Born 1983 in Varaždin, where she visited elementary and high music school in the class of professor Davorin Premec. In this time, she several times presented herself on National Music and Dance Competition in Rijeka, where she won one first and two second prizes. She attended master-classes with D. Sremec, G. Merčep, M. Drvenšek, E. Rousseau, C. Delangle and E. Devalon. Petra started her studies at »Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz« in the class of professor Peter Straub and continued at »Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien« in the class of professor Oto Vrhovnik, where in 2008 she earned the title »magistra artium« and finished her master’s degree with excellency. From 2006 she parallely registered saxophone masters at »Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien«, where she had learned from a young and eminent saxophone player Lars Mlekusch.

During her study she regularly visited master classes of renowned professors: C. Delangle, M. Donninelli, J.M. Londeix and J.I. Formeau. In 2007 Petra won first prize at »Wettbewerb der Jungen Oesterreihischen Blasinstrumentalisten – Yamaha«, and in 2008, a scholarship at »Fidelio« competition in Vienna. She was also a scholarship holder of Varaždin County. She has performed as a soloist and also in various chamber casts. In Graz she was playing with »Quadrofon« saxophone quartet and in Vienna with »AlBaTESo Saxophne Quartet«. With the latter she visited China, Beijing, Shanjan and Zibo.

After that she cooperated with »Tzigane Saxophon Quartet« and »Wiener Saxophon Quartet«, with which she performed S. Sciarrina's play »Terribile storia di Gesualdo da Venosa« in Vienna puppet theatre »Kabinetttheater«. She debuted at many solo and chamber performances, playing plenty of works of contemporary composers, from which we only mention a few: D. Bobič's «Mali Diptih« and »Prolaznosti«, »Trio« for two clarinets and soprano saxophone from Iranian composer A. Safari, »Combustion« and »Trio« for viola, tenor saxophone and piano Columbian composer R. Tovar. She has been a member of composers' and instrumentalists' society »Neuer Atelier«, which goal is to promote and perform contemporary music all around Europe, from 2009. Until today she has been working with »Wiener Jounesse Orchester«, with Slovenian Armed Forces Orchestra and with the Slovenian Philharmonics.

In 2008 Petra Horvat was cooperating with a young and renowned pianist Khatia Buniatishvilli and also with a violinist Nora Schwarzberg Romanoff. With them she performed one of the rare original musical scores for saxophone and a string instrument, P. Hindemith's »Trio op. 47«. Work was performed at »Progetto Martha Argerich« Festival and on »Festival Lockenhaus«.

From 2010, Petra is an active member of »S.O.S.« saxophone orchestra and of »Trio Lyrique« chamber band. Then, from 2011, she has been an artistic leader and an iniciator of the »Sax and more« festival, endeavouring to provide a classical saxophone even wider audience and more stages, as in Croatia so beyond borders. Under guidance of composer Günther Zechberger she was working on many years' standing international project Drava – Klangmobile (2012-2014), which unites artistic creation of modern architecture, literature and music. In 2012 Petra presented herself on the chamber and solo music festival – »Podiumfestival Esslingen«. In 2013 she was a soloist with »Simply Brass Quintet«, playing a debut Saxbras suite of the Croatian composer Ivan Josip Skender in the Small concert hall V. Lisinski in Zagreb. She is a soprano saxophone player in the „LadieSaxophone Quartett“ as well. She is the main coordinator an artistic leader of Podium Festival Brijuni/Fažana, which in 2015 took place in Croatia for the first time.

Since 2008 Petra Horvat has been a saxophone music teacher at Ljubljana Vič-Rudnik Music School and at Varaždin Music School.

Žiga Faganel studied violin with Alive Schoenfeld at the Thornton School of Music in the USC University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He perfected himself with Rainer Küchl and Peter Götzl in Austria. He has proven himself on several competitions, also as a member of the string quartet Tetraktys. He was a concertmaster of Slovenian and international youth orchestras and is now a member of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and the String Quartet of the Slovenian Philharmonic. In 2009 he recorded CD of violin sonatas of Giuseppe Tartini along with Tomaž Sevšek and Domen Marinčič. These years he performs with the ensemble Musica Cubicularis (Choregie Festival, Velenje Festival, Portotož Auditorium, Fantasies under the Celje Ceiling, Sounds of Classical Music on the Ljubljana Castle, Days of Olden Music, Radovljica Festival, HARMONIA CONCERTANS – Old Music on a New Square). He plays the baroque violin of an unknown master from South Germany from the first half of the 18th century.

