THE MD7 CONTEMPORARY MUSIC ENSEMBLE – 20 YEARS (Slovenia)

Maja Rome, viola
Igor Mitrović, cello
Matej Zupan, flute
Jože Kotar, clarinet
Luka Logar, trombone
Franci Krevh, percussion
Luca Ferrini, piano
Steven Loy, conductor

Programme:

Jani Golob (1948), Invokacija
David Beovič (1977), Dež v pratiki
Urška Pompe (1969), Lubje sanj
Tadeja Vulc (1978), Tlesk vode
Uroš Rojko (1954), Blues for S(t)even
Zygmund Krauze (1938), Voices for Ljubljana

The MD7 Contemporary Music Ensemble was formed in 2001 under the artistic direction of Pavel Mihelčič. This year, it celebrates twenty years since its first performance. For the most part, the ensemble performs songs written and dedicated specifically to it. The composition of the ensemble itself has dictated both suggestions and commissions of (new) works in Slovenia and abroad. The response has been incredible, followed by immediate demand for the ensemble’s performances abroad (Vienna, Trieste, Bucharest, Dublin, Seoul …). Over 100 songs have been written for the ensemble; among those to contribute their work have been L. Lebič, I. Petrić, G. Coral, J. Golob, S. Lerescu, D. Beovič, F. Bousch, B. Šaljič, Z. Jeney, A. Laporte, J.-L. Darbelley, S. Bonetti, D. Libin and Č. Sojar Voglar, P. Šavli, as well as the long-time artistic director, composer. In 2013, the MD7 Ensemble received the Lipovšek Award for outstanding dedication to Slovenian, especially contemporary music, awarded by the Association of Slovenian Composers. The ensemble also plays in various smaller constellations. In 2017, Nenad Firšt took over the artistic direction.

Matej Zupan is a professor at the Academy of Music at University of Ljubljana. From 1996 to 2008, he was principal flutist of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. He graduated under Fedja Rupel at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where he also finished his postgraduate studies. He is also a member of the ARIART Woodwind Quintet and of the Chamber Orchestra of Soloists (Society of Slovene Composers). He has performed throughout Europe as well as in both Americas and recorded for Slovenian RTV, Italian RAI and Austrian ORF. He has released five solo CDs and three with the ARIART Woodwind Quintet as well as two with MD7.

Jože Kotar became principal clarinettist of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra in 2007 after having served in that role at the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra for more than 10 years. He is a tenured professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where he had studied with Alojz Zupan. He has won nine first prizes at different competitions, and has performed as a soloist and a member of chamber groups in Europe and the USA. He has recorded eleven CDs, including four solo discs, and is a member of the ARIART Woodwind Quintet, the Slovenian Clarinet Sextet and founding member of the Slovenian Clarinet Orchestra.

Maja Rome has been the Principal Viola of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic since 2007. She graduated from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana in the class of Mile Kosi, then pursued further studies at the Musikhochschule in Detmold, Germany, as a student of Diemut Poppen, as well as various masterclasses. She has appeared many times as a soloist with the Slovenian Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic, the Celje String Orchestra and the Festine Orchestra. She also frequently performs as a chamber musician. She has been professor of viola at the Ljubljana Music Academy since 2014.

Igor Mitrović was born in Beirut and graduated from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana in the class of Miloš Mlejnik. He perfected his skills in masterclasses with Antonio Meneses, Walter Levin, Daniel Šafran, Janoš Starker and Boris Pergamenščikov. Currently he is co-principal cellist of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and frequently appears as a soloist or member of other various orchestras and chamber groups. The Slovenian recording label Bizjak has released five CDs featuring him as part of the Slovenian Musical Heritage cycle.

Luca Ferrini studied piano, harpsichord, organ and organ composition at the Conservatoires in Trieste and Udine (Italy). He graduated with honours. He has been performing for more than twenty years as a soloist and with chamber groups and orchestras on all three instruments across Europe and elsewhere. His performances have been recorded by several European national radio stations. He has appeared on twenty CDs. He is the official piano accompanist at international instrumental competitions and masterclasses (Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Mexico, China) and holds seminars as guest lecturer for piano and harpsichord. He is also a busy composer, with several choral and instrumental works to his name. He is a piano and harpsichord teacher at the Koper Capodistria Secondary School of the Arts

Franci Krevh graduated from the percussion department of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where he studied with Boris Šurbek. He is a member of various ensembles with which he performs both in Slovenia and abroad, including the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the percussion ensemble SToP, and the KOS DSS Chamber Orchestra. He has worked with numerous top musicians and ensembles, including Berhard Wulf, Manfred Menke, John Beck, Igor Lešnik, BBC Singers and others. He won the Betetto Award together with the Studio for Percussion, and also hosts a series of percussion concerts for children focusing on openness and joy for making music

Matej Zupan is associate professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. From 1996 to 2008 he was the solo flutist of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana with Fedja Rupel. He studied in Florence with Mario Ancillotti and in master classes led by Trevor Wye, Michael Debost, Peter-Lukas Graf and James Galway. He is a member of the ARIART wind quintet and the DSS Soloists Chamber Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist and a member of various chamber ensembles in Europe and the Americas.

Steven Loy is a freelance conductor active in Ljubljana with the contemporary music ensembles neofonía and MD7. He has conducted a number of important premieres in Slovenia, including works by Grisey, Lachenmann, Nono, Ferneyhough, Reich and many others, and has guest conducted new music ensembles in Poland and Switzerland. He has also led the Slovenian Philharmonic, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, and orchestras in Hungary and Romania. Since 2015 he has taught contemporary music performance practice at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana.

Artistic director:

Nenad Firšt studied composing with Dane Škerl and the violin with Rok Klopčič at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He pursued further chamber music and composition studies in Hungary and France. He is President of the Society of Slovene Composers, Secretary General of Music Youth of Slovenia, conductor of Celje String Orchestra and an active organizer as well as cultural thinker. His opus has been performed on numerous European stages and elsewhere: in the USA, Brazil, Australia, South Korea, Russia, Japan, Thailand. He is the winner of Prešeren Foundation Award of 2009.

Admission free.