Nova Schola Labacensis (SI)

Nova Schola Labacensis is a unique Slovene early music ensemble which preserves and continues the tradition of Schola Labacensis, the first contemporary Slovene early music consort. Nova Schola Labacensis performs European Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music but also Arabic muwashahat, Greek rembetiko or Slovene folk songs as well as more recent classical musical compositions including Schubert’s Songs with Romantic guitar. The repertoire of the ensemble spreads from Medieval cantigas de Santa Maria, motets and folk songs, Renaissance chansons, lute songs, dances and diferencias, Baroque arias, madrigals, chaconnes and folias to African cumbées, Latino American milongas and Oriental music of Afghanistan, Iran, India, Turkey, various Arab countries, Romania, Greece, and Balkan. The ensemble has so far successfully performed at international festivals SEVIQC, NYMBUS, Klassik auf Hum, Musical Evenings in St Donat, Serate musicali Piranesi, The Varaždin Baroque Evenings, JEFF, Nights in Old Ljubljana Town, concert cycles New Orpheus, Harmonies of the World and elsewhere.

Soprano Tadeja Pance studied singing with Professor Barbara Nagode at the Ljubljana Vič Rudnik Music School between the years 2002 and 2009. Since 2008 she has been singing as a soloist with the ensemble Nova Schola Labacensis. In 2008 and 2009 she actively participated in the Days of the Lute at the Festival of Early Music at Škofja Loka, Slovenia. In the year of Primož Trubar, she participated in the first performance of Slovenian Protestant choral and secular songs of the time, as a member of the duo La Turturella with the lutenist Žiga Kroflič. She has perfected her skills with mezzosoprano Barbara Jernejčič Fürst and soprano Ileana Bratuž Kacjan. She also participated in several different musical contests and won the first place in singing at the international musical contest Cogoleto 2009 in Genova, Italy. She sang solo soprano in Mozart's Kronungsmesse, Spatzenmesse and Haydn’s Mass of Saint Nicolai with great success. She also participated on both albums released by ensemble Nova Schola Labacensis Occident Meets Orient and Delitiae Musicae. Lately she has received many high critical acclaims for solo singing with the ensemble Nova Schola Labacensis in various musical genres from early European music to Oriental music.

Soprano Urška Kastelic studied at Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where she graduated with distinction in a class of Sabina Cvilak. Urška also attended the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. At the Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, she portrayed Félicie in the opera La Belle et la Bête (Phillip Glass), Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore), Venus (Orphée aux enfers) and Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro). Urška was soloist in two operas Anna Karenina and War and Peace by Larry Coryell in Russia (Kaluga Philharmonic Hall), Croatia (Lisinski Hall, Zagreb) and Slovenia (Cankar Centre). She worked in opera productions of Rigoletto (Gilda), Don Pasquale (Norina), Le nozze di Figaro (Susanna), Bastien und Bastienne (Bastienne), Gorenjski slavček (Ninon) and children opera Martin Krpan. Urška has been a frequent soloist at concert performances in Slovenia (Festival Lent, Imago Sloveniae, Slovenian Philharmonic, Cankar Centre, Gala Verdi with orchestra Filarmonica del Veneto, etc.). She also appeared in concerts in Italy, Finland, England, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Greece, Germany and Romania. Urška is also a member of a unique Slovenian early music ensemble Nova Schola Labacensis (concerts at Festival SEVIQC Brežice, Varaždin baroque evenings, etc.).

Soprano Ana Novak is currently studying singing at the Ljubljana Vič-Rudnik Music School in the class of professor Katja Konvalinka. She began her singing path in the renowned Carmina Slovenica choir and in the class of Professor Simona Raffanelli Krajnc. She has performed several recitals and performed in the premiere of the first Slovenian Baroque opera Belin by Jakob Frančišek Zupan. She regularly participates in singing competitions, among the most notable achievements are the Award for the most promising competitor up to 24 years at the SGSM Novo mesto 2018 competition and a special award for the best performance of a composition by a Slovenian author at the TEMSIG 2019 competition. Lately she has received many high critical acclaims for solo singing with the ensemble Nova Schola Labacensis in various musical genres from early music to the songs by Schubert.