Hiwote Tadesse (1993) is a Croatian violist of Ethiopian origin. Her music education started at Elly Bašić Music school in the class of Andreja Halužan-Bratković. In 2011 she started studying at the Royal Conservatory in Ghana and at the Maastricht Conservatory in the class of Michael Kugel, where she graduated in 2016 as the best student of the generation. Hiwote is currently specializing at the Belgian prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. In season 2016/2017 Hiwote has been leading violas at the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, since 2017 she is working as the leader replacement of violas in Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra.

She is winner of many national and international awards such as Grand Prix at the International Youth Music Competition in Moscow (2014), first prize at the Citta International Competition of Barletta in Italy (2013), first prize at the 46th and 48th Croatian Music and Dance contest (2008, 2010). As a soloist she was performing with La Chapelle Sauvage, Royal Comservatory Orchestra in Gent, Croatian Chamber orshestra, Dubrovnik Symphony orchestra. She was cooperating with A. Zemtsov, T. Samouil, G. Hoffman, A. Dumay.

In 2013 Hiwote becomes a member of the Hulencourt Soloists Chamber Orchestra, which was conducted by Guy Braunstein. As soloist and chamber musician Hiwote is performing throughout Croatia and abroad: Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Israel and Benelux. He also participated as a lecturer and chamber musician at the Winter festival of Chamber music in Florida (USA) and holds seminars in Croatia and Ethiopia.

In 2015 she passed a very challenging audition and represented Croatia on the summer tour of the European youth Orchestra. As a soloist, she has been given a chance to perform at the Grafenegg Festival and the Spazio Klassik Festival. She is playing on the modern isrument of the builder O. Erdesza, which was a nicely given to her to play it by the Erdesz family.

Alja was born in 1989 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

She started playing cello at the age of 8 and at 16 was accepted to Music University Zagreb to do class of Valter Dešpalj. Alja graduated and obtained her Bachelor and Master Degree with highest honors. She continued her studies at Conservatorio della Svizzera-Italiana in the class of Monika Leskovar and later with Gavriel Lipkind in Frankfurt.

Alja was improving her skills in several courses cooperating with F. Helmerson, D. Geringas, I. Gitlis, A. Rudin, A. Bylsma, M. Perenyi, G. Hoffman, C. Hagen, D. Ferschtman, O. Mandozzi, L. Fenyӧ, R. Latzko and many others

As a soloist Alja performed with Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Strings, Moscovia Ensemble, Orchestra CSI Lugano, Cappellen Symphony Orchestra, Sudwestddeutsches Kammerorchestra and is also very active chamber musician. She performed, among others, with Mischa Maisky, Giovanni Sollima, Monika Leskovar, Ani Schnarch, Petr Jirikowski, was a member of WISE (Wiener International Soloist Ensemble) and Cellomania Ensemble.

As a soloist and chamber musician she performed in Europe (Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark), Israel, Russia, Japan and USA. Alja has recently became a member of Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra.

Vlatka Peljhan started to learn violin in Osijek in the class of Eva Hühn. She received a college degree at Zagreb Music Academy in the class of Maja Dešpalj. She continued her studies at renowned music educators, such as: Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Asja Kuschner, Andras Czifra, Gordan Nikolića, Cristiana Bor and Gisella Bergman. She finished her masters in violin in 2004 at Rotterdam School of Music and Dance, after that she also made her masters in viola. She has been a soloist with Zagreb Philharmonics, Croatian Armed Forces Wind Orchestra, Croatian Chamber Orchestra, Music Academy Wind Orchestra, and also with symphonic orchestra of Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb and in Osijek. In 1998 she was a winner of International violin competition »A. Marcosig« in Italy.

From 1997 until 2002 she was a member of Zagreb Piano Trio with which she won numerous awards and acknowledgments as in Croatia so also abroad, among others on Darko Lukić Young Musicians Stand, C. Hennen International Chamber Music Competition in Netherland and on TICC2000 International Chamber Music Competition in Norway.

