LE MOMENT DANSA – THE MOMENT WILL DANCE (Hungary, Italy, Israel, Korea, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Slovenia)
Valeria Kučan, saxophone
Jovana Joka, saxophone
Lan Meden, saxophone
Anja Kučan, piano
Programme:
Milica Vujadinović (1994), Infinite Ride (premiere)
Tom Varl (1998), Refleksija modrega angela (Reflection of a Blue Angel) (premiere)
Shiri Riseman (1992) – Lullaby of Birdland (premiere)
Federica Lo Pinto (1997) – Ardente (premiere)
Samo Vidic (2001), Xristos Anesti (premiere)
Klara Mlakar (1999), Crime and Punishment (premiere)
Soyeon Park (1989), 🙂 (premiere)
Luka Krof (1996), Amore Rosso in Mib (premiere)
The visual art music circular project Le Moment Dansa – The Moment Will Dance is much more than a mere concert. It is a collaboration of eight composers, two visual artists, four music performers, and one sound engineer. All of the works you will hear at the concert are brand new and world premieres, as they are written based on the eponymous painting by the Dutch visual artist Bram D’Hont. The painting ‘Le moment Dansa’, which was created over four years, was first exhibited in 1985 in the city hall of Deventer in the Netherlands, and is today exhibited at Grad castle in Goričko. It is a profound exploration of the painter’s encounter with a woman triggered by a black dot in the iris of her eye. The painting contains all possible permutations of red, yellow, and blue in a square divided into four parts. Transparent layers of the primary, secondary, and tertiary spectrum act as background radiation of the artist’s past, from which the spectrum of nine existential fields, called ‘l’espace d’iris’ (the space of the iris), was derived. They connect concepts such as nature, reflection, contemplation, desire, hope, energy, matter, and love, rounded off with the concept of our self, the grey field in the middle.
The composers based their compositions on these philosophical fields, and the circle is completed by the painting’s author, Bram D’Hont, and British-Hungarian visual artist Martha Kicsiny, who created a visual installation and video projection inspired by the said philosopical fields and musical works. Thus, the visual installation will be reborn through music, with the added benefit of eight new original compositions, jewels in the treasure trove of contemporary music. You will hear them performed by of Valeria Kučan, Jovana Joka, Lan Meden, and Anja Kučan.
Visual & sound artists:
Bram D’Hont is a visual artist born in the Netherlands and living in Prosečka vas in Slovenia, brought here by a combination of lithography and love. Although he has always enjoyed a variety of techniques, he prefers painting and graphics. Among others, he has worked in architecture, photography, and etching.
Visual artist Martha Kicsiny lives and works in Budapest. She uses various media, focusing on the state of man in society, the consequences of historical events, and the expression of power in architecture, while studying and actively applying the theory of immersion to invite the viewer into her artwork.
Andi Gal is a seasoned phsicist with a degree in acoustics and over a decade of experience in the field of sound. Currently he freelances as a collaborator and sound tehnician for renowned Slovenian festivals like Festival Lent and Grossman Festival. He is also the proud owner of Road Production Studio.
Composers:
Montenegrin composer Milica Vujadinović’s compositions have been winning festivals since her early youth. She graduated from the Graz Music Academy, where she is currently pursuing a master’s degree. Her style combines contemporary classical music, jazz, and popular genres.
Tom Varl is a composer, pedagogue, singer and choir conductor. Over the years, he has won many awards both as a choir conductor and soloist. He composes predominately instrumental music, which delights audiences on the international scale.
Israeli composer, conductor, and singer Shiri Riseman also studied Arabic and Indian music. She collaborates with musical ensembles such as Modalius and Meitar. In Jerusalem, she founded the Musrara choir, which she leads and arranges music for.
Composer and singer Federica Lo Pinto is currently completing her master’s degree at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. She composes choral, chamber, symphonic, and opera works. These have been performed by various ensembles, ranging from the Dissonance String Quartet to the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra.
Composer Samo Vidic received the eminent Škerjanc Award during his studies in contemporary music at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He is continuing his studies in composition and conducting at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands. His works have been performed at numerous festivals of contemporary music both at home and abroad.
Klara Mlakar’s compositions explore the human voice and push the boundaries of musical instruments. Her works have been performed by prominent musical ensembles such as Slowind, the Recherche Freiburg Ensemble, the Chamber Choir of the Christ Church in Karlsruhe, and many others. Recently, Klara won several awards for choral compositions.
