Jaka Kopač, alto saxophone

Boštjan Simon, tenor saksofon

Luigi Vitale, vibraphone

Miha Koren, double bass

Kristijan Krajnčan, drums

The Jaka Kopač and Boštjan Simon Summer Quintet will enrich the festival stage first with a treasure trove of compositions by Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, and then the musicians will present a few more original compositions.

The music will meander between cool jazz, hard bop and contemporary jazz excursions into the world’s musics. The Italian/Slovenian rhythm section is made up of creative representatives of the middle generation of jazz players.

PASQUALE CALÒ QUARTET

Pasquale Calò, alto and tenor saxophone, keyboards, electronics
Salvoandrea Lucifora, trombon, electronics
Carlos Rodenas Borja, double bass, electric bass
Alessandro Campobasso, drums and percussion

The Puglian saxophonist, composer, arranger and conductor Pasquale Calò is also the founder of the Improvisers Collective and the eponymous artistic platform Mediterraneo Radicale, which is now active in several European countries. As a composer and conductor, he is active in ensembles such as the Torino-Milano Improvisers Orchestra, the Mediterraneo Radicale Orchestra, the European Improvisers Orchestra and the Orchestra Mediterranea degli Improvvisatori. He has collaborated with major artists in the fields of jazz, world, contemporary, improvised and electroacoustic music. Since 2006 he has performed on stages in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Hungary. He also has experience in conducting masterclasses and workshops in Brazil, Italy and Spain – in particular the ongoing urban workshops for improvised music Mediterraneo Radicale in Bari, Milan, Terlizzi and Turin.

Since 2012 he has been leading two research projects, Common Roots (research on the relationship between contemporary music, with a focus on the fields of radical improvisation, and the characteristic elements of folk music traditions) and Solo Saxophone (the artistic process has led to the production of four performances – Seven Mantras, Archè, Forbidden and Autocracy, which have been performed live in several European countries). In 2010, he also carried out a research on Programming Tools for Improvisers Ensemble, which looked into the elements of music programming for large improvisers ensembles, developed in several countries in Europe and Brazil, and culminated in the production of several orchestral works.

Calò will be presenting his quartet and project Where I Come From at SAXGO24. Where I Come From was born as a diary of the elements of folk music traditions that Pasquale Calò encountered in Italy, Spain, the Balkans, India, North Africa and Central and South America. Over the years, it has changed hands between many performers and has been performed by various ensembles. The work focuses on the concept of identity. It has led Pasquale to delve into its tradition in order to identify and develop in a new light those elements that we have inherited from this oldest part of our culture.

TIVON PENNICOTT QUARTET

Tivon Pennicott, saxophone
Idris Frederick, piano
Dean Torrey, double bass
Kenneth Salters, drums

For years, Tivon Pennicott has been transporting audiences to a higher level of consciousness. His latest single releases are the beginning of a new foundation on a canvas for genuine expression. A vocal performance with Tell Me Again (Dox Records, 2022), Let Our Hearts Decide (Dox Records, 2023), a melodic “feel good” with Faith in Grace (Dox Records, 2023), and a fiery performance of Tour Life (Dox Records, 2023) display his versatility and a renewed authenticity as an artist.

The highly sought saxophone player, composer and multi-instrumentalist is a key contributor to three GRAMMY Award winning albums, appearing on Esperanza Spalding’s disruptive recording Radio Music Society (Heads Up International, 2012), and Gregory Porter’s Liquid Spirit (Blue Note, 2013) and Take Me to the Alley (Blue Note, 2017). He has collaborated extensively with such visionaries as Roy Hargrove and Ari Hoenig, and performed at The Royal Albert Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie and Carnegie Hall. On screen, Pennicott appears regularly on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as a member of the Stay Human Band with Jon Batiste. His evolving sound is the result of a soulful, sophisticated foundation for groove he honed in the church, and a penchant for unbound harmonic exploration.

He has collaborated with such visionaries as Roy Hargrove and his RH Factor project, and Ari Hoenig as a core member of his band and key player on The Pauper & the Magician (AH-HA, 2016) and NY Standard (Fresh Sound Records, 2018). After having recorded with Kenny Burrell for his 2010 release Be Yourself on High Note Records, Pennicott continues to enjoy a decade- long association with the prolific guitarist and his Jazz Heritage All Stars. Touring the world with Porter, Pennicott has performed at iconic venues, including The Royal Albert Hall in London, the Berliner Philharmonie in Germany and Carnegie Hall in New York. On screen, he has become a fixture on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as a regular member of the Stay Human Band with Jon Batiste, an artist with whom he has played a week-long engagement at The Village Vanguard.