Zagreb Piano Trio had been invited to and visited many international chamber music festivals in Israel, Norway, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and in Netherland. As a part of festivals the ensemble joined plenty of master courses with Isaac Stern and Leon Fleisher, with Emerson Quartet members, Borodin Quartet, Bártok Quartet, Smetana Quartet and with Grieg Trio members.

In 2003 she was in Japan as a member of Pacific Music Festival Orchestra, and in 2004 in Canada as a player in Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific. She was a full member of Chamber Orchestra Rotterdam and of Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, but also of The Zagreb Soloists. In the year 2014 she was a member of a famous Arena di Verona foundation symphonic orchestra. Vlatka was as a member of Harmonia Antiqua Labacensis, international baroque chamber ensembles under guidance of Manfred Kremer, a German-Argentinian expert in antique music; but she was as well playing with Balkan Baroque Band and a French flautist Jean-Christophe Frisch, with which she was performing on festivals in Greece, Slovenia, Italy and in France. In Wu Wei, the project of the French choreographer and film director Yoann Bourgeois, she was involved in the year 2013, as a part of which she presented herself with Balkan Baroque Band, solo interpreting Vivaldi's Four Seasons 19 times through the concert tour around France.

In 2014 Vlatka held an exalted seminar at national Academy of Music in Sofia (Bulgaria), discussing 20th century Croatian chamber music for violin and viola. She is one of the founders of Alisios Camerata chamber orchestra, with which she has, besides in Croatia, played in Japan, Austria and Cyprus. This ensemble has also presented itself with Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra at Music Biennale Zagreb in 2015, playing T. Takemitsu’s Quatrain I. Also, Alisios Camerata appeared on Croatian Music Days in Opatija in 2014, where it premièred 5 new works of Croatian composers, that were composed especially for Alisios Camerata.

Vlatka Peljhan is a concertmaster of Opera Orchestra at Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb and she lectures Chamber music at Zagreb Academy of Music.

Violist Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg is recognized as a musician with a captivating charisma and is a regular guest on international stages. Both as a soloist as well as a chamber musician she has performed in prestigious venues and festivals such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus Vienna, Salle Pleyel in Paris, DeSingel Antwerp, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, Mantova Chamber Music Festival, Podium Festival Esslingen, Heidelberg Spring Music Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, and the Salzburg Festival.

As a soloist she has played with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Zagreb Chamber Orchestra, the Orchesta Filarmonica di Bacau, the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Irkutsk and the Argentinian Camerata Bariloche under the baton of Ion Marin, Alexander Verdernikov, Hobart Earle, Pierre Amoyal and Jacek Kasprzyk. Among her chamber music partners were outstanding musicians such as Mischa Maisky, Gabriela Montero, Renaud Capuçon, Andrey Baranov, Lilya Zilberstein, Lily Maisky, Sergey Nakariakov, Henning Kraggerud, Enrico Dindo, Martha Argerich and Ivry Gitlis.

Nora was involved in the PODIUM Festival Esslingen from its first edition and a guest at the PODIUM Festivals in Iceland and Norway. She is co-founder of the PODIUM Festivals in Croatia and Austria.

Her performances were broadcasted by stations such as the BBC, RETE 2, RAI, Radio Klassik Stephansdom and Ö1. Her CD recordings were released by labels such as Naxos and Gramola, as well as by EMI Classics and Warner Classics as part of the annual series “Martha Argerich and Friends”, which were GRAMMY-nominated several times.

Born 1985 in New York and raised in Vienna, Nora carries on her family’s musical tradition in the fourth generation and gave her debut as a soloist at the Konzerthaus Vienna at the age of 11. Among her teachers and mentors in her artistic formation were her mother, violinist Dora Scharzberg, Michael Kugel, Thomas Kakuska and Hatto Beyerle (both members of the Alban Berg Quartett), Yuri Bashmet and Johannes Meissel. Nora studied at the Royal Conservatory in Maastricht and completed her studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. She herself has given master classes in Israel, Norway, Bosnia and Herzogovina and the USA and teaches viola and chamber music at AMADEUS school Vienna.

