2019

"ALL TOGETHER NOW"

Concert preformed by the classical saxophone workshop participants
with Jan Gričar & Nicolas Arsenijevic 
under the artistic direction of Matjaž Drevenšek.

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Jan Gričar (1992) is part of the younger generation of successful Slovenian musicians. He graduated with the highest honours, from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana under the supervision of Professors Matjaž Drevenšek and Miha Rogina. He continued his music career in France, where he studied at the Regional Conservatory of Versailles with Professor Vincent David, and obtained a masters’ degree at the prestigious Paris Music Conservatory under the supervision of Professor Claude Delangle.  Moreover, he obtained a bachelors’ degree in chamber music with Professor Laszlo Hadady.  He regularly performs all over Slovenia, Europe and in Japan. As a soloist, he performed with the Vienna Symphonic orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, RTV Slovenia Symphonic Orchestra, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. In his career, he has worked with with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and renowned conductors such as En Shao, Matthias Pintscher, Anton Nanut and Marko Letonja. Gričar placed first in many national and international competitions such as TEMSIG – Slovenian Music Competition for Youth, Fiorindo International Music Competition, SVIREL – International Music Competition, International saxophone competition in Nova Gorica, etc. He was presented with the Škerjanc Award for special achievements in the music field by the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana and two other significant awards given by the University of Ljubljana, the Prešeren Award and the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. He was also a scholarship holder of the Ministry of culture Slovenia for many years. He received the Zois Scholarship for gifted students and was a scholarship holder of the Slovene Ministry of Culture. He works as a pedagogue at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana, where he teaches saxophone and chamber music.

Nicolas Arsenijevic is one of the most talented saxophonists of his generation. He graduated from the Paris Conservatoire (CNSM) in Claude Delangle's class in 2016. For several years, he has dedicated himself to contemporary creations, original as well as transcribed compositions, traditional music, and even musical theatre. He has won several prizes in numerous international competitions, such as The Gap European Saxophone Competition (France, 2008), the Nova Gorica International Saxophone Competition (Slovenia, 2011), the Chieri International Competition (Italy, 2011), the Flaine Academy (France, 2012), the Andorra Sax Fest International Competition (2015), and the prestigious Adolphe Sax International Competition (Dinant, Belgium, 2014). He regularly performs in Paris (Musée Jacquemard-André, Salle Cortot, Théâtre du Châtelet) and throughout Europe (The Netherlands, Scotland, Slovenia, Italy, Serbia, and Montenegro). Moreover, he teaches a number of masterclasses in the above-mentioned countries as well. He is a member of several chamber ensembles (Quatuor Laloy, the Saxback Ensemble, the Kosmopolitevitch Orkestar and The Oct'opus Ensemble). His work with young composers at the IRCAM (Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) and CNSMDP (the Paris Conservatoire) has produced original compositions like ‘Four Bodies in Search of an Author’ that was created in Paris in 2014. Nicolas Arsenijevic is a Selmer artist and has been a laureate of the Cziffra Foundation since 2013.

Matjaž Drevenšek (SI) is a resident professor of saxophone and Vice Dean at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, a soloist, chamber performer, member of the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet, SOS Saxophone Orchestra and of other ensembles with which he performs throughout Europe, Asia, Canada, South America and the USA. As a soloist, he plays with leading symphony orchestras and concert bands at home (Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, SNG Maribor Symphony Orchestra, Slovenian Army Orchestra, and Police Orchestra) and abroad (Hong Kong Festival Wind Orchestra - China, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra and Big band, Zagreb Solists, Croatian Chamber Orchestra, and Croatian Army Symphonic Wind Orchestra - Croatia, Orchestre de la Garde républicaine - France, Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra – GB, Emory Wind Ensemble and University of Minnesota Wind Ensemble - USA). He took part, as a jury member, in Slovenian and international competitions for young musicians (Austria, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Germany, Macedonia, Poland, and Serbia). He premiered over 50 pieces by domestic and foreign composers, and he has taken part in 20 discography projects. He was formally president of the Saksofonija Music Society, which during the summer of 2006 hosted the 14th World Saxophone Congress. He also served as president of the Jeunesses Musicales Slovenia. Since 2004 he is the artistic director of the International Saxophone Meetings and International Saxophone Competition in Nova Gorica.