A Georgia native living in New York City, Pennicott earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. As a player, Pennicott expresses an evolving sound—the result of a soulful and sophisticated foundation for groove he honed in the church and through his Jamaican heritage, and a penchant for harmonic exploration that reflects the depth of his ear. Strong intention and receptive impulses that allow Pennicott to serve every situation—from Ari Hoenig’s rhythmic labyrinths to Al Foster’s resonating soundscapes— pervade his original compositions, as well.

While he has played an elemental role in advancing and transforming sounds of many innovative artists, Pennicott’s work as a leader is only beginning. In 2014, Pennicott released his debut recording Lover of Nature on New Phrase Records, a project that features equally curious musical minds: Mike Battaglia, Spencer Murphy and Kenneth Salters. As his career continues its upward trajectory, Pennicott most recently released his soul filling sophomore recording in the fall of 2020, Spirit Garden (self-released), featuring a 26-piece string orchestra alongside several combinations of a chord-less quartet. It is his most audacious endeavour, delightfully composing, orchestrating, and performing on his own musical canvas.

Official web page

ALL TOGETHER NOW | The final concert of the participants and teachers of the SAXGO24 Saxophone Summer School

Sandro Compagnon (France)
Xavier Larsson Paez (Spain)
Alessandro Malagnino (Italy)
Nikita Zimin (Russia)
Jaka Kopač (Slovenia)

The Saxophone Summer School traditionally concludes with a final concert by the participants of the classical and jazz saxophone workshops, offering young saxophonists the opportunity to perform on the concert stage. For many of the participants, this is also their first experience of performing at a festival venue, which is of great importance and invaluable in these days. Under the watchful eye and guidance of the workshop and master class teachers, participants will study for a joint performance during the Saxophone Summer School, very often forging unique personal bonds that continue and deepen from junior high school through the Conservatoire of Music and into the academic world.

Oskar Laznik (Slovenia), alto saxophone
Matej Grahek (Slovenia), flute
Tadej Horvat (Slovenia), piano

Oskar Laznik (1987) started playing the saxophone in 1996 at the Hrastnik Music School with Prof. Vanja Tomcu. Between 2002 and 2006 he attended the Secondary School of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana, where he successfully graduated in the class of Prof. Dejan Prešička. He continued his studies in the class of Prof. Matjaž Drevenšek at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where he graduated with special distinction in 2010. In 2012 he completed his postgraduate studies at the University of Music and Dance in Cologne with Prof. Daniel Gauthier. Oskar is a winner of numerous competitions: the National Competition of Young Musicians of the Republic of Slovenia (2004), the International Competition of Young Saxophonists in Nova Gorica (2003, 2007), the European Competition of Young Saxophonists Gap, France (2003, 2005), and a finalist of the Hülsta Woodwinds Competition in Münster, Germany. In 2006 he received the Škerjanč Prize of the Ljubljana Secondary School of Music and Ballet for outstanding merits in the artistic promotion of the school, and in 2008 the Prešeren Prize of the Ljubljana Academy of Music for his performance of Lars-Erik Larsson’s Concerto with the Symphony Orchestra of the Slovene National Opera and Ballet Ljubljana. His repertoire includes standard works for saxophone as well as transcriptions of works from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. As a soloist and chamber musician he has appeared at many festivals (Festival Ljubljana, International Biennial of Contemporary Music Koper, Festival Slowind, Two days & two nights of new music Odessa, Festival Lent, Festival Echos, World music days), and in many countries (Serbia, Germany, Austria, France, Latvia, Ukraine, Italy, USA) and halls (Gasteig Munich, Kennedy Center Washington). In 2016, he released Saxala with percussionist Simon Klavžar, a concise Saxala with works for saxophone and percussion by Slovenian composers, and in 2019 the CD Légende with pianist Tade Horvat on the MDG Detmold label. He also devotes a lot of attention to collaborating with composers and expanding the repertoire for saxophone. New works have been dedicated to him by composers such as Peter Šavli, Nina Šenk, Uroš Rojko, Matej Bonin, etc. Since September 2012 he has been a professor of saxophone and chamber music at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet. He also gives masterclasses at various universities (Hartt School of Music Hartford, Hochschule für Musik und Theater München).