Since 2013 she is part of the Ensemble LUX, that focuses on contemporary music for string quartet. As a member of the Lipkind Quartet Nora toured throughout Europe and the USA and recorded two CD’s.

Nora plays on a Viola from Pietro Pallotta from 1790, that has most generously been donated to her by the late Lady Magaret Kagan.

Sofija Cingula was born on 21st May 1977 in Zabok near Varaždin. Both, her first general education and experience of music are linked to the town of Varaždin, where she completed elementary and high school (Math and Natural Sciences Grammar School). Simultaneously she attended music elementary school where she played violoncello with Prof. Darij Milković, and afterwards she studied singing at the Music High School Varaždin with Prof. Darija Hreljanović.

After obtaining her first degree in singing, she continued her studies and obtained her diploma in opera and singing at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Prof. Gun Kronzell – Moulton, Prof. Mag. Franz Lukasovski and Prof. Mag. Sebastian Vittucci.

In June 2003 she obtained her first Masters degree in Opera class with Prof. Curt Malm (Acting), Prof. Uwe Theimer (Interpretation) and Prof. Mag. Sebastian Vittucci (Singing). In 2002 she started her second postgraduate study in Lied and Oratorio with KS Marjana Lipovšek. In March 2007 she obtained her second Masters degree in Lied and Oratorio with KS Robert Holl.

She continued her professional development with Prof. Lidija Horvat-Dunjko and Prof. Dunja Vejzović. In the course of her professional and academic career Sofija Cingula has attended and completed numerous professional courses and competitions and been awarded various prizes. Thus, among numerous professional and academic courses and seminars she attended courses in medieval music and singing, Summer Academy Vienna - Prague – Budapest in Baden with Prof. Mag. Franz Lukasovski, Master Course in Voice and Belcanto with Prof. Mag. Sebastian Vittucci in Urbania (Italy), etc.

From the very beginning of her career in singing, she has attended several competitions and been awarded many prizes (1993 – State Competition in Singing in Rijeka, Croatia; 1995 – State Competition in Singing in Split, Croatia; 2004 – Finale of the Fifth International Competition “Debut in Meran”, Merano, Italy, 2007 – Finale and Special Prize for the Interpretation of the Second International Competition Concorso Internationale di Canto Città di Sant’Angelo, Italy; 2009 – Second Prize and Special Prize for Best Interpretation of Theatre in Brno at the Iuventus Canti Competition; 2010 – Seoul International Music Competition).

For her exceptional achievement the Rotary Club Varaždin awarded her in July 2004 with the Prize for Excellence for the best Masters Thesis in 2003. The topic of her thesis was “Dora Pejačević, life and songs”.

Her first solo concert Sofija Cingula held already in 1995 in the Croatian National Theatre Varaždin. From that early professional age on she has been regularly concerting and participating in various performances of secular and sacred music (eg. Bach: Johannespassion, Weihnachtsoratorium, Pergolesi: Stabat mater, Diabelli: Mass in C major, Mozart: Coronation Mass, Spatzenmesse, Missa Brevis in d KV 65, Requiem, Haydn: Missa Sancti Nicolai Nr.6 in G, Schubert: Missa in G - D 167, Mendelssohn: Elias, Britten: A Ceremony of Carols, Rejoice In The Lamb, Vivaldi: Gloria in D major, Zippoli: Misa Kyries, Händel: Dixit Dominus, Saint-Saëns: Oratorio de Noël, Dvořak: Mass in D Op.86, Igrec: Slavonic Mass, Viennese Mass…) in Croatia and abroad (Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Japan, China, South Korea etc.) Already during her studies she was invited to sing in numerous operas in Austria and Germany (Ganymed in The Beautiful Galathea by Suppé, Third Boy and Third Lady in The Magic Flute by Mozart, Lieschen in La Molinara by Paisiello, Annina in La Traviata by Verdi). She also performed Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice by Glück in München and Schlosstheater Schönbrunn, Vienna. At the same opera house she performed Lou in Die Geschichte des Picando by Schedlberger in 2002 (world premiere) as well as her Masters Degree role of Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel by Humperdinck in 2003. In the City Theater Meran, Italy, she sang Maria in Brunello by Heinzmann (world premiere). In 2003 she performed Third boy in The Magic Flute by Mozart at the Autumn Festival in Jennersdorf, then La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi by Puccini and Orlofsky in The Bat by J. Strauss. In the season 2003/2004 in the Volksoper, Vienna, Sofija Cingula performed in the operetta Boccaccio by Suppé and she was the cover for the Third Lady in The Magic Flute by Mozart.

