Erazem Žganjar, recorder and Nina Pavšek, clarinet

Erazem Žganjar (2002) began taking recorder lessons in 2009 at the Kranj Music School with Mojca Zaplotnik and continued his training in 2018 at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana with Mateja Bajt, where he was awarded the conservatory’s Škerjanc Award. In June 2021 he graduated early with distinction and passed the entrance exams for the University of Ljubljana Academy of Music. Since 2023 he has been studying at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, completing his recorder degree with Dorothee Oberlinger. He performs both as a soloist and in various chamber and orchestral ensembles. He has performed a concerto by Antonio Vivaldi and participated in an opera production with the Mozarteum Baroque Orchestra. He has also appeared at the ORA Early Music Festival, the Baroque Night concert series and the Nuremberg Recorder Forum's Next Generation concert. In addition to early music, he also explores the contemporary repertoire, having performed a solo recital of modern works for the abeceda Institute and served as artistic director of a recorder ensemble at the Bled Contemporary Music Week. He regularly collaborates with renowned artists, such as Walter van Hauwe, Maurice Steger, François Lazarevitch, Antonio Politano and Andreas Böhlen. Erazem is a multiple times winner of the national TEMSIG competition; in March 2025, he won his fourth consecutive first prize and gold plaque.

Xianmei Fang began her musical education in 2011 at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she studied organ and piano. Since 2023 she has been studying organ with Hannfried Lucke and harpsichord with Florian Birsak at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. She has won first places and received awards at numerous international competitions, including first prize at the Singapore International Piano Competition in 2021, the grand prize at the 2nd Pacific Rim International Piano Competition – which also included a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York – and third prize at the 2025 Maria Hofer Organ Competition in Kitzbühel. In 2024 she received an award at the Mozarteum University’s International Summer Academy. That same year she performed as organist at the opening of the Salzburg Festival.

Nina Pavšek (2003) is currently studying at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel with François Benda. She previously attended the Zagorje ob Savi Music School and the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet, where she studied in the class of Jože Kotar. She has repeatedly achieved excellent results and received several awards, including at Požarevac International Wind Competition (where she was a laureate in 2018), Davorin Jenko International Competition in Belgrade, City of Carlino International Clarinet Competition and Giacomo Mensi International Clarinet Performance Competition in Italy and Distant Chords in Split. She was the absolute winner of the 2021 Varaždin Woodwind & Brass Competition, as well as the national TEMSIG competition, where she was awarded the gold plaque and first prize in 2025. She has also received the Škerjanc Award of the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet. As a soloist she has given recitals as part of the concert series held by Ljubljana Jeunesses Musicales and in the Czech town of Telč, and in 2018 she performed as soloist with the String Chamber Orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic. Active also in chamber ensembles, she is a member of the SVEA Zagorje Wind Orchestra, has played with the Royal Concertgebouw Young Orchestra and collaborated with the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra. In May 2022 she successfully auditioned for the position of freelance collaborator with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. She has further honed her skills with renowned clarinettists, such as François Benda, Calogero Palermo, Olivier Patey, Jean-Marc Fessard, Philippe Cuper, Gabor Varga, Nuno Pinto and Milan Milošević.

Nika Tkalec is a pianist who graduated from the Ljubljana Academy of Music under Tomaž Petrač and continued her training at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid with Pilar Bilbao. She is a recipient of the Ljubljana Academy of Music Student Prešeren Award. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana Orchestra, and other ensembles. She performs regularly as a chamber musician and accompanist, and teaches at the Vrhnika Music School and the Ljubljana Academy of Music.