Lev Pupis, competition director
Lev Pupis (1977) graduated in 1998 from the Vienna University of Music. In 1999, he led a project involving Slovene music students in Vienna called “Mi Dunaj Vam”, within the framework of which a CD was produced entitled “Hymnus Carniolus” and a successful concert tour was mounted in Slovenia and Austria. From 2000 to 2003, he studied the saxophone Paris, where he graduated with distinction from the class of J.Y. Fourmeau (Premier Prix) and successfully completed a specialisation with Vincent David.
He has received numerous prizes in Slovenian and foreign music competitions, and has performed throughout Europe with independent recitals and in chamber ensembles. As a soloist with orchestra he has performed in Graz, Klagenfurt, Ljubljana, Maribor, Belgrade and Vienna, under the baton of conductors such as George Pehlivanian, Tosihiro Jonezu and Juergen Bruens.
In 2005, Lev Pupis completed his masters degree with distinction in the class of Oto Vrhovnik, receiving the title “Magister Artium”, and in 2007 he concluded specialist studies at the Ljubljana Academy of Music, in the class of Matjaž Drevenšek. As an orchestral musician he has collaborated with numerous recognised symphony orchestras, such as the Mozarteum Orchestra from Salzburg, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, the Slovenian Philharmonic, the Slovenian Army Orchestra, etc.
In addition to his activities as a soloist and chamber musician, Lev Pupis is also active as a music pedagogue, teaching the saxophone at music secondary schools in Ljubljana and Celje. For many years he has worked as a mentor at the summer saxophone school in Nova Gorica, where he was also the artistic director in 2006. He also leads the summer saxophone school on the island of Brač, teaches at the Skopje Academy of Music and at the Vienna University of Music and Applied Arts. He has been invited to be a member of specialised juries of Slovene and international competitions (Alpe-Donava-Jadran 03, Saksistra 06, The Serbian National Young Musicians Competition 09).
Lev Pupil is the initiator and founder of chamber ensembles such as the “Sax.Org” Duo, the “Ad libitum” Trio and the ensemble “4 SAXESS”. With the latter ensemble he participated in the production of the CD “4FOLK”, which was published in 2007 by Radio Slovenia. More than 15 new works have been written for him and for the ensembles in which he actively participates by contemporary composers, ranging from solo concertos for orchestra, compositions for two saxophones, for trio with flute and piano, and works for saxophone quartet.
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Matjaž Drevenšek (Maribor, 1965) is a saxophone professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, Slovenia. As a member of the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet and the Saxofakind Septet, as well as in duos with pianist Zoltan Peter, percussionist Amy Lynn Barber, harpsichordist Milko Lazar, and as soloist in the Percussion Plus and Studio for Percussion ensembles, he has performed throughout Europe (in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Monaco, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey), Canada, and the USA (Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, New York City, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin), as well as at renowned festivals. As a soloist he has appeared with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Maribor Philharmonic, the Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber String Orchestra, the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Symphony Orchestra and Big Band of the Croatian Radio Television, the Zagreb Soloists, the Croatian Chamber Orchestra, the Symphony Wind Orchestra of the Croatian Army, the Emory Wind Ensemble, the Slovenian Army Orchestra, the Slovenian Police Orchestra, and Camerata Labacensis.
Arno Bornkamp (Amsterdam, 1959) is the prototype of the modern virtuoso, feeling equally at home in both traditional and contemporary repertoire. After completing his studies with Ed Bogaard at the Conservatory of Amsterdam (1986), where he graduated with the highest honours, Bornkamp went on to study with the renowned Daniel Deffayet in Paris. Noteworthy among the many awards he has received are the Silver Laurel of the Concertgebouw and the Netherlands Music Prize. The latter enabled Bornkamp to make a thorough study of contemporary saxophone repertoire with Jean-Marie Londeix in Bordeaux and Ryo Noda in Osaka. He also visited composers such as Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Since his solo debut in Rome in 1982, where he performed the famous ‘Concertino da Camera’ by Jacques Ibert, Bornkamp has given more than 200 performances as a soloist with orchestras all over the world, covering most of the important solo repertoire for the saxophone, as well as new concertos dedicated to him, such as the 'Tallahatchie Concerto' (2001) by JacobTV. Bornkamp has also demonstrated a great affinity with chamber music as a recitalist with the renowned pianist Ivo Janssen and as a member of the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet. Both ensembles have already existed for more than 25 years. Bornkamp’s activities (concerts, festivals, lectures, masterclasses) have taken him all over Europe, as well as to the USA, Japan and South America. However, the peak of his career to date took place nearer to home, together with Ivo Janssen: in the summer of 1996 he performed at the 'TV Prinsengracht Concert' in Amsterdam, before an audience of over 15,000 people. 