At the end of 2004 she took part in the China tour with the Konzertvereinigung der Volksoper. The year 2005 brought her back to singing in numerous concerts at home and abroad. Thus, she participated in gala concerts in Urbania in Italy. She performed twice this year as alto solo in Zippoli’s Mass (once in Varaždin’s Cathedral accompanied by a direct radio transmission and second time during the closing ceremony of the festival 35th Varaždin Baroque Evenings). Since then, Sofija Cingula also sang at the 36th festival Varaždin Baroque Evenings and at the opening ceremony of the 40th edition of this renown festival.

Sofija Cingula performed at the Musikverein in Vienna (Austria), Hrvatski glazbeni zavod in Zagreb, Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin, Croatian National theatre in Zagreb, Croatian national Theatre in Split, Istrian National Theatre in Pula (Croatia), Endowment of Ilija M. Kolarac in Belgrade (Serbia), Seoul Arts Center (South Korea), City Theatre in Meran, Teatro Bramante in Urbania (Italy) with ensembles such as Wiener Concert –Verein, Hofkapelle München, Varaždin Chamber Orchestra, Rucner String Quartett, Symphonic Orchestra of Juraj Dobrila University in Pula, Camerata Serbica, etc.

At the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin, Sofija Cingula performed as Daphne in Le malade imaginaire (H. 495) by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. She collaborated with recognized artists and conductors such as KS Marjana Lipovšek, Sebastian Hollecek, Sandra Trattnigg, Elisabeth Kulman, Akiko Nakajima, Niels Muus, Marc Piollet, Uwe Theimer, Andres Orozco Estrada, Helmut Lohner, Borut Zagoranski, Szilárd Kovács, Vladimir Gligorić, Ljiljana Vukelja, Janko Đoković, Smiljana Ružić, and famous Croatian artists Mladen Tarbuk, Vladimir Kranjčević, Miroslav Homen, Ivan Josip Skender, Tomislav Fačini, Anđelko Igrec, Saša Britvić, Tomislav Mužek, Lana Kos, Margareta Klobučar, Jelena Štefanić, Ivana Lazar, Valentina Fijačko, Helena Lucić Šego, Lidija Horvat Dunjko, Višeslav Jaklin, etc.

Sofija Cingula acts as a promoter of the Croatian music, especially of the female composers and authors of the composers cirlcles of Varaždin and Istria.

Sofija Cingula worked at the Croatian National Theatre “Ivan pl. Zajc” in Rijeka as an assistant director to the German director Christian Romanowski and renown Croatian singer Dunja Vejzović.

At the moment she is employed with the Music Academy of Juraj Dobrila University of Pula as an assistant professor (Voice, Fundamentals of Vocal Technique, Excersises in Vocal Technique, Chamber music, etc). She is the Head of the Department of Solo Singing and Department of Piano.

Ana Horvat was born in Varaždin. Her music education starts at 9 in the class of Professor Gordan Perši at the Music School in Varaždin where she immediately shows her extraordinary talent. Through her education, she has participated in numerous regional, national and international competitions, where she won first prizes and achieved high results (Croatia, Italy, Macedonia). She has mastered masterclasses with recognized Croatian and world names.

She graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Music in 2013 in the class of professor Milko Pravdić. As an exchange student she was also studying at the Ljubljana Academy of Music from the renowned Slovenian clarinet player Jože Kotar.

She collaborates with the best Croatian orchestras; The Croatian Chamber Orchestra, the Varaždin Chamber Orchestra, the Croatian National Theater Orchestra in Zagreb, the Cantus Ensemble for Modern Music, and the Croatian Armed Forces Orchestra. As a soloist she performed with the Zagreb Philharmonic in the Great Hall of Vatroslav Lisinski and with the Croatian Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra of the Armed Forces at the Croatian Music Institute.

Currently she is working as a music instructor at the Blagoja Berse Music School in Zagreb.

