Zabusky, an American, worked for Teldec Classics and Sony Classical before coming to the Philadelphia Orchestra during the tenure of Wolfgang Sawallisch. She first visited Hamburg in 1989, when she appeared as a member of the cast of the musical Cats there; she later founded Stray Theatre, an English-language theater group based in the city.
Ensemble Resonanz was founded in 1994 by former members of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. The group made its New York debut in 2004 at the Miller Theatre at Columbia University.