Matej Grahek (1974) has been a solo flutist of the Slovenian Philharmonic since 1997. He has been a professor at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music since 1999, a year later he became an assistant professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where he has been a full professor since 2022. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Ljubljana Academy of Music under Professor Fedja Rupel, and spent two years at the Salzburg Mozarteum under the world-renowned flutist Irena Grafenauer. He has played as a solo flutist of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of world-renowned conductors such as Carlos Kleiber, Riccardo Muti, Sir Neville Marriner, Serge Baudo, Charles Dutoit, etc. He performs as a soloist with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and other orchestras, and also devotes a great deal of attention to jazz with his solo projects with the RTV Slovenia Big Band, and he is a co-founder of the Artvento wind quintet. Recently, he has performed concertos by Jean Riviere and Andrea Jolive with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist and in chamber groups in Europe, Japan, Oman, Chile, Argentina and the USA. He has participated in eleven albums, five of which are Grahka’s solo projects. In 2000, he received the Golden Rooster Award in the chamber music category for his CD Opus di Jazz, released by ZKP RTV Slovenia. His solo project Night Birds with the RTV Slovenia Big Band was released by ZKP in 2003, and his CD with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra (featuring concerts by Rouse, Arnold and Lazar) was released in 2005. In 2007, the Slovene Composers’ Society released a CD of novelties written for the wind trio of the Slovenian Philharmonic (Grahek-Kotar-Mitev). In 2008, he released a CD with Croatian guitarist Tvrtko Sarić for the largest Croatian label Aquarius Records. In the same year, a CD by the ArtVento wind quintet was released on the German Whoopee Records label. In 2013 he released Mozart Quartets for flute and string trio under the auspices of the ZKP RTV Slovenia label. He has also released his latest album (2023), the online album Kaleidoscope, under the same label. He has also collaborated on CDs by Ivo Petrič, Vito Žuraj, Lojze Krajnčan and Ales Rendle, and on many recordings by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. for his hobby, Grahek founded the “Chicharito Jazz Quartet”, in which he plays with such jazz cats as Jaka Pucihar, Aleš Avbelj and Aleš Rendla. During the covid 19 pandemic, he wrote a book, Diary of a Little Musician on the Big Ocean, published by Primus, in which he describes his sailing across the Atlantic in 2019.

Pianist Tadej Horvat graduated with honours from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana in 2005 under Prof. Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak and completed his specialist studies in June 2007 under Prof. Alexander Madžar in Bern. For his academic achievements he was awarded the Škerjanč Prize and two Prešeren Prizes. He has been awarded golden plaques, prizes and special mentions at national and international competitions. As a soloist, he has appeared with Slovenian and foreign orchestras, with whom he has performed various piano concertos (Mendelssohn, Rachmaninov, Beethoven, Osredkar, Adamič). At the 32nd EPTA International Conference, he performed a solo recital as part of the “International Pianissimo” project. In February 2013, he performed Liszt’s Piano Concerto with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra in the Gallus Hall of Cankarjev dom as part of the “Night of Pianos” subscription concert. In July 2014, at the invitation of the Slovenian Embassy, he gave a concert at the famous Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with flutist Matej Grahko. He was the conductor of the Divertimento orchestra, with which he recreated entertainment and film music and created several original works and arrangements for it. In recent years, he has been collaborating with renowned Slovenian musicians at the most important events and festivals in Slovenia and abroad. As an accompanist in competitions, he has received numerous special awards for exemplary artistic collaboration. Since 2015 she has been leading a piano seminar in the framework of the “Arsensei” summer school. He is employed as a piano accompanist and professor at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet and works with the Academy of Music as an associate professor.

CONCERT PROGRAMME

Maurice Ravel: Sonatine en trio
I. Modéré

II. Mouvement de menuet

III. Animé

Fernande Decruck: Sonata en Mi#
I. Très modéré, expressif

II. Andante

III. Fileuse

IV. Nocturne et Final

Peter Šavli: Zeppelin 2

Anže Rozman: Groza (Evil)

Russell Peterson: Trio #1
I. Andante/Moderato

II. Adagio/Andante

III. Allegro

Nikita Zimin (Russia), alto saxophone
Sandro Compagnon (France), soprano saxophone 
Sae Lee (Japan/Slovenia), piano

CONCERT PROGRAMME

Nikita Zimin, alto saxophone
Sae Lee, piano
César Franck: Sonata v A-duru

Sandro Compagnon, soprano saxophone
Sae Lee, piano
Vincent David: Flots
Henri Dutilleux: Sonatina
Vincent David: L’éveil de la toupie

