Vienna – 2011

The Finnish composer Tomi Räisänen, born in 1976, studied composition at the Sibelius Academy. Before entering the Academy he read music at the University of Helsinki studying musicology and composition. Räisänen completed his studies by participating in several international composition masterclasses. Räisänen’s list of works contains compositions from large scale orchestral works and concertos to ensemble and chamber music. Besides writing for standard classical music instruments, he is also interested in composing for non-orchestral instruments like accordion, guitar, toy piano as well as renaissance, baroque and non-Western instruments. Many of his works involve use of electronics and he has also made music for films and sound installations. Räisänen’s music has been widely performed and broadcast in 44 countries across the world as well as released on several CDs. In year 2007 Räisänen won the Irino Prize in Japan and in 2019 ONMC composition competition in London. In year 2002 he was awarded with the 2nd prize in the International Composition Competition 2 Agosto in Italy. Besides composing Räisänen has also worked as a conductor and a teacher in composition masterclasses.

Born in Coimbra in 1968, Sérgio Azevedo studied guitar, piano, solfege and composition at the Academia de Amadores de Música (composition with Fernando Lopes-Graça) between 1975-1987. He has 3rd year Master Degree in Composition at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa in 1990. He started his Doctorate in Composition at the Universidade de Avora in 2004. He was a member of the directors board of the Academia de Amadores de Música between 1994-95 and vice-president and member of the academy artistic council between 1998-2000. He also collaborated with RDP (National Radio Broadcasting) between 1993-99 and again between 2002-03.

Sérgio writes in several magazines and dictionaries such as Arte Musical, Revista Portuguesa de Musicologia, Enciclopédia da Música em Portugal no Século XX, ISCM New Music Magazine, and The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He also write regularly for IPAE (notes for CD’s covers) and collaborates with several festivals and musical institutions (program notes for CNB, Festival de Espinho, Fine Arts, etc).

He was teacher at the Academia de Música Luísa Todi, Academia de Amadores de Música and the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa between 1987- 1995. And he is currently teacher of Composition at the Superior School of Music of Lisbon since 1993. In 2002 was invited to member of the jury of the 3rd International Composition Contest Euritmia (Italy). Also works as a music expert for the courts.

Črt Sojar Voglar’s, born in 1976, started his music education in piano and music theory. He continued his studies at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana with Marko Mihevc and graduated in September 2000.

He has written 200 compositions for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments and choirs, as well as film and dance music and arrangements in different genres.

His works are premiered and frequently performed at all prominent concerts and festivals in Slovenia and in numerous foreign countries, particularly the USA. In the autumn of 2003 he released his first CD Illuminatio, a second disc, Contrasts in Colour was released by the Society of Slovene Composers.

Ľubica Čekovská was born in 1975 in Humenné, Slovakia. She studied theory of music at the Academy of Performing Arts in 1993-1998 and composition with Prof. Dušan Martinček. During her postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London she continued to study composition with Prof. Paul Patterson and participated in courses with Robert Saxton, Thomas Adès, Arvo Pärt and Harrison Birtwistle. She received the Cuthbert Nunn Composition Prize of the Royal Academy of Music (1998), Lewerhulme Award (1999), Elsie Owen Prize (1999) from the Royal Academy of Music, ISH Foundation Scholarship from H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1998–2000) or Ján Levoslav Bella Prize for her composition Piano Concerto (2004, Slovak Music Fund). She was recently awarded by Tatra Bank Foundation Award 2013 for work Four Movements for Piano, or SOZA Award 2011-2012 for International Performance of Slovak works. She is also the author of scenic music composed for various Slovak and Czech theatres as well as of film music. Her compositions were released on various CDs in Slovakia including the own profile CD “Passing Impressions” (Hevhetia). In 2008 she became a member of Art Council of the Prague Spring Festival. She is represented by the prestigious Germany based Baerenreiter Publishing Group.

Lubica’s genre scope is exceptionally broad, in addition to being a classical music composer she compose music for film and theater.
Her works were performed at important festivals of contemporary music. In 2009 her composition Turbulence was chosen to be performed at ISCM World New Music Days festival in Sweden. In the same year she was commissioned by Slovak National Theater composed her first full/length operatic work, Dorian Gray, which was successfully premiered in Bratislava 2013, the world premiere was part of the ISCM World Music Days in Slovakia. In the 2010/2011 season she was a resident composer at the Philharmonic Orchestra Altenburg-Gera.

She is currently working on her commission for Bregenz Festival, to composed the comic-opera on italien libretto. The premiere will be on summer 2019.

Jürgen Bruns is artistic director and chief conductor of the Kammersymphonie Berlin. Since 2019 he is also chief conductor and music director of the Prussian Chamber Orchestra (Preussisches Kammerorchester).

After several years as chief conductor of the KOS Ljubljana and his comprehensive preoccupation with contemporary music, he has become a sought-after conductor throughout Europe and Asia.

His concerts are constantly being broadcast on air, over the past ten years there have been more than 40 live broadcasts and audio portraits (D’Kultur, rbb, NDR, MDR, Ö1 Austria, Slovenian Broadcasting, Polish Radio, Radio bleu, TRT, Japanese Radio and TV, Korean Broadcast and the like).

Jürgen Bruns has a miscellaneous discography. Being a German conductor, however, he considers his recordings of works by composers who were once ostracized, of expressionism and of the classical modern era to be particularly heartfelt.

In addition, he puts a focus on working with young musical talents and on various education projects.

In recent years, Jürgen Bruns has conducted more than 80 world premieres. His interpretations of the classical and romantic repertoire are highly acclaimed. He became known for his performances and recordings of rediscovered works of classical modernism, expressionism and ostracized composers. Especially being a German conductor, these activities are close to his heart.

Jürgen Bruns received the Siemens Promotion Award several times, as well as the „Förderpreis Musik“ of the state of Brandenburg Rheinsberg Music Academy.

As a child, Jürgen Bruns learned several instruments. At the age of nine, he appeared for the first time as a soloist with orchestras.

Later, he studied violin at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin. In 1988, while still a student, he became a member of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. At the same time, Jürgen Bruns began to study conducting in Berlin with Rolf Reuter, additionally studying with Gilbert Verga in Florence and with Charles Bruck in Paris, as well as at the „Pierre-Monteux-School“ in Maine (USA) from 1991 to 1992.

Jürgen Bruns quit the Konzerthausorchester in 1991, in order to dedicate himself exclusively to conducting.

In 1991, Jürgen Bruns founded the Kammersymphonie Berlin, which has become one of the most renowned German chamber orchestras.

He often collaborated with renowned theater directors such as Peter Zadek, with whom he had a close cooperation, and actors such as Dieter Mann, Eberhard Esche, Martina Gedeck or Corinna Harfouch.

Jürgen Bruns is a regular guest with the Festival International de Musique Sion, the Kurt-Weill-Festival Dessau, the Usedom Music Festival, the Dresdener Musikfestspiele, the Kanazawa Spring-Festival, the Carinthian Summer Music Festival, the Turkcell Platinum Istanbul Night Flight and the Ravello Festival.