Born in Berlin, Karsten Windt graduated from the Universitat der Kunst in Berlin and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. He studied with Professors Yfran Neaman and David Takeno and also attended the famous masterclasses with Nathan Milstein in Zurich. He has been a first violinist with the Deutsche Symphony Orchestra Berlin (DSO) since 1992.

He is responsible for building up the DSO string academy department over a period of several years by mentoring talented young musicians. He also founded a string orchestra for them, and organized chamber music concerts.

Since forming his own chamber music group in 2001, the Akanthus Ensemble Berlin, his concern has been to create fresh ways to hear and understand classical music. In his concerts he presents not only traditional and contemporary music, but also more popular styles like Argentinian Tango and Russian Folk Music. Through introduction of the artists, the composers and their works, he gives his audiences the inside perspective of an experienced musician on each musical program. In 2005 he took a sabbatical from the DSO and now devotes more of his time to this work.

The 2005/06 season of DSO chamber music included Karsten Windt’s interpretive introductions for a concert series related to Mozart’s 250th birthday. He also planned and introduced the opening concert of the “Salon Noir,” the title given to a series presented in connection with the exhibit “Melancholy: the Genius and Madness of Art” at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, in which music and the projection of paintings were combined in thematic relationships. He also recently developed, in cooperation with hotels and restaurants like the Ritz-Carlton, Berlin and the International Club, a new kind of concert that combines music and exclusive menues for very special culinary-musical events.

He has a big place in his heart for children. He moderates DSO concerts for children and youth - both chamber music and symphonic repertoire - because he understands that the future of classical music lies not only with our young musicians but also with our young audiences.