Sonc Festival is an international chamber music festival in Slovenia, founded in 2016 by violinist Tanja Sonc.

“I founded the festival with a great desire to create chamber music at a high level in my home environment.”

“I want to show the beauty of Slovenia to musicians from abroad, to present our culture and cuisine, and to introduce classical music to the local audience. I have learned a lot during my studies at home and abroad, so I want to share this knowledge and bring something valuable back to my society. I believe that I can bring a lot of positive energy, motivation for young people and enliven summer evenings with the Sonc Festival concerts. Music connects people and we need it more than ever nowadays, because it is a universal language all over the world, understood by everyone.”

Tanja Sonc, Founder and Artistic Director

Tanja is a prize-winner of numerous national and international competitions. Among others, she is the winner of the Brahms Competition in Pörtschach (Austria), in 2015 she won the 3rd prize at the “Kiwanis Wettbewerb Zürich” and in 2016 she was the winner of the “New Stars Competition”. After studying in Ljubljana and Salzburg, she completed her second Master’s degree in Zurich at the ZHdK in 2017 with honours. As a soloist, she has collaborated with many renowned orchestras (Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, RTV Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists, HRTV Orchestra, etc.). In the 2017/2018 season, she became a member of the “Zürcher Kammerorchester”.

Musicians

TANJA SONC - VIOLIN

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.

VLATKO STEFANOVSKI - GUITAR

Vlatko was born into a typical theatrical family. His parents, as artists, often traveled, so soon Stefanovski moved to Skopje, in the neighborhood Taftalidze.[2] Vlatko Stefanovski lives with his family (consisting of daughter Ana and son Jan) in Skopje.[3] His son (Jan Stefanovski) is a drummer in V.S.Trio (from 2019).[4]

Born in Prilep on 24 January 1957, he started playing guitar at the age of 13. Stefanovski was one of the founding members of Leb i sol with whom he recorded 13 albums between 1978 and 1991. He currently splits his time playing with his VS Trio, in an acoustic partnership with Miroslav Tadić or composing for film and theatre. Dramatist Goran Stefanovski was his older brother.

Stefanovski has played a wide variety of guitars, including a Gibson SG, Gibson Nighthawk, Scala VS-1(custom), Scala VSTII (custom), a Fender Stratocaster – heavily modified with Schecter and Radulović parts, a Telecaster, a Radulović super-strat and a Pensa-Suhr super-strat. The influence of ethnic and folk music of Southeastern Europe and more specifically of the Music of North Macedonia are recognizable in his occasional use of odd meters (5/4, 7/8) and non-traditional scales (e.g. the Phrygian dominant scale).[5]

He played the guitar solo in the song “Za Milion Godina” by YU Rock misija, the former Yugoslav contribution to Bob Geldof’s Band Aid.

YULIA MILOSLAVSKAYA - PIANO

Yulia Miloslavskaya discovered her love for music at an early age in a family rich with musical tradition. She honed her skills through studies at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Zurich University of Arts. Earning acclaim at international competitions like the Jean Francaix International Competition in Paris, IBLA Competition in Ragusa Ibla, Italy, and Concours musical de France in Paris, she showcases her versatility as both a soloist and collaborative artist. She has graced stages worldwide at festivals like the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad and has performed together with esteemed musicians like Emanuel Ax, Konstantin Scherbakov, Daniel Hope, Martin Grubinger, Alexander Rudin, Ilya Gringolts.

Yulia’s repertoire spans classical masterpieces and modern compositions, as showcased in her albums “Novelettes”, which features works by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, and Poulenc. Notably, she has recorded with the Giraud Ensemble Chamber Orchestra for Solo Musica/Sony Music, further establishing her as a versatile and accomplished musician. Currently, she shares her passion for music as a lecturer and accompanist at the Zurich University of Arts.

IRENA JOSIFOSKA - CELLO

Irena Josifoska – the 1st prize winner at the Gabrielli cello competition in Berlin, as academist of Verbier Festival winner of the prize Prix Jean-Nicolas Firmenich, which
recognises the Verbier Festival Academy’s best cellist, Honorary Mention for an excellent performance as one of the six-semifinalists at the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann, held in the hall of Berliner Philharmonie and in 2017 she was the youngest semifinalist of the Queen Elisabeth competition.

Irena performed all over the Europe and USA, she was a soloist of the eminent orchestras and was part of many festivals like Verbier Festival, Musiktage Mondsee, Kryzyowa Chamber music Festival, Bebersee Festival, Eggenfelden Klassisch, Kronberg Academy, Liechteinstein Musikakademie, Ohrid Summer Festival, Festival PAAX GNP Mexico, Fränkischer Sommer etc. She finished Bachelor studies in Detmold with Xenia Jankovic, Master Soloist studies in Berlin with Jens Peter Maintz, where she studies at the moment Konzertexamen (the highest degree in Germany). Irena attented masterclasses with David Geringas, Frans Helmerson, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Steven Isserlis, Miklos Perenyi and played with
artists like Albrecht Mayer,Guy Braunstein, Daniel Stabrawa, Sacha Rattle, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Vadim Gluzman, etc.

RIBAL MOLAEB - VIOLA

An artist with immense range of artistic and music interest, born in Baissour Mount-Lebanon to a family of artists, Ribal Molaeb initially studied the Violin at the age of 6 at the Lebanese High National Conservatory before switching to the Viola.

In parallel to his musical education, Ribal Molaeb was personally trained as a painter by his father Jamil Molaeb. He spent his childhood in his fathers art workshop before moving to Europe.

Already at the age 16, he got invited to participate in the “Young Artists Festival, Bayreuth, Germany”.

One year later in 2010 he started studying at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg in the Class of Prof. Thomas Riebl before moving to Vienna to study at the University for Music and Performing Arts with Prof. Thomas Selditz where he got his Masters of arts degree in 2018.

As a soloist, Molaeb performed several recitals in different venues in Europe. But most significantly he performed twice at the prestigious Musikverein in Vienna.

His CD Recording “My years in Vienna” features the Brahms and the Hindemith viola sonatas as well as his own compositions.

As a chamber musician, he had workshops guided by Daniel Barenboim. Throughout his career, his chamber music partners include Kiril Troussov and Daniel Hope. He is the artistic director of his own chamber music concert series in Switzerland and have performed at several prestigious venues in Europe such as Schloss Elmau.

As an orchestra musician, Molaeb is a member of Daniel Barenboim’s prestigious West-Eastern Divan Orchestra since 2010. He also acted as a principle Violist with Seymon Bychkov and the Webern Symphony Orchestra in Musikverein Vienna.

Molaeb composed and performed theatre music for director Mounir Abou Debs, ”founder of the modern theater school in Lebanon in 1960”, and the film music of ”A Life Worth Living” and ”Jamil Molaeb, Artist Portrait”

As a Painter: His oil paintings have been exhibited in Paris, Amsterdam, Zürich, Vienna, Dubai and Beirut. He is represented by Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris and Galerie Agénor, Zürich. He currently works on daily basis in his Zürich art studio and have his paintings sold at international galleries and auctions such as Bonhams, Paris.

He is the Founder of the ”Molaeb Festival For Chamber Music And Fine Arts” which takes place at the Jamil Molaeb Museum, Mount-Lebanon. As well as the co-founder of the ”Sonc Festival” in Slovenia and is currently an artistic director at the ”SUMITO association” in Switzerland.