assist. prof. Simon Klavžar, doc. Matej Bonin, Katarina Kukovič, Akademija za glasbo Univerze v Ljubljani (SI)

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​Water
Percussion is mostly played and listened to in the medium of air, but what happens if instruments of all possible sizes and shapes are played in water? The manipulation of the sound of percussion with water was popularized in the world of classical music by Tan Dun, an American composer with Chinese roots, who is best known for his Grammy-winning score for the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
Water magically amplifies and changes the sound of percussion, and at the workshop we will experiment together in search of the most unusual and meditative sound possibilities. We will get acquainted with gongs, cymbals, and crotals, as well as quite ordinary objects from everyday life, which can also become musical instruments. Whether washing dishes, using a food processor or making sounds with a wine glass, the workshop will be spiced up with water music, and together we will be able to discover the many possibilities of making music with this remarkable medium.

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Assoc. Prof. Simon Klavžar
Simon Klavžar studied percussion at the Academy of Music of the University of Ljubljana, the University of Music and Theatre in Münich and, as part of her postgraduate studies in contemporary music, at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. Between 2013 and 2021, he taught percussion at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet, and since 2021 he has been teaching at the Ljubljana Academy of Music as an associate professor of percussion and head of the Department of Woodwind, Brass and Percussion. He focuses mainly on contemporary music and collaborates with the Ensemble Modern, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Schallfeld Ensemble, Kammerorchester München, and Dresdner Philharmonie, among others. As a member of the duo Drumartica, he has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Kennedy Center. He is also active in the field of pedagogical projects and creative programmes for children.
 

Matej Bonin, Docent
Matej Bonin is a composer and a graduate of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, and he completed his postgraduate studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. He has received several awards for his work, including the Prešeren Award of the University of Ljubljana and the Gargonza Arts Award. His compositions have been performed at festivals such as Warsaw Autumn, Musica Viva München and Alte Oper Frankfurt. He has collaborated with ensembles and orchestras such as the Ensemble Modern, Slowind, Dresdner Sinfoniker, RTV Symphony Orchestra and Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. He is an assistant professor of Music Theory at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. In 2025, the new youth opera Lisičja luna (Fox Moon) and the Forest Symphony music installation, created in collaboration with the Dresdner Sinfoniker and the European Capital of Culture Nova Gorica, will premiere.
 

Katarina Kukovič
Katarina Kukovič graduated in percussion from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. She is employed as a professor of percussion and chamber music at the Domžale Music School and at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet. She has collaborated with the Academy of Music in Ljubljana as a mentor in the implementation of pedagogical practice of percussion students, and now as an expert in practice in lectures on special percussion didactics. She is active in the percussion study group, she has been a member of the jury several times and a helped to draw up the rules for the Competition of Young Slovenian Musicians in the discipline of percussion. She regularly plays in the SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana Orchestra.