracas in Venezuela and the Baden-Baden Orchestra, to name but a few. She has been a member of the Munich Philharmonic since 1994.