Marcus Weiss (Basel, 1961) studied with Iwan Roth (Basel) and Fred Hemke (Chicago). He has played a crucial role in increasing the repertoire for the saxophone with numerous premieres of new works, including works by Aperghis, Baltakas, Cage, Clementi, Furrer, Gervasoni, Globokar, Hidalgo, Hosokawa, Jarrell, Kyburz, Kôndô, Lachenmann, Lang, Netti, Pauset, Rihm, Sciarrino, Sharp, Sotelo, Zimmermann and others. He performs with orchestras and in chamber ensembles, taking part in prestigious festivals throughout Europe and further afield. His two chamber groups are Xasax and Trio Accanto. He has also performed regularly as a ensemble player and soloist with Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Recherche and Ensemble Modern. At the present time, he is developing two very different projects. Along with viola player Garth Knox, he is working on an extensive improvisation project in collaboration with the Experimental-Studio of the Sudwest-Rundfunk. Since 2005, he has been developing a new ensemble, Trio Neuma, together with two singers of medieval music, Dominique Vellard and Raitis Grigalis. In this formation, the saxophone often takes the instrumental part in early polyphonic duos or trios. Marcus Weis regularly gives masterclasses for talented saxophonists at various conservatories and music schools (The Royal Academy of Music London, Universidad de Alcala Madrid, Universität der Künste in Berlin, Universität für Musik in Vienna, as well as in Boston, New York, Chicago, and in Japan). In August 2004, he taught at the Darmstädter Ferienkursen für neue Musik. Since 1995, Marcus Weiss has been teaching saxophone and chamber music at the Hochschule für Musik Basel.
Betka Bizjak Kotnik (Dravograd, 1976) graduated with distinction from the Ljubljana Academy of Music. She furthered her studies at the Lyon National Conservatoire, receiving a Medaille d'Or and a Premiere Prix, and in 2005 completed her specialist studies of the saxophone at the Ljubljana Academy of Music. For her successes she received the Student Prešeren Prize of the Ljubljana Academy of Music. She has received the first prize at a number of national competitions and has been a finalist in international competitions. She teaches the saxophone at the Ljubljana Music and Ballet High School. In cooperation with teachers from other music secondary schools in Slovenia, each year she leads a seminar for pupils and teachers in Koper.
While studying at the Nova Gorica Music School, Boštjan Simon (Šempeter pri Gorici, 1982) participated in competitions on the state and regional level. From 1997 to 1999, he was a regular member of the Koper Wind Orchestra, with whom he participated in competitions in Sweden, The Netherlands and Switzerland. Although he did not directly continue with his music education at a music secondary school, under the mentorship of Prof. Silvio Brosche he gained third place at the International Young Musicians Competition in Povoletto, Italy, in 1998.
Eugene Rousseau (Blue Island, Illinois, 1932) has established himself as one of the leading saxophone performers and pedagogues in the world today. Currently a member of the artist faculty of the School of Music at the University of Minnesota, he is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. His many students have distinguished themselves as university professors and superb performers throughout the world. He has received prestigious guest professor appointments at the Paris Conservatory, the Hochschule für Musik of Vienna, the Arizona State University, the University of Iowa, the University of Nebraska, and the University of North Texas. In 2007, he was named McKay Artist in Residence at the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music. In addition, Rousseau holds the title of Honorary Professor at the Prague Conservatory and at the Instituto G. Braga of Italy. Eugene Rousseau has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras throughout the world, including The Minnesota Orchestra, The Indianapolis Symphony, The BBC Orchestra of London, The Bavarian Radio Orchestra, The Prague Symphony, The Janáček Philharmonic, The Kansai Philharmonic of Osaka, The Bavarian Radio Orchestra, and The Austrian Radio Orchestra. In 1993, he performed the first ever saxophone recital at the Mozarteum Conservatory of Salzburg. In 1969, Rousseau co-founded the World Saxophone Congress, the first such organisation for an individual instrument, considered by many to be a major turning point in establishing the credibility of the saxophone as a serious medium for musical expression. During 2005, Rousseau served as the president of the Organising Committee for the World Saxophone Congress XIII, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The North American Saxophone Alliance has honoured him with its highest award – Honorary Life Membership. Eugene Rousseau attended the Chicago Musical College, Northwestern University, and earned a PhD in Music Literature and Performance at the University of Iowa. In 1960, Rousseau was awarded a Fulbright Grant to study at the Paris Conservatory. In 1963, he was appointed as the musical representative for the International Trade Fair in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa. The following year, 1964, he was appointed to the faculty of the School of Music at Indiana University, where he taught for 36 years. While at Indiana, his interest in the acoustics of the saxophone developed and for twenty years he served as the chief consultant for saxophone research and development for the Yamaha Corporation of Japan. Rousseau has to his credit a large number of publications and as adjudicator Professor Rousseau has served on the juries of many prestigious music competitions.