Mezzosoprano Nadia Magister was born in a Slovenian family in Bariloche, Argentina. She studied solo singing in Conservatorio Superior de Música Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires, Argentina with prof. Beatriz Moruja. In the same institution she started the postgraduate study in early music “Tecnicatura superior en música antigua”. She attended workshops and masterclasses given by Gabriel Garrido, Emanuela Galli, Victor Torres, Vera Cirkovic, Federico Ciancio, Carolina Gauna, Martin Oro, Zdenka Gorenc, Bernarda Fink, Theresa Plut, Egon Mihajlović, among others. As a soloist and choir singer she is part of diverse projects with Ave choir (dir. Gregor Klančič), Philarmonic Slovenian choir, Rencontres baroques de Montfrin (France), La Cetra (Basel), Glasbena Matica. In Slovenia she studied with prof. Zdenka Gorenc and attended some workshops of “Academia musicæ antiquæ Labacensis”. During 2020 she received a fellowship (“ASEF fellowship program”), under the mentorship of prof. Theresa Plut, and took part of different projects around Slovenia.

Blažka Mraz, a recorder player of a great talent started with her studies at Music school Gornja Radgona under the guidance of Professor Melita Vulc. She continued her studies at the Conservatory for Music and Ballet and at Academy of Music in Ljubljana in the class of professor Mateja Bajt. She has been perfecting her skills at seminars with Peter Holtslag and Lisete da Silva. She has been successfully performing as a soloist on Baroque recorder in duo with the harpsichord player Tomaž Sevšek and in various chamber ensembles as well. Blažka Mraz is now a regular member and an outstanding soloist of the ensemble Nova Schola Labacensis and she also performs as a recorder soloist with the ensemble Vagantes. She won the silver medal at 39th TEMSIG national competition and at 2013 TEMSIG competition she won golden medal and a special price for the perfection of her musical performance.

Tomaž Šinigoj has studied violin with professor Jelka Glavnik and professor Matej Venier at the Conservatory for Music and Ballet in Ljubljana and viola with professor Djordje Berak at the Music school Ljubljana Vič Rudnik. He has been perfecting his skills also at violin seminars with renowned violinist Vasilij Meljnikov and professor Jernej Brence. He also studied jazz improvisation with jazz guitarist Ratko Zjaća at the Festival Jazzinty in Novo mesto and with the jazz singer, composer and cellist Andrejka Možina at the Jazz Festival in Gorizia, Italy. He also plays alto medieval fiddle in the Vagantes ensemble. He is a regular member and a soloist on Baroque violin and viola d’amore of the Nova Schola Labacensis ensemble and on the modern violin of the Jazz Oud Quartet where he performs under the guidance of renowned Slovene jazz multi-instrumentalist Lado Jakša. As a guest artist he has also participated as a violinist in the special unplugged performance of the Blue.sine trip hop ensemble.

Miha Šinigoj studied cello with Professor Tanja Babnik at the Ljubljana Vič Rudnik Music School and double bass at the jazz department of the Ljubljana Conservatory for Music and Ballet with professor Matevž Smerkolj. He also studied jazz improvisation with double bass player Joris Teepe at Festival Jazzinty in Novo mesto and with jazz singer, composer and cellist Andrejka Možina at Jazz Festival in Gorizia, Italy. He has been perfecting his skills with the professor Damir Hamidulin as a classical cellist and privately studied viola da gamba with the professor Rebecca Lefevre in Brussels. Lately he has been regularly appearing as a viola da gamba and Baroque cello soloist with Nova Schola Labacensis ensemble. He also plays medieval tenor fiddle in the Vagantes ensemble and modern cello and double bass in Jazz Oud Quartet where he performs under the guidance of renowned Slovene jazz multi-instrumentalist Lado Jakša. As a guest artist he has also participated as a cellist in the special unplugged performance of the Blue.sine trip hop ensemble.

Boris Šinigoj started to perform on Renaissance lute and to research original sources of the period even before graduating in classical guitar and philosophy at the Ljubljana University. The luthier Ivo Magherini introduced him to the leading lutenists Paul O’Dette and Hopkinson Smith. He also perfected his skills playing with the ensembles Dufay Collective and Camerata Trajectina. He appeared in solo recitals and in chamber ensemble concerts around Europe, USA, Canada and Egipt. He recorded an anthology of the finest compositions for Arabic, Renaissance and Baroque lute, archlute, and chitarrone on a CD »Lutes«. He used to perform with the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of RTV Slovenia, Slovenicum ensemble and Consortium Musicum. As one of the pioneers of early music in Slovenia he founded Duo Jubilet in the 80s with the late lyrical tenor singer Marjan Trček. The Duo recorded an anthological CD »Armonici e sacri Accenti«. Boris Šinigoj is a former teacher of lute at the Ljubljana Academy of Music. He is currently the artistic director of the ensembles of Nova Schola Labacensis family and a teacher of lute, guitar, and chamber music at Music school Ljubljana Vič Rudnik. He performs on historical European and Arabic lutes, guitars, citterns, and other plucked instruments such as Afghan rubab, Indian sarod and Japanese biwa.