Nikita Zimin is one of the brightest representatives of the Russian classical school of saxophone. Graduate of the Russian Gnesin’s Academy of Music, class of Russian People’s Artist, Professor Margarita Shaposhnikova, who is the founder of the Russian classical saxophone school. He is winner of more than 18 national and international competitions. Three-time winner of the “Delphic Games” (2006 – Astana, Kazakhstan, 2008 – Novosibirsk, 2009 – Samara). Nikita is the winner of the most prestigious international competitions: – IV International Competition for Wind Instruments “Aeolus Competition” (Dusseldorf, Germany, 2009), Grand Prix; – V international Adolphe Sax competition (Dinant, Belgium) – 2nd prize and the special prize for the best interpretation of the compulsory work in the final. The latest achievement was winning the First International Competition “Voice of the saxophone in the modern world” (Moscow, November 2011). Now Nikita studies in the Paris National Conservatory in the class of Professor Claude Delangle. Nikita has been chosen as a scholar of MstislavRastropovich Foundation, «Russian performing art» Foundation, the President of the Russian Federation and the French Government. Among the awards of artist: – Diploma “Golden Talent – 2008-2009” (“Best Musician of the Year”) of foundation “Russian Performing Art”; – Gratitude of the governor of the Moscow region of B. V. Gromov for victories in the All-Russian competitions; – Diploma the winner of forum “Breakthrough” – 2009; – Diploma of Laureate for talented youth, established by Presidential Decree; – Diploma “The Best Student of the Gnesin’s Academy of Music – 2010”. Nikita Zimin gives recitals, both in Russia and abroad (Switzerland, France, Germany, Spain, USA, Korea, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan), and gives master classes. Nikita works with such orchestra as the Volgograd Symphony Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Udmurt State Symphony Orchestra, the Mecklenburg State Choir, Northwest German Philharmonic and others. Nikita Zimin’s repertoire includes the composition of various styles and epoch – Bach, Teleman, Donizetti, Paganini, Dubois, Rivchun, Glazunov, Rakhmaninov, Creston, Iber, Milhaud, Piazzola, Denisov, Shostakovich, Hachaturyan, Tomasi, Debussy, Lauba, Tanada, Gershwin, Franc, Shmitt, Larsson, Swerts, Soge.

Born in Nice Sandro Compagnon started playing the saxophone at the age of 6 when he moved to Chamonix Mont-Blanc with his father as his first teacher. Two years later, he began his studies at the CRR of Annecy in the class of Christian Charnay and Fabrizio Mancuso. In 2006 he won the third prize at the European competition in Gap in the under 16 category and in 2010 the third prize at the European competition in Valenciennes in the soloist category. After obtaining a DEM in saxophone and chamber music in 2011, he joined Jean-Denis Michat’s class at the CRR of Lyon in 2013. In parallel to his classical music studies, Sandro plays a lot of jazz and performs in numerous festivals such as the Jazz Festival of Vannes (invited by the Spok Frevo Orchestra) or the Cosmo Jazz Festival of Chamonix of André Manoukian. He regularly performs in concert with André Manoukian and has recently recorded for one of his albums. Since the beginning of his young career, Sandro Compagnon has had the opportunity to perform in prestigious concert halls and festivals in France and abroad (Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, Radio-France Festival in Montpellier, Salle Cortot, Izumi Hall in Osaka, Topan Hall in Tokyo, Folles Journées de Nantes, Maison de la Radio, as a soloist with the Garde Républicaine orchestra…). He plays regularly with the pianist Gaspard Dehaene. Together, they have performed at the prestigious Printemps des Arts festival in Monte-Carlo. Also, Compagnon has been working closely for several years with the composer Bruno Mantovani. He has premiered the soprano saxophone version of his piece for solo flute “Früh” at La Scala Paris live on France Musique, has transcribed numerous woodwinds works for saxophone and has recently recorded his first solo CD, dedicated to the composer’s music. He is a Master’s graduate in saxophone and chamber music at the CNSMDP in the classes of Claude Delangle and Michel Moraguès and, he follows the class of generative improvisation with Vincent LêQuang and Alexandros Markeas. In 2017, he won the 1st prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition with the Zahir Quartet of which he was a member between 2016 and 2021, in November 2019, the 3rd prize at the Adolphe Sax International Competition in Dinant, Belgium and in October 2021, the 1st prize at the Thomas Kuti International Competition in Thessaloniki, Greece. Sandro is also, since May 2021, a laureate of the Banque Populaire Foundation. He has just been admitted as a Master Soloist at the ZHdK in Zürich (Switzerland) in the class of Lars Mlekusch.

