Tanja Sonc has received numerous awards at national and international competitions. Among other things, she won the Brahms Competition in Austria in 2011. In 2015, she received the 3rd prize at the Kiwanis competition in Zurich.

Tanja Sonc studied with Primož Novšak in Ljubljana, as well as with Igor Ozim and Wonji Kim Ozim at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg and with Nora Chastain at the University of the Arts in Zurich.

Since the 2017/2018 season, Tanja has been a member of the chamber orchestra in Zurich. As a soloist, she has performed with well-known orchestras and given concerts in Brussels (BOZAR), Prague, Graz, Trieste, Zagreb, Sofia, Ljubljana, Le Touquet, and Zurich with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. In 2016, she founded the Sonc Festival, a chamber music festival in Slovenia.

German violist Anuschka Cidlinsky studied with Thomas Riebl (Mozarteum Salzburg), Jean Sulem (Conservatory Paris) and Nobuko Imai (Conservatory Amsterdam).

As a member of the Javus Quartet, she has been awarded numerous prizes and studied with members of the Hagen Quartet and Günter Pichler at the renowned Reina Sofia University in Madrid.

Highlights of their 2023/24 season include concerts at Musikverein Vienna, Konzerthaus Vienna, Stiftung Mozarteum, Mozartwoche Salzburg, and radio broadcasts on Austrian radio ORF. Musicians who have particularly influenced her playing include Eberhardt Feltz, Lukas Hagen, Tabea Zimmermann, and Hariolf Schlichtig.

Anuschka is a passionate chamber musician and has performed with artists such as Maxim Vengerov, Valentin Erben, Vadim Gluzman, Pablo Barragan, and Boris Garlitsky. She is a scholarship holder of the chamber music academy “Villa Musica” in Rheinland-Pfalz. Anuschka regularly participates in masterclasses at IMS Prussia Cove and performs at prestigious festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Rheingau Festival, and the “Mit Musik Miteinander” series of the Kronberg Academy.

Anuschka plays on a modern instrument by Bernd Hiller.

Anja Gaberc began her musical journey at the music school in Koper, in the class of Svetlana Joksić.

She continued her harp studies at the Artistic Gymnasium in Ljubljana, under the guidance of professor Rudi Ravnik Kosi.

After graduating, she went to Prague and later to Brussels, where she completed her master’s degree in harp with the famous Czech harpist Jana Boušková. She is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, both at home and abroad, at competitions and festivals. She performs extensively in various chamber ensembles and regularly collaborates with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana Orchestra, and the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to performing, she is dedicated to teaching young musicians and has been a regular professor at the Artistic Gymnasium in Koper and the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana since 2008.

Cristina Monticoli graduated with honors from the conservatory in Udine under M°P. Pellarin and M°Luca Vignali. She also attended masterclasses with teachers such as A. Mayer, N. Daniel, S. Rava, S. Azzolini, and with woodwind quintets like “Quintetto Bibiena” and “Slowind”.

In 2004, she received the absolute 1st prize at the national wind band competition “Città di Grosseto” (the prize was awarded to the Kalamos wind quintet).

Since 2002, Cristina has started collaborating with some of the most important Italian orchestras, including Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Virtuosi Italiani and the “La Verdi” Symphony Orchestra of Milan.

In 2012, she obtained the position of principal oboe in the Malmö Symphony Orchestra (Sweden), which she held until 2020. Since 2017, she has also been a oboe teacher at the Musikhogskolan in Malmö (University of Lund, Sweden).

Cristina is a regular guest of prestigious orchestras such as the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Danish Orchestra, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Orchestra del Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, LaFil Filarmonica di Milano under the direction of D. Gatti, R. Muti, R. Trevino, M. Soustrot, V. Sinaisky, P. Steinberg, S. M. Rouvali, B. Campanella, J. Valčuha, O. M. Wellber, and others.

She has been invited several times as a soloist, and in particular, in 2015, at the opening of the new concert hall in Malmö, “Malmölive”, she performed the world premiere of the composition “Magic Allusions”, Concertino for oboe and orchestra, dedicated to her by Swedish composer Albert Schnelzer.

In 2022, she won the audition for the position of solo oboe in the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. She has recorded for Decca, Naxos, Brilliant, Italian broadcasting company RAI, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian radio, and RTV SLO.

