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Nikolaj Sajko graduated in cello performance at The Academy of Music in Ljubljana in the class of Ciril Škerjanec and completed his Master of Science at the same institution. He perfected his performance further at postgraduate studies at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz. He was awarded the Klasinc diploma and Antonio Tarsia prize; other important achievements come from national and international competitions for young musicians in Gorizia, Lienz, Zagreb and Ljubljana. He was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the World Youth Orchestra. Since 2006 Nikolaj is an assistant solo cellist in the Slovene National Theatre Maribor Symphony Orchestra and a professor at the Conservatory for Music and Ballet in Maribor. Since 2012 he is a program leader of Chamber music series Carpe artem.
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Nina Bulatovix is a three-member rock and post-punk group, active since 2009.
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Slovenian soprano Nina Dominko is a graduate of Music Pedagogy at the Faculty of Pedagogy in Maribor. She also graduated with highest praise from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana in the class of Pia Brodnik. She regularly attends seminars and summer schools (P. Brodnik, B. Fink, C. Spencer, S. McCoy).
Artist
Nina Dragičević is a writer, composer and producer. Her sound art integrates artistic expression and social criticism into sound poetry that portrays society in all its normalised anomalies by combining musique concrete techniques and original recordings of the natural environment with those created using electronic media. Nina has continued to broaden her scope of activity by forming collaborative partnerships with various artists and producing cultural events. Since 2016 she has been producer and artistic director of Slavne neznane (Famous Unknown), a talk-performance series aimed at presenting female sound artists active on the local scene, and artistic director of Topographies of Sound – international sound art symposium and festival.
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She became widely known at the age of seventeen, when she won a talent show in 2005. Nina now performs at larger festivals and venues.
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The works of composer Nina Šenk have been performed at numerous important national and international festivals and at many music venues around the world with various orchestras and ensembles. She received her first international exposure in 2004 when winning the European award for best composition at the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin. Her international reputation solidified with prominent concerts in Salzburg and Paris, as well as New York where Šenk’s composition was performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. After completing her music composition studies Nina decided to embark on an independent career; the many commissions she receives from Slovenia and abroad allow her to practise her profession as a freelancer.
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Nina Virant is a singer, composer, performer, vocal coach and originator of the VIRA project. With her all-round musical expression, Nina has for a number of years had one foot at home in Slovenia and one in the Netherlands. She is active in a large range of different areas, exploring musical traditions, particularly Slavic, as well as pop, jazz, experimental genres, progressive rock and contemporary theatre. In 2019 she opened the 60th Ljubljana jazz festival with the LAS ensemble; together with a Russian musician and producer, she explored the stories and sounds of our common Slavic ancestors. In the same year she graduated in jazz singing from the prestigious Amsterdam Jazz Conservatory. In 2017, as project co-author, she recorded the LiLa album with ethno/experimental band Dvojina, and an EP in collaboration with the 12-piece international punk/live electronic/ progressive rock band Barmy FiveSeveN. In Amsterdam she has worked, among others, with theatre director Ilaria Forciniti, and is part of the NIM Theatre contemporary theatre group. In autumn 2019 she appeared as a performer in the sold-out theatre show Possessions at Het Amsterdams Theaterhuis.
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Boštjan Nipič is a renowned hip hop artist and rapper, better known by the nickname Nipke.
Artist
After a few months of friendly socializing while playing stringed instruments, classmates Renato Švara, Anže Trček and Samo Pirec of the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Work realized in May 2018 that they wanted to become a serious band. They invited the drummer Filip Gabrovec and founded No OFFENCE! The punk direction was clear from the beginning, as socially critical songs were created most organically during rehearsals. On October 31, 2021, they released their first record, entitled The Sun. Water. Air. Freedom.
Artist
Since their formation in 2014 the four-piece band NOAIR have released two albums: “Existential” (2014) and “Superhuman” (2017). Their second release, “Superhuman”, received glowing reviews. It was chosen as album of the year and album of the week by two different Slovenian journals. In November 2017, the band completely rearranged their repertoire, adding bossa nova, gypsy-swing and blues rhythms for a gig in a well-known unplugged show Izštekani at the national radio station Val 202. The host Jure Longyka commented: “We’ve gotten a world-class rock band that doesn't disappoint in any club, whilst the communicativeness and beauty of their music additionally pave the way to mass media exposure. Of course, this is a slow process, a long-distance run. But NOAIR are ready for it.” Noair have recently been selected as one of the INES talents for the year 2019, and the first showcase they played was Slovenia’s renowned MENT Festival. The concert coincided with the release of a new single and self-produced music video in May 2019. This was followed by a tour of Slovenia after playing a successful show as the support act for Peter, Bjorn and John at Kino Šiška (Ljubljana). In September 2019, they played at their second showcase festival, Waves Vienna.