Free tickets for the concert are available at Križanke Box Office.

Manca Kosmač, viola
Andreja Kosmač, piano

Neža Homšak, cello
Sven Brajković, piano

Programme:
Rebecca Clarke: Viola Sonata
Garth Knox: Viola Space No. 8 for solo viola
Robert Schumann: Adagio and Allegro, op. 70
***
Ernest Bloch: From Jewish Life, B. 54
Sergei Prokofiev: Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119

Manca Kosmač is currently a first-year master’s student at the Ljubljana Academy of Music, where she studies viola in the class of Maja Rome. She began her musical training as a violinist with Polona Češarek at the Music School of the Ljubljana Conservatoire of Music and Ballet and continued her studies at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet with Janez Podlesek. She has won two gold plaques in the chamber group with strings category, two silver plaques in the violin category and, this year, a gold plaque and first prize in the viola category at TEMSIG competitions. She performs regularly in chamber groups and ensembles. She is the violist of the string chamber orchestra Camerata Laibach, with which she has won international prizes. In the 2023–24 season she joined the string orchestra FB Banda. She is a regular substitute with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and various chamber ensembles. In 2023 she played in the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), performing concerts in Austria and embarking on a summer and autumn tour of Europe and Mexico. In 2024 she joined the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra) and was invited on a spring and summer tour of Europe. In July 2024 she attended the international summer academy at the Musikinsel Rheinau in Switzerland (SIMA).

After graduating from the Ljubljana Academy of Music, where she studied with Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak, pianist Andreja Kosmač went on to study with Martyn van den Hoek at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK) and attended masterclasses with pianists such as Leonid Brumberg, Jacob Lateiner and Robert Ward. She has won numerous prizes at national and international competitions and performed with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she performs with acclaimed artists from Slovenia and abroad. She has also performed with choirs such as the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir and the Radio France Choir. She frequently serves as an accompanist at masterclasses. She teaches at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet, where her pupils have won prestigious awards. She is an associate at the Ljubljana Academy of Music.

Neža Homšak is currently a second-year student at the Ljubljana Academy of Music. She began playing the cello at the age of seven with teacher Petra Neuvirt. She went on to enrol at the arts gymnasium of the Maribor Conservatory of Music and Ballet, where she was taught by Sebastian Bertoncelj, while at the same time attending the First Gymnasium (a general upper secondary school) in Maribor. She was awarded a Dr Roman Klasinc Diploma for her achievements as a student. Her teacher at the Ljubljana Academy of Music is Gal Faganel. She has won several gold and silver plaques at TEMSIG and this year took first place and received a special diploma for the best performance of the compulsory piece. She has also won several gold plaques at the Svirél international competition, a second prize at the International Young Musicians Competition Antonio Salieri and a second prize at the Musica Goritiensis International Music Competition. As a member of the Misterioso Piano Trio she has won a gold plaque and third prize at TEMSIG and a diploma for the best performance of a work by a Slovene composer. She won a primo premio assoluto in her category at the Ars nova Trieste International Music Competition. Another important achievement is her performance as the soloist in Elgar’s Cello Concerto  with the Symphony Orchestra of the Maribor Conservatory. She performs regularly at numerous events both as a soloist and as a member of various chamber ensembles and orchestras, including the Maribor Chamber Orchestra, the Slovene Youth Orchestra and the Young Maribor Soloists.

Croatian pianist Sven Brajković has enjoyed success at numerous national and international competitions, including victory at the 3rd Four Notes International Piano Competition in Abu Dhabi and the prize for best Croatian pianist at the Svetislav Stančić International Piano Competition, which led to a performance with the Dubrovački simfonijski orkestar (Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra). He also came second at the Croatian Competition for Young Musicians Papndopulo. He regularly performs at festivals such as Samobor Music Autumn, Youngmasters Festival, IKIF (New York), Holland Music Sessions, ISA (Austria), the Ljubljana Festival and Klangforum Carinthia. He has recorded an album of works by Sergei Prokofiev and Robert Schumann and has performed at Cankarjev Dom in Ljubljana. He was the first student from the Zagreb Academy of Music to participate in an exchange programme in Hangzhou, China, where he studied with Yang Ding. As a student he was awarded the Rector’s Prize and the Dean’s Prize. He completed his master’s degree in 2021 and continues to refine his craft under the guidance of pianist Aleksandar Serdar. He is a member of the Xylos Trio, with which he performs internationally. From 2020 to 2023 he taught piano at the Ferdo Livadić Music School. He is currently employed at the Ljubljana Academy of Music and is the artistic director of the Lug Spring Evenings chamber music festival in Croatia.