Miha Firšt (1992) is a double bass player who studied at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, and the Music Academy in Zagreb.

He is a member of the chamber ensemble Salzmusique, regularly performs in a duo with pianist Iztok Kocen, and participates in opera productions of the Slovenian Chamber Music Theatre and concert productions of the House of Culture Celje. He performs as part of festivals and series such as the Ljubljana Festival, Srebrni abonma, Druga godba, the Chamber Music Festival in Mantua, and the Celovec Summer Festival.

From 2016 to 2019, he was the solo double bass player of the Philharmonie Salzburg Symphony Orchestra, and since 2018, he has been the solo double bass player of the Camerata Sinfonica Austria Orchestra. He also collaborates with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Ljubljana Soloists, and the orchestra of the Slovenian National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana.

In 2018, he performed the monodrama “The Double Bass” by Patrick Süskind as a theatre performer and is currently performing in his own monodrama “Comedy about Art”. He teaches at music schools in Ljubljana and Škofja Loka. Since 2019, he has been the director of the House of Culture Celje.

Boštjan Lipovšek comes from a musical family, where he had several horn players as mentors, including his father and brother. He continued his musical education at the Ljubljana Music Academy with Prof. Jože Falout, where he also completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies. He furthered his studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Radovan Vlatković. While studying in Ljubljana, he received the “Prešeren Award” for the performance of Strauss’s 1st Horn Concerto with the RTV Symphony Orchestra.

Lipovšek has performed as a soloist with various orchestras and conductors, including the Brussels National Opera Orchestra, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He also regularly collaborates with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Camerata Salzburg.

In 1999, Lipovšek began teaching as an assistant professor at the Ljubljana Academy of Music, where he now serves as a full professor. In 2005, he was invited to teach as a docent at the Zagreb Academy of Music. Lipovšek was awarded the Prešeren Fund Award in 2008.

Since 2017, Boštjan Lipovšek has been the artistic director of the international chamber music festival, Sonc Festival.

Lenart Istenič began his musical career at the Radeče Music School, under the tutelage of Boštjan Župevec and František Lipovský. He continued his studies at the Secondary School of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana under Prof. Boštjan Lipovšek and at the University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig under Prof. Thomas Hauschild.

He has furthered his knowledge at numerous summer schools with internationally renowned professors such as E.Penzel, R.Vlatković, A.Fridrich, C.Lampert, F.Ree Wekre and others. During his schooling he won several prizes at republican competitions.

He has been a member of various chamber ensembles and has collaborated with numerous orchestras both at home and abroad. He is currently employed as a hornist in the Zagreb Philharmonic.

Senja Rummukainen is a Finnish cellist who received the 6th prize at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in 2019. A few years before that, in 2014, she won the 1st prize at the national competition in Turku and was a finalist in the international competition for the Guilhermina Suggia Award in Portugal.

As a soloist, Rummukainen has played with orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Krakow Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, and Tapiola Sinfonietta, and conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Nicholas Collon, Klaus Mäkelä, among others.

As a chamber musician, Rummukainen is one of the most popular on the Finnish scene. For several years, she has been a regular guest at the most important Finnish festivals, and from 2017 to 2021, she was also one of the artistic directors of the Kamarikesä festival in Helsinki.

In the 2022/2023 season, Senja will make her debut as a soloist with the Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Lodz, Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra, and Thüringen Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also returned to the Tapiola Sinfonietta with Jukka-Pekka Saraste. Among the highlights of her chamber music activities is a concert with Janine Jansen and friends at the Cologne Philharmonic. From 2017 to 2021, she served as the principal cellist of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

Senja Rummukainen is currently studying for a Konzertexamen at the Universität der Künste Berlin with Professor Jens Peter Maintz. Her other teachers have included Taru Aarnio, Marko Ylönen, Truls Mørk, and Young-Chang Cho. Her instrument is a 1698 Giovanni Grancino cello, generously loaned to her by the OP Art Foundation.

Ognjen Popović was born in Pančevo, where he completed primary and secondary music school. He continued his studies in Stuttgart, and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, in the class of Professor Ulf Rodenhäuser. Ognjen was a prize winner at the Felix Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin (1998) and the Youth Music Competition in Belgrade (1997).