Soyeon Park composes contemporary classical music and modern jazz. She started learning violin and piano at the age of three and quickly discovered her talent for improvisation. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Ewha Women’s University in Korea and her master’s degree from the Graz Academy, where she is currently studying jazz composition and arrangement. She already won a number of awards.
Arranger and composer Luka Krof has worked with various ensembles, including the Slovenian Armed Forces Orchestra, the chamber ensembles of the Slovenian Police Orchestra, and a diverse range of bands and groups. He is also active as a conductor and choir director and works as a pianist, trumpeter, and accordionist.
Instrumentalists:
In 2015, during her studies at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana under the guidance of Prof. Lev Pupis and Prof. Jan Gričar, saxophonist Valeria Kučan had the honour of performing solo with the SOS Jr. Saxophone Orchestra at the 1st Saxherbst Festival of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Just as she was officially accepted at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, she was already off to premiere two pieces as a member of both the SOS Saxophone Ensemble and the SOS Jr. Saxophone Orchestra at the 18th World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb in July 2018. In 2022, she graduated with honours from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz under Prof. Gerald Preinfalk. During her studies, she had worked as an assistant to the Slovenian saxophone orchestra SOS Jr. before becoming the tutor and conductor of the SOSiNTRO ensemble, a preparatory group for the large SOS Jr. orchestra. She is continuing her studies at the Regional Conservatory in Lyon under the guidance of Professor Jean-Denis Michat. She was a long-term recipient of the Slovenian Ministry of Culture’s scholarship. Valeria has won numerous awards at national and international competitions.
Jovana Joka studied at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana with Professor Matjaž Drevenšek, and the Regional Conservatory in Lyon, France where she worked with world-renowned saxophonist Jean-Denis Michat. She received the Prešeren Award of the Academy of Music for her performance of A. Glazunov’s Concerto in E-flat Major with the RTV Slovenia Orchestra. Her ensemble, Roya Quartet is devoted to seeking out new musical avenues through promoting contemporary Slovenian, Croatian, and Polish composers. She is also a member of the JazzIstra Orchestra, bringing together musicians from Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. Jovana has performed with orchestras including the Slovenian Police Orchestra, the Slovenian Armed Forces Orchestra, the Slovenian Philharmonic, and the Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Orchestra. In addition to her dynamic performing career, Jovana is a passionate saxophone professor at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana, with her students achieving notable results at national and international competitions. She also leads the SOS Junior youth saxophone orchestra under the auspices of the KD Sekvoja.
Saxophonist Lan Meden began his musical ascent at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana where he received the Škerjanc Award for outstanding academic achievements. In autumn of 2020, he participated in a study exchange at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with professor Joonatan Rautiola and in 2022, graduated with honours from the Private University of Music and Arts in Vienna in the class of Michael Krenn. Since October 2022, he has been pursuing postgraduate studies in saxophone in the class of Miha Rogina at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. Lan won numerous national and international competitions. He is a member of the Philia Saxophone Quartet, which won the Musica Juventutis competition, securing a concert at the Schubert Hall of the Vienna Concert House in the 2020/21 concert season. In July 2022, he premiered French composer Karol Beffa’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra in Vienna, accompanied by the Camerate Masaot Wien. Lan has been a long-time scholarship recipient of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
After eight years of primary music education at the Murska Sobota Music School under Prof. Erna Lukač, Anja Kučan enrolled at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Maribor in 2012. During this time, she further honed her skills with Professor Tatjana Dvoršak and attended seminars with Prof. Zuzana Niederdorfer, Prof. Ruben Dalibaltayan, and Prof. Jasminka Stančul. In 2016 she joined the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, to study with Professor Emeritus Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak. In 2019 she graduated and began studying for her master’s in instrumental-vocal pedagogy with the same professor, which she concluded in 2021. Since September 2022, she has been employed as a piano teacher and accompanist at the Murska Sobota Music School in Prekmurje, where she also performs, as well as enjoys organising solo recitals and music matinees.
Complimentary tickets, courtesy of Adria Media Ljubljana, GenLan, and Essai & Acai, can be collected an hour before the concert at the venue. Reservations are not possible.