Through his creative versatility as a soloist as well as in chamber music and a vast repertoire spanning four centuries, cellist Bas Jongen has already established himself as one of the most promising young artists of his generation.

Born in the Netherlands, he studied in Amsterdam and Zagreb before completing his undergraduate training with Reinhard Latzko at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He went on to complete his master’s degree with Torleif Thedéen at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 2017.

In addition, he studied chamber music with Johannes Meissl at the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) and received further musical impulses in numerous masterclasses led by renowned artists such as Heinrich Schiff, Frans Helmerson, Jens-Peter Maintz, Clemens Hagen, Anner Bijlsma, Thomas Demenga, Natalia Gutman as well as Rainer Schmidt, Andras Keller, Günther Pichler, Miguel da Silva, Hatto Beyerle and Petr Prause.

From 2014-2018 he was a member of the Giocoso String Quartet, with whom he won the overall 2nd Prize, the Audience Award and the Music Viva Australia Prize at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition 2015 and was regarded as a one of the most promising and exciting quartets of their generation.

In 2018 he co-founded the Chaos String Quartet with whom he was selected for the highly prestigious and highly selective 2-year ECMAster programme; a tailor-made artistic graduate programme in collaboration with the Music Universities in Vienna, Oslo and Paris.

A laureate of several national and international competitions, Jongen gave recitals and appeared as a soloist all over Europe, as well as the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea and Brazil. Such engagements brought him to world-renowned venues such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb, the Elisabeth-Murdoch-Hall of the Melbourne Recital Centre and the Sala São Paulo.

Jongen worked with conductors such as Daniel Harding, Andres Orozco-Estrada, Bas Wiegers, Jules van Hessen, Tomislav Fačini, and orchestras such as the Gdansk Philharmonic, the Zagreb Philharmonic, Sinfonietta Amsterdam, the Philips Symphony Orchestra and the South Netherlands Philharmonic.

Bas Jongen plays a rare cello by Hendrick Jacobs (Amsterdam, ±1690), kindly loaned to him from the collection of the Dutch National Musical Instruments Foundation.

Borut Zagoranski, a Slovenian accordionist and pedagogue, was born 1980 in Ptuj, Slovenia. His music education started at the Music School in his hometown and continued at the Conservatoire for Music and Ballet in Maribor, Slovenia. He graduated in 2002 at the Music Academy in Pula, University of Juraj Dobrila in Pula, Croatia (Muzička akademija u Puli, Sveučilište Jurja Dobrile u Puli), receiving at the same time the Rector's Award for Best Student. He then enrolled for the Postgraduate Diploma in Performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London and took his final concert diploma DipRAM in 2006.

His mentors include Marjetka Babić, Slavko Magdić and Owen Murray, as well as other eminent musicians and accordion teachers.

Zagoranski is a prizewinner of numerous national and international accordion competitions. As the Slovenian representative he reached the finale in the 1998 »Eurovision Grand Prix for Young Musicians« competition in Vienna. He is the recipient of the prestigious award »Friends of the Royal Academy of Music Wigmore Award« for 2006.

He participated in many renowned international festivals, such as ISCM World Days of Music, ISCM Musica Danubiana, Aldeburgh Festival, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Highgate Music Festival, Glasbeni september (Musical September) Maribor. He was a soloist with orchestras like Symphonieorchester ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra), London Sinfonietta, Slovenska filharmonija (Slovenian Philharmonic), Simfonični orkester SNG (Symphony Orchestra of the Slovenian National Opera) in Maribor. His played under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies, Lalo Schifrin, Pablo Zinger, Marko Letonja and appeared in distinguished concert venues like Wigmore Hall in London, Wiener Konzerthaus and Konzerthaus Berlin, Benaroya Hall in Seattle.

Zagoranski is a jury member at international accordion competitions, a reviewer of specialized publications and author of university level accordion curricula.

He is professor both at the Academy in Pula, University of Juraj Dobrila in Pula and at the Academy of Music, University in Ljubljana where he is Head of Chamber Music Department. As guest lecturer he was invited to music academies in London (United Kingdom), Gdansk and Lodz (Poland), Vilnius (Lithuania), Bratislava (Slovakia), Trieste (Italy). Since 2014 he has been an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in London.

