Swantje Tessmann was born in Hamburg in 1969 and received her first violin lessons with Prof. Michael Goldstein at the age of six. She studied with Prof. Christian Altenburger and Anne Röhrig (Baroque violin) in Hannover, as well as with Prof. Thomas Klug in Bremen.
Being a member of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie was an essential stepping stone for her musical career: In 1994, she co-founded Ensemble Resonanz and has since been leader of the second violin section. As a violinst and violist, her other great passion is musical theater, a field in which she has worked with partners such as Heiner Goebbels, Ensemble Modern, Leo Dick (Bern) and the andreas bode company among others.