As a soloist, he has performed with the Munich Philharmonic, the European Chamber Orchestra, the Radio Orchestra of Valencia, and the Belgrade Philharmonic. As a solo clarinetist, he has collaborated with the State Opera Orchestra in Stuttgart, the Symphony Orchestra of Passau, and the Festival Orchestra of Maribor. Popović is the solo clarinetist of the Belgrade Philharmonic and the founder of the Balkan Chamber Academy ensemble. Since 2010, he has been a professor at the Faculty of Music Art in Belgrade. In addition, he teaches at masterclasses in Germany, Spain, Montenegro, and Serbia.

Ognjen Popović is the artistic director of the Classic Fest chamber music festival in Pančevo.

Nenad Janković graduated and obtained his master’s degree at the Faculty of Music Art in Belgrade in the class of Professor Mirko Isaeski. He is the founder of the woodwind trio and later the woodwind quintet of the Belgrade Philharmonic and co-founder of the chamber ensemble “Balkan Chamber Academy”.

In 1995, he worked as a solo bassoonist in the orchestra of young Mediterranea and is currently a solo bassoonist of the Belgrade Philharmonic, and as a visiting soloist, he also collaborates with the chamber opera orchestra “Medlanijanum” and the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra.

As a soloist, he regularly performs with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the Military Symphony Orchestra, the Belgrade String Orchestra “Dušan Skovran”, the String Orchestra “Sv.Djordje” and the chamber ensemble “Yes” – (Youth European Strings).

He has won several first prizes at former federal competitions, and also received first prize at the international competition in Stresa (Italy). In 1995, the city of Belgrade awarded him the “October” recognition for his achievements in the field of music.

He has perfected his skills in master classes with Knut Sonstevold in Sweden, Milan Turković in Austria, and Maurice Paes in Israel.

Since 2018, he has been teaching at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad.

Nenad plays a handmade bassoon model “Milan”, made with a lot of love by Mr. Živan Šarčević.

Trieste pianist Lorenzo Cossi completed his studies at the local conservatory and further perfected his skills at, among other places, the International Piano Academy “Lago di Como” and “Accademia Chiagana” in Siena. His repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary music, with a special emphasis on jazz and other styles. Winner of several internationally renowned competitions, he was named one of the five finalists at the Honens competition in Calgary (Canada), where he successfully performed Brahms’ first piano concerto in D minor with the Calgary Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Robert Minczuk. The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote about his performance: “Cossi’s technique and control of sound are stunning. He played with a rich, orchestral tone, yet never forgot about the subtleties.”

He frequently performs in chamber ensembles with Christian Poltéra, Johannes Moser, Esther Hope, Walter Auer, Geoff Nuttall, and Sebastjan Bertoncelj.

Lorenzo currently works as a piano professor at the Carinthian State Conservatory in Klagenfurt.

Simon Klavžar is a percussion professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He primarily focuses on contemporary music and collaborates with ensembles such as Ensemble Modern, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Schallfeld Ensemble, Kammerorchester München, Dresdner Philharmonie, and others. Since 2006, he has formed the percussion duo Drumartica with percussionist Jože Bogolin, which has performed in the United States, Japan, and throughout Europe in venues such as Carnegie Hall (New York), Hermitage Theater (St. Petersburg), Berlin Philharmonic, Auditorio de Tenerife, Künstlerhaus München, Kennedy Center (Washington DC), and Luxembourg Philharmonic Hall. The duo has won first prizes at the IPCL Luxembourg competition and the Salieri-Zinetti chamber music competition in Verona. Simon Klavžar has also released a CD titled Saxala with saxophonist Oskar Laznik featuring new Slovenian works.

Klavžar has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at festivals such as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Wolfsburg Movimentos, and the Piano Duo Festival in Berlin. He has collaborated with Stefan Hussong, Shalamov Piano Duo, members of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, Bruce Hamilton, Peter Sadlo, and Annika Treutler, among others. In 2015, he performed as a soloist with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra at the World Music Days, and in 2022, he premiered the double concerto for percussion and saxophone Eppur si Muove IV by composer Matej Bonin with the same orchestra. He was a member of the World Percussion Group on a tour of Northern Europe in 2017 and has guest lectured at the Furman, Western Washington, Gdansk, and Salerno music academies and universities. In the upcoming season, he has solo performances with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Forum of New Music Ljubljana ensemble.

Simon Klavžar performs under the patronage of Adams and Innovative Percussion companies.