“Beppe Aliprandi is one of the most iconic personalities of the Milanese jazz scene from more than sixty years, from the debut of June 1985 when at the head of his first quartet he got on the stage of the Hot Club of Milan (…)

From then to today Aliprandi expresses his creativity with painting and engraving too, and he also receives significant awards on the Italian and British press. He published ten records which also imposed him on national and European level. The fulcrum of the Milanese saxophonist’s music has always been in appearance compositional, very nice and original for the canons of Italian jazz, without letting his music flow into an exasperated free and refusing at the same time the mainstream label.” (Musica Jazz Magazine, June 2019).

His music grows day after day, following the road traced by the great masters of the Jazz, keeping always a firm bond between the Avantgarde and the richest tradition of swing, allowing in his language, well ahead of current fashions, the stimuli from different expressions, such as chamber music, Indian music and popular musics from Afrika, Balkans, Arab countries and Caribbean.

Nenad Mirt is a double bass player from Pula and is active on the Croatian jazz scene for more than 20 years. He started playing jazz in D. Lorkovic's quartet and Big Band Pula. Over the years he has performed at jazz festivals in Croatia and collaborated with musicians from all over the world (George Cables, Eddie Henderson (ex H. Hancock), Oleg Kireyev, and American jazz singers Sharon Clark, Nicolas Byrde, Dennis C. Rowland Count Basie).

Dušan Kranjc is a young drummer and percussionist from Pula who has impressed the audience around the world with his performances with the popular cello duet 2Cellos, with whom has been an associate member since 2011.

As a versatile and persuasive musician with outstanding energy and characteristic drumming, Dušan has studied jazz in Graz and now lives in Pula where he is still a member of many music projects. In jazz different combinations he performed with George Cables, Eddie Henderson, Sharon Clark, Denise Thimes, Hood Fellas, Shugo's Foosy and many others. The 2CELLOS two-year tour "SCORE" has participated as a percussionist in world orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Star Orchestra Virtuoso, and many others.

LAURA MJEDA ČUPERJANI (born 1971 in Beograd) graduated at Beograd Music Academy, Department for composition and orchestration, in the class of professor Srđan Hofman. Since 2007 she lectures at Music Academy Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, from 2011 first as an assistant, later as a senior university teacher. Since 2013 she has been a principal of Music pedagogics department.

Laura's composer's opus is formed encompasses solo works, works written for chamber ensembles and orchestras, music for theatrical performances and multimedia projects. Selection of pieces: The Moments for a guitar, Impulses for two pianos, Simple Piano Music for piano four-hands, …either…or…or… for flute, violin and guitar, solo pieces Night and House, a cycle ‘’Four Yearly Words”, Salve Regina for two voices, flute, violin and piano, Sadness for soprano, French horn and piano, Ave Maria for voice, cello and piano, 4 Episodes and Strinx for a string quartet , Diptych for soprano, mezzosoprano, cello and piano four-hands, Triptych for mezzosoprano, cello and piano four-hands, Salve Regina for a mixed choir, Becoming for an accordion solo, Disaccordion for voice and accordion, Transaccordion for accordion chamber orchestra, Gromade for symphonic orchestra, Concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra, Versus, Three Perceptions for accordion and string quartet, music for a theatre performance „Grated Radish“ and a project Masses.

Laura has been active at many manifestations and festivals: International Review of Composers – Novi Sad, Belgrade, Festival „Mediadance International“ in Paris, Music festival „Pulski glasbenici Puli“, 46. Music Review Pula, International Festival of Contemporary Music „REMUSICA“ in Priština, International Festival „Argjiro“, 18th Mlawski festiwal akordeonowy Mlawa, Two days and nights of new music – Odessa, Accordeon's Days – Ljubljana, Trieste, Pula.

She received various recognition awards for exceptional contribution in Music Academy Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, for contributing in development in Department for Music Pedagogics on Pula Music Academy, the award “Vasilije Mokranjac” for Concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra and a special award for original music in the Masses/Gromade Project in cooperation with MIMART Movement Theatre. At International Review of Composers in Belgrade 1994 the trio …either…or…or… ranged among the first ten best pieces as an only student composition. Laura is a full member of Croatian Composers’ Society.