After studying at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Sae Lee graduated with honours in piano and chamber music from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with Michel Beroff and Eric Le Sage. She is the first prize winner of several competitions, including the Città di Padova and Albert Roussel International Festival and chamber music competitions like the Fnapec, Carlo Soliva and Cidade de Alcobaça. She has performed at the renowned Paris Piano à Enghien Festival, at the Nevada-Semipalatinsk International Conference, which is sponsored by the Government of Kazakhstan and UNESCO, and on the Japanese national television programme NHK Classic Club. As a soloist she performed with a number of orchestras worldwide including the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra and Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra – she performed with them the Turangalîla’s Symphony by Olivier Messiaen. She collaborates with world renown ballet dancers like Aurélie Dupont (the Director of Paris Opera Ballet) and Kevin O’Hare (the Director of The Royale Ballet). Sae is currently employed at the Academy of Music of the University of Ljubljana. “Sae Lee is one of the most sought-after collaborative pianists of her generation. Her ability to interact with other musicians with exceptional instrumental and artistic level captivate audiences.”(source: Mainich newspaper).

Xavier Larsson Paez (Spain), alto saxophone

Alessandro Malagnino (Italy), soprano and alto saxophone

Sae Lee (Japan/Slovenia), piano

CONCERT PROGRAMME

Alessamdro Malagnino, soprano and alto saxophone

Sae Lee, klavir

Claude Debussy: Prélude à l’aprés-midi d’un faune
Alfred Desenclos: Prélude, Cadence et Finale
Vincent David: Rhizome 

Xavier Larsson, alto saxophone
Sae Lee, klavir

Kenichi Ikuno Sekiguchi: Partita
Paul Hindemith: Sonata za violo in klavir, op. 11,  št. .4
Matthias Krüger: Fuckin´ A!

Xavier Larsson embarked on his musical journey in Ciutadella de Menorca, where he initially studied the violin and saxophone. He continued his Bachelor’s degree with Prof. Albert Julià at the Conservatori del Liceu in Barcelona, receiving there the Extraordinary Prize. His musical education concludes at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, earning a Konzertexamen degree under the guidance of Prof. Daniel Gauthier, as well as a Master’s degree in New Music under Prof. David Smeyers. As a soloist, he has performed at prestigious venues worldwide, including the Köln Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Viena’s Musikverein, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, and Chicago Cultural Center. He has collaborated with conductors such as Ingo Metzmacher, Francesc Prat, Stefan Blunier, Paul Mann, Mario Kiosk, and Vanich Potavanich. Larsson’s solo performances have earned him first prizes in various national and international music competitions, including the Classic Winds International Festival 2016 in Germany, SaxoVoce 2016 in France, Intermusica 2014 in Austria, Michal Spisak 2014 in Poland, International Saxophone Competition Lodz 2012 in Poland, and Concurso Permanente Jóvenes Intérpretes Juventudes Musicales 2009 in Spain. His chamber music achievements include first prizes at the August Everding Musikwettbewerb 2021 in Germany, 20th International Chamber Music Competition in Illzach, France (2017), Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Hochschulwettbewerb 2014 and the Karlsruher Wettbewerb für die Interpretation Neue Musik 2014 in Germany, as well as the Coop Musik Award in 2014 in Italy. He has been honored with scholarships including the Hezekiah Wardwell scholarship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Fundació Música Ferrer-Salat, Fundació Agustí Pedro i Pons, Märkische Kulturstiftung in Lüdenscheid, and the Alfred Toepfer scholarship in Hamburg. Xavier Larsson is a member of the Fukio Quartet and the Trio SpiegelBild, and he also participates as a violinist in various projects with the OCIM Chamber Orchestra. Furthermore, he conducted the Saxophone Ensemble from Fundació Conservatori Liceu from 2016 to 2023. His recordings on CDs produced by Columna Música and Ars Produktion feature compositions by artists like Georg Friedrich Haas, Caroline Shaw, Fabien Lévy, Robin Hofmann, Bruno Mantovani, and Edison Denisov. With the Fukio Quartet they were nominated at the Opus Klassik 2023 in diferent categories for the album Transcend. Currently, Xavier Larsson holds teaching positions at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin and the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.