János Bálint
Born in 1961 in Hungary. Graduated from Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 1984. He won many awards at international competitions (Ancona, Leipzig, Markneukirchen ). He was solo flutist of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra 1981-1991 and at the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra 2000-2006. He was the founder and director of Doppler Flute Institute at Budapest. At the moment he is a professor at Musikhochschule of Detmold, Germany and guest professor at Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice . As soloist he has performed in almost all European contries and also in the USA, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Israel with partners like András Schiff, Martha Algerich, Miklós Perényi, Zoltán Kocsis, Auréle Nicolet. He has recorded over 30 CD-s with Hungaroton, Capriccio and Naxos. Every year, he conducts 10-12 master classes all over the world.
In 2008 he was awarded the highest Hungarian recognition for musical performance, the Franz Liszt-prize by the Ministry of Culture and Education of Hungary.
Dušan Kranjc
Graduated as a trombone soloist at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, later on he was studying with Branimir Slokar in Trossingen (Germany). For 10 years he has been principle trombone player at the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg. Right now he is teaching at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana and in music school in upper part of Austria. He is a solo trombone player of the orchestra Camerata Academica Salzburg , Musica antiqua Salzburg, the OENM ensemble and Lungau Big Band. Since year 1990 was a member of Juvavum Brass Quintet.
Dušan Kranjc was participating in many musical festivals such as: Salzburger Festspiele / Salzburger Adventsingen / Festival fuer neue Musik Bozen / Kammermusik Festival Allegro Vivo / Int. Musikwochen Millstatt / Festival Sandstein & Musik Dresden / Bluval Straubing / Haydn Festspiele Eisenstadt / Jeunesse Musicales / contemporary autumn / Musica Sacra Trient / Festival Ljubljana / Festival Lent Maribor / Groedener Musikwochen / Konzert in Italia, Slowenia, Croatia, Serbia,Russia, Lithuania, France, Poland, Germany, Mexiko, Taiwan, USA, Israel…
Boštjan Lipovšek
Boštjan comes from a musical family with a long tradition of horn players. His first mentors were his father and brother, followed by prof. Jože Falout at the Music Academy in Ljubljana. Boštjan studied with prof. Falout through his graduation and post-graduation. Later he went to the Salzburg Mozarteum for advanced study with Radovan Vlatković. During his study in Ljubljana he received the Student Prešeren Award for his execution of Strauss Concerto No. 1 for horn and orchestra with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist he played with Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Maribor Philharmonics, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra from Udine, Chamber Orchestra Padova e Veneto and Jeunesses musicales Orchestra.
He played under the guidance of great conductors, such as Anton Nanut, Uroš Lajovic, Marko Letonja, En Shao, David de Villiers, S. Pelegrino Amato, Gary Brain, Yakov Kreizberg, Sian Edwards,Pavle Dešpalj.He played as guest soloist with the national orchestra of La monnaie Opera house in Brussels, with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, with Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fisher and the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta.
In the year 2001 brought victory at the international competition Citta di Porcia. Assistant from 1999 and senior university teacher from 2004, he had lectured at the Music Academy in Ljubljana. From 2005 he has worked as senior university teacher at the Music Academy in Zagreb, Croatia. He has had five albums released by ZKP RTV Slovenia, three solo albums and two with chamber groups (Slovenian Brass Quintet and Wind Quintet Ariart). Together with Juvavum Brass he released the album Salzburg rarities with German publisher Profil. As a member of RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra for the last ten years, he has recorded concerts by R. Strauss and W. A. Mozart, R.Gliere, J.Pauer…. First executions and premiere recordings of works by L. Lebič, I. Petrić and U. Krek deserve special mention. In the year 2008 he has received the˝Preseren prize˝ by the ministry of culture of republic Slovenia for his musicial achievments.
Andrea Loss
He was born in 1977 in Rovereto and started learning to play clarinet at an early age. He studied clarinet under the guidance of M. Zenatti and P. Beltramini. In 1999 he graduated from the Jacopo Tomadini Conservatory in Udine . He participated in numerous clarinet and saxophone courses in Italy and abroad , also with A. Carbonare and G. Basso to name a few.
Due to his interest in brass bands he also took part in conducting courses (J. Cober, M. Dini Ciacci, H. Mertens, F. Hauswirth, J. Van Der Roost, T. Doss, D. Bostock, I. Karabtchevsky) and instrumental courses (C. Piroli and R. Di Marino) but also harmony (A. Franceschini and F. Cesarini) and composition (M. Priori).
Since 1997 he has been conducting wind orchestra at the Antonio Rosmini High School in Rovereto, where he has had numerous successes in national and international competitions and festivals, including: 1st place in the Youth Band category (2001), 2nd place in the 1st category (2005), 5th place in the Superior category (2007) at the Flicorno D’oro competition in Riva del Gard, I place in the 1st category (2005), 2nd place in the 1st category (2009), 1st place in the 1st category (2013) at the World Music Contest in Kerkrade 1st place in the 1st category (2006, 2013) at the Wind Band Contest in Bertiolo 5th place in the 1st category in International Wind Band Contest “City of Valencia” (2007),
2nd place in the 1st category at the International Band Competition Valle d’Aosta (2008).