Matej Šarc (Ljubljana, 1965) began studying the oboe with Božo Rogelja at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, before furthering his studies with Heinz Holliger at the Music High School in Freiburg, Germany. He became first oboe of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra. As a soloist and chamber musician he has performed throughout Europe, as well as in Australia, China, Mongolia, Japan and North and South America. He has recorded many chamber and solo works for oboe for a range of European radio stations. His recordings have been released by various Slovene and international labels, including Naxos, Arsis (The Netherlands), Aulos, Da Camera (Germany) and Auvidis (France). Since 1994, he has been a member of the Slovene Philharmonia and the wind quintet Slowind, with whom he received the Prešeren Foundation Prize in 2003. He teaches oboe master classes in Slovenia (Piran Music), Italy, Austria and Germany. For a number of years he has also devoted himself to the organisation and realisation of the Ljubljana chamber music series Festival Slowind, in which the quintet members have been joined by renowned artists such as Steven Davislim, Christiane Iven, Heinz Holliger, Arvid Engegard, Robert Aitken, Diego Chenna and Andrea Marchiol. In his artistic activities, a special place is given to contemporary music. As an organiser and interpreter he has given premiere performances of works by Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson, Ivo Nilsson, Mist Thorkellsdottir, Martin Smolka, Volker Staub, Vinko Globokar, Lojze Lebič, Jürg Wyttenbach, Uroš Rojko, Larisa Vrhunc, Ivo Petrić, Primož Ramovš and Božidar Kos amongst others.
Dragan Sremec graduated saxophone and earned his MA degree in the class of Josip Nochta at the Zagreb Academy of Music. He graduated also conducting in the class of Igor Gjadrov. He received further training under Daniel Deffayet at the CNSM de Paris as a French government grantee and under Dr. Eugene Rousseau at the IU School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana as a Fulbright grantee. As a saxophone soloist and member of the Zagreb saxophone quartet he earned all major prizes at the competitions in former Yugoslavia and the number of awards, notably «Milka Trnina», «Judita”, several »Porin» awards for the CDs, «Darko Lukić» award etc. 
Aleksandra Pavlovič (Postojna, 1978) began her musical path in her home town of Postojna before continuing her education at the Trieste Music Society. In 1995, she enrolled in the class of the gifted pianist Sijavuš Gadžijev at the Emil Komel Slovenian Centre for Music Education in Gorica, Italy. She continued her education at the P.I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Moscow, first in the class of Prof. Lev Naumov and finally under the mentorship of Prof. Vladimir Viarda. In 2002, she graduated with distinction and in the same year was accepted for postgraduate study as the most successful foreign student. She completed her postgraduate studies with Prof. Andrej Diev, achieving the highest possible grade. She further developed her knowledge of music with the renowned pianist Eugene Indjič at international masterclasses in Slovakia, which she attended several times. Her musical knowledge and talent have been confirmed many times at international competitions, where she has been recognised with prizes and awards. She frequently appears both in Slovenia and abroad (Koper, Trieste, Gorica, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Reka, Klagenfurt, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the La Fenice Theatre in Venice). While studying, she also performed in Moscow (the Malyi and Rachmaninov Halls of the Moscow Conservatory and the Svjatoslav Richter Memorial Apartment (museum)). She has performed within the framework of the concert cycles Ljubljana Artists in Ljubljana, Incontri con la musica (Italy), the Ljubljana Festival, Between the Sounds of Places (Italy), Youth to Youth, and Music from the Gardens of Saint Francis. She is currently devoting herself to chamber music performance with violinists and cellists from Slovenia and Russia (Marina Yashvili, Oleg Bugaev, Sanja Repše, Žiga Brank, etc.).
