Ambroz Copi (1973) was born in Bovec (Slovenia). After completing the Secondary Music and Ballet School in Ljubljana, he studied composition and piano at the Ljubljana Academy of Music and graduated in 1996 in the composition class of Dane Skerl; he completed his post-graduate studies in the class of Uros Rojko. He gained first knowledge of vocal music as an assistant of the conductor Stojan Kuret in the Academic choir Tone Tomsic in Ljubljana and as a singer of the Chamber Choir Ave, and he attended further singing classes with Marjan Trcek at the Music School Vic-Rudnik in Ljubljana. His compositions have been awarded at numerous composer competitions. They are comprised in CDs containing only Copi’s compositins, i.e. Liricni akvareli (Academic choir APZ Tone Tomsic, conductor Stojan Kuret), So pticice se snivale (CarniCe, conductor Stojan Kuret), Praeparate corda vestra (Ave Chamber Choir, conductor Ambroz Copi), Sanjam (Slovenian Chamber Choir, conductor Martina Batic), as well as on various other CDs by national and foreign choirs. His compositions were published by Astrum, DSS, and Sulasol.

Ambroz Copi was awarded the Young Musician Award in 1995 for the outstanding achievements during his study, while in 1997 he was bestowed the Preseren Prize of the University of Ljubljana and the award of the Municipality of Bovec. In 2009 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the University of Primorska for the achievements with the APZ UP choir and in 2014 he was given two important awards by the Municipality of Koper. Also in 2014 he was awarded with the Gallus Medal, the highest award in the field of musical activity at national level in Slovenia.

In 2016 he received Skerjanc recognition given by the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana for outstanding artistic achievements with the Chamber Choir of the Conservatory of Music and Balet Ljubljana and promotion of the Conservatory. In the same year, for outstanding achievements over the past two years he received a prestigious national award Preseren Fund Prize.

He has been a teacher at the Art Grammar School in Koper since 1999. He is the conductor of the Chamber Choir of the Music and Ballet Conservatory Ljubljana (2010-), the Academic Choir of the University of Primorska (2004-2014, 2016-), Chaber Choir Aegida (2015-) and Youth Mixed Choir of the Art Grammar School Koper (1999-2002, 2007-2013, 2015-) In the past years he also conducted the “Vladimir Lovec” Chamber Orchestra (2005-2007). With great success he conducted the Chamber Choir Iskra Bovec (1992-2001), the Nova Gorica Chamber Choir (1998-2004) and the Mixed Choir Obala Koper (1998-2007). Through the years, the choirs brought him fiveteen golden plaques from national competitions and twentyone first places and several golden plaques from competitions abroad. With the Academic Choir of the University of Primorska he performed as a finalist at the European Grand Prix in Choral Singing in Tours (France, 2009). Furthermore, he was awarded several special prizes for his interpretations, a number of prizes for exceptional achievements with the choirs, and was also voted best conductor at numerous competitions.

Ambroz Copi is regularly invited to act as a member of the jury at various choral events and competitions, and he is often involved in choral music seminars at home and abroad as a lecturer.

He was born in 1975 in Cluj/Kolozsvar (Romania).

He studied at Ferenc Liszt Music Academy. His professor was Gyorgy Orban.

He graduated on 5 May, 1999 with distinction. In the concert was performed also the first act of his opera, titled The Stork Calif. This two-act opera was performed on May 28, 2005 on the stage of the Opera House Budapest.

In the recent years he composed a large number of choral works for renowned Hungarian and international choirs, like the Pro Musica Girl’s Choir (Hungary), Stellenbosch University Choir (South Africa) and Iowa State University Choir (USA). Many times he worked as jury member at World Choir Games in Graz (2011), Cincinnati (2012) and Riga (2014). In addition to the choir works he composed 4 symphonies (the 3. was commissioned and performed by Budapest Festival Orchestra), Piano concerto, St. Luke Passion and Christmas Oratorio too.

Since 1999 he works as continuo-player at Orfeo Orchestra,Budapest, which plays baroque and classical music on authentic instruments.

In 2005, he was honorate with the Erkel Ferenc-Prize through the Hungarian State - and in 2009 with the Bartok-Pasztory Prize, given by the Music Academy Budapest.

Swiss composer Ivo Antognini (b. 1963) received a degree in piano in 1985 at Lucerne, where he studied with Nora Doallo. He then studied at the Swiss Jazz School in Bern with pianist Joe Haider. Early in his career he composed music for television and film as well as jazz works.

In 2006 he met with Coro Calicantus, a world-class children’s choir, and its director, Mario Fontana, and since that time he has devoted his efforts largely to the composition of choral works.

He has been described as “an important new voice” by The American Organist Magazine. His choral works have won many awards in national and international choral composition events and are performed by top choirs throughout the world.

In July 2012, he was invited by the American Choral Directors Association to present his choral music at the 7th World Choir Games in Cincinnati, USA, where he served as one of the adjudicators.

Antognini writes music for choirs of all levels and has a distinctive personal style. His choral works have been performed in more than 54 countries.

A concert dedicated completely to his choral music took place in March 2016 at the Lincoln Center, NY. His first major, extended work,”A Prayer for Mother Earth”, for mixed choir, children’s choir, orchestra, soprano soloist and piano, was premiered at the Carnegie Hall in New York in May 2016.

Recent recordings with Antognini’s music include “Invisible Stars” (SIGNUM RECORDS), with UCD Choral Scholars, and “Sacred Songs of Life & Love” (PENTATONE) with South Dakota Chorale.

His choral pieces are published by Alliance Music Pub., Walton Music, Hal Leonard, G. Schirmer, Colla Voce, Boosey & Hawkes, Porfiri & Horvath, de Haske, Carus-Verlag, Ferrimontana and others.

Ivo Antognini teaches ear training and piano at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano (Switzerland).

He lives in the village of Aranno with his wife Patrizia and his two children, Eleonora and Milo.

For more information please visit www.ivoantognini.com

Graduated from the faculty of engineering, Tokyo University, and the Composition major, Tokyo University of the Arts.

He has composed many works including the opera "White swan" and Orchestral works "Fujin/Raijin", and are being performed in and out of Japan. Been awarded the Odaka prize for his 'Sinfonia Concertante "Elan Vital"', and other awards including Kenzo Nakajima music prize, Grand prize of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and the Bekku prize.

Especially, the collaboration work "Shiroiuta Aoiuta" with Gan Tanigawa (53 pieces), "Tsubute Songs" from the "Shi no tsubute" by Ryoichi Wagou (12 pieces) are widely performed. He held an exhibition of his Violin works in 2011 and Chamber music in 2013.

He is a visiting professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts.