Kika Szomi Kralj, clarinet and Rahela Češarek, bassoon

Kika Szomi Kralj (2005) began her musical journey at the age of nine. After completing her early musical training with Dimitrij Lederer at Domžale Music School, she enrolled at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet in 2020. She is a three-time winner at the TEMSIG competition and the recipient of more than ten first prizes at international competitions in Varaždin, Novi Sad, Ohrid, Belgrade and elsewhere. She has appeared as a soloist with the String Chamber Orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic on three separate occasions and took on a bigger role in 2025 when she performed Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No. 1 with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. She is actively involved in chamber and orchestral projects both in Slovenia and abroad. She regularly attends masterclasses with renowned teachers such as Nicholas Cox, Massimiliano Miani and Arek Adamski. She is currently continuing her studies in clarinet with Jože Kotar at the Ljubljana Academy of Music, as the holder of a Zois Scholarship.

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.

Rahela Češarek began playing the bassoon at the Radovljica Music School with Dejan Rihtarič, and continued her education at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana. Since 2022 she has been studying at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, where she is completing her undergraduate programme under the mentorship of Dag Jensen and Alessandro Caprotti. From her earliest musical steps, she has regularly participated in the TEMSIG competition and international contests, winning 13 first prizes, two second prizes, one third prize and three special awards, including the title of laureate. In addition to her solo repertoire, she focuses on orchestral and chamber music. She is a co-founder of the Ventus Artem wind quintet, which performs at competitions and festivals in Norway, and the initiator of numerous independent chamber projects. She pays special attention to international collaboration in her work, and to connecting music with other forms of artistic expression.

Sae Lee is one of the most sought-after collaborative pianists of her generation. According to Japanese newspaper Mainichi, she is able to captivate audiences »with her ability to interact subtly with musicians, her exceptional proficiency on the piano and her outstanding artistry.« After studying at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Sae Lee graduated with distinction in piano and chamber music at the Paris Conservatory with Michel Beroff and Eric Le Sage. She has won first prize at several competitions, including the City of Padova and Albert Roussel International Piano Competitions, and the Fnapec, Carlo Soliva and Cidade de Alcobaça chamber music competitions. She has appeared at the prestigious Piano Enghien festival in Paris, at the Nevada-Semipalatinsk International Conference sponsored by the Kazakhstan government and UNESCO, and on the Japanese national television programme NHK Classic Club. She has performed as a soloist with the Sofia Philharmonic, the Pleven Philharmonic, the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, with which she performed Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalîla- Symphonie. She has worked with worldrenowned ballet dancers such as Aurélie Dupont (director of the National Paris Opera Ballet) and Kevin O’Hare (director of The Royal Ballet, London). She is currently employed at the Ljubljana Academy of Music.