In the years 1998-2007 he conducted a wind band in Cavedine, and regularly gave concerts and won a third prize in the III category at the Ghedi (2004). In the years 1999-2011 he was a conductor of a wind orchestra in Ala (Trento), which resulted in numerous successes at international competitions and festivals in Austria, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia. From 2001 to 2004 he conducted a wind band in Gardolo, where he won the Flicorno D’oro Competition (2003).In 2002 he received the wind band conductor diploma awarded by Istituto Superiore Europeo Bandistico. In 2005-2008 he conducted the wind band Riccardo Zandonai in Rovereto and in 2007-2009 – the wind band Filarmonica Mousiké in Gazzanidze, where he won the second prize in the La Bacchetta d’Oro competition in Fiuggi and the second prize in the International Band Competition Valle d ‘ Aosta (2008). In the years 2008-2011 he conducted Muikkapelle Truden, and in 2011-2012 the wind orchestra Salcedo-Pontevedra (Galicia, Spain) and he gave with them concerts in Spain, Portugal and Italy. Since 2010 he has been the director of the Vicenza Province Wind Orchestra.
Since 2012 he has been artistic director of the “Iseb – Istituto Superiore Europeo Bandistico ” where he lectures history and repertoire. Since 2014 he has been conducting a wind band in Peschiera del Garda and also teaches conducting at Trivero, Vicenza and Milazzo. Currently he is also studying singing with Denia Mazzoli Gavazzeni, Paoletta Marrocu, Silvia dalla Benetti in Riva del Garda.
Andrea Loss has also performed many guest appearances in Italy and abroad in: La Coruña, Leipzig, Florence, Luxemburg, USA (Northern Iowa Wind Symphony), France (Orchestra d’Harmonie de Valdoie). In 2015, as a conductor, he took part in the first Winter Orchestra Workshop in Bialystok, Poland. In 2016 he directed and conducted the 2nd and 3rd edition of the WOW 2016 Winter Orchestra Workshops.
Martin Petrak
Bassoonist Martin Petrak has a wide range of experience in historical and modern music. He started his music career, when he was 9 years old. Subsequently he continued his studies under leading of prof.J.Řezáč (The Czech Nonet) at the Prague Conservatory.During his studies he participated in the 1999 on music courses Szandor Végh under the guidance bassoonist Sergio Azzolini and oboist Maurice Bourgue.
Subsequently, he continued his studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in the class prof. F.Herman (Ars Rediviva, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra) and J.Seidl (Collegium Musicum Pragenses, Czech Philharmonic), where he began knowledgeable interpretation under the guidance of an excellent musician – organist Lukáš Vendl (Harmonia delectabilis). In the Thesis of the Academy of Music, he realized – development, production and early Baroque repertoire for bassoon.
After graduating in 2005, he became the member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2006 he founded with vocalist Mark Šulc (Schola Gregoriana Pragenses) instrumental – vocal project focusing on baroque music Musika Antiq /Aria /, which culminated in performing Bach’s cantata „Ich will Kreuzstab day gerne tragen“ BWV 56 for bass solo, choir and orchestra. The ensemble recorded several images dedicated to the music of Vivaldi, G.Händel, W.A.Mozart, F.I.A.Tůma and other …
In 2008 he founded the instrumental ensemble VENTI DIVERSI ensemble, which capitalized on his experiences from previous collaborations with artists from the MA /A / and with whom in the autumn of 2008 he released his debut CD with works G.Ph.Telemann „La Putain“ which won an award „Best CD of 2008” by The Prague Post. The ensemble has over the years introduced at many prestigious Czech and international festivals (Lipa Musica / CZ /, St. Wenceslas Music Festival / CZ /, Ars Antiqua Europae in Via Gothic / SK / etc.) Works by J.S. Bach (Brandenburg Concertos), J.D.Zelenka ( Trio Sonatas), Vivaldi (Sinfonies) G.F.Händel (Water music). The last act of the Venti Diversi ensemble is double album CD „Liturgical Year“, which contains the works of Czech composer F.X.Thuri related to the Church’s liturgical year. The CD was released in 2015.
Martin Petrák is a member of several chamber ensembles: Trio DuBois, PhilHarmonia Octet, Juventus Quintet and more…
Since 2011 he is assistant professor of University in Ostrava – Faculty of Arts. Martin is also the founder and artistic director of the chamber music festival in Havlíčkův Brod „FESTJAZZ“ which is dedicated to jazz music.
Josef Steinböck
Studied bass tuba as well as music education and instrumental education at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and jazz music at the Vienna Conservatory.
He has been tuba-player at Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg since 1991 and professor for brass chamber music and tuba at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich since 2002.
Brass chamber music and contemporary music has always been of particular interest to Josef Steinböck, he played and performed with numerous well known international ensembles, such as Art of Brass Vienna, Munich Opera Brass, and Klangforum Wien, OENM Salzburg. He is a jury member at many national and international music competitions as well as being in great demand both as a lecturer and a tutor.
He is the initiator and artistic director of Bläserurlaub – a very successful summer music course since 20 years in Bad Goisern, Austria.