Conductor

Aljoša Deferri

 

Soloists

Balkan Boys

 

 

Concert master:

Janez Benko

Price:20€

 Foto: Peter Bajnoci

Balkan Boys is a Slovenian band with a Balkan soul. They represent the true meaning and purpose of Balkan music – love, positive energy and good vibes. Their energetic stage performance is a perfect example of what happens when you mix balkan melos with rhythms of the world: rumba, ska, swing, reggae. It's a unique combination!

 Energy on stage, great improvisation and perfected music performance take audiences to a whole new level!

It all began in 2007 when singer and trumpet player Rok Nemanič Nemo first travelled to the heart of Balkan music – Guča Festival. Soon after that, he went to listen a show of Fanfare Ciocarlia. He was determined to put together a band of young academic musicians and start a brand new story; something never before seen or heard in Slovenia.

 Since then, the band shared stages with many famous musicians in both Slovenia and abroad (Goran Bregovič, Vlado Kreslin, Dubioza Kolektiv, Lado Bizovičar, Mari Mata Hari, Zlatko etc.).

Rok Nemanič Nemo - vokal, trumpet, aragements

Matija Marion - saksofon

Andrej Štrekelj - trumpet

Emir Ibrakić - guitarr

Žiga Vehovec - accordion

Ilj Pušnik - bass guitarr

Uroš Nemanič - drums

    

The Slovenian Armed Forces Band   was founded in 1996 and is the youngest Slovenian professional band. It continues the long tradition of military bands and orchestras in Slovenia, which dates back to the time of Maria Theresa, when the first regular military band began to operate in Ljubljana.

 Today, the Slovenian Armed Forces Band includes 53 academically educated musicians. With one of its ensembles - either as a large orchestra, a ceremonial band, Big Band, wind or brass quintet, or other ensemble - it participates in all ceremonial events of the Slovenian Armed Forces, and is an indispensable part of national protocol events, celebrations and multinational meetings. In addition, the band performs at numerous charity concerts and local community events. With a very diverse opus and the quality of its performing arts, it always creates a feeling of perfection and high cultural level of events, and above all the image of proud members of the Slovenian Armed Forces.

Last year, the Slovenian Armed Forces Band celebrated twenty-five years of its existence. Throughout this time, it has trodden a successful path of development and has formed into a professional, lively, hard-working and quality ensemble. Many famous conductors and many top-level soloists from Slovenia and abroad like to work with the band, which over 200 performances a year. A special proof of its high quality are regular invitations to the concerts and military tattoos in different parts of Europe and the USA, where it acts as a respectable ambassador of Slovenian culture.

 In 1997, the band was awarded a Bronze Medal and, in 2006, a Gold Medal of the Slovenian Armed Forces. In 2016, on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, awarded the Slovenian Armed Forces Band the Order of Merit.

Aljoša Deferri , born in 1971 in Šempeter near Nova Gorica, is a versatile musician, clarinettist, saxophonist and conductor. He began his music education at the Music Education Centre in Nova Gorica, where he successfully graduated from junior music school in the class of Professor Stojan Ristovski, majoring in clarinet. He continued his education in Ljubljana at the Police Cadet School and at the same time attended the secondary music school with professor Marko Lednik. In 1990, after graduating from the Police Cadet School, he joined the Police Orchestra, and later the Police Orchestra. In 1991, he graduated with honours from the secondary music school and continued his clarinet studies at the Academy of Music in the class of Professor Slavko Goričar, graduating with honours four years later. In 1996, he left the Police Orchestra and joined the Slovenian Armed Forces Band being founded in that period, as a concertmaster. In 2010, he became Deputy Head of the Slovenian Armed Forces Band, and in 2011, its Head. Following the numerous reorganisations of the Slovenian Armed Forces Band, he is currently acting as its professional director.

 Since 1990, he has performed as a soloist with the Police Orchestra and the Slovenian Armed Forces Band. He is also a member and co-founder of the Slovenian Clarinet Quartet (founded in 1994), with which he recorded five CDs and gave many concerts at home and abroad (Italy, Austria, Belgium, France).

 In 2000, his merits were awarded with the Bronze Medal of the Slovenian Armed Forces. In 2003, he received the Bronze Medal of the 12^th Guards Battalion, in 2006 the Award of the Chief of Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, the 2011 Silver Medal of the Slovenian Armed Forces Band, the 2016 Bronze Medal of the Minister of Defence and 2021 Bronze Medal of the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces.

He also works as a conductor of amateur wind bands. From 1998 to 2001, he was the conductor of the Nova Gorica Wind Orchestra, and, in September 2002, he took the baton of the Lesce Wind Orchestra, with which he won the third place in the second (2003) and the first place in the first difficulty level (2005) at the international competition Flicorno d'Oro in Riva del Garda, Italy. In 2003, the orchestra won the absolute first place at the second difficulty level of the Association of Slovenian Bands in Kamnik competition, and the gold plaque in Deskle in 2005. For these achievements, he was awarded a medal of the municipality of Radovljica. Since September 2006, he has been the conductor of the Wind Orchestra of the Vevče Paper Industry, which in 2009 and 2015 won a gold plaque at the competition of the Association of Slovenian Bands in the concert category.

 He received bronze and silver Gallus badges of the Public Fund of the Republic of Slovenia for Cultural Activities and bronze and silver awards of the Bojan Adamič Association of Slovenian Bands for his long career in the field of amateur music.

 As a professor of clarinet, he taught at the Nova Gorica Music Education Centre, the Škofja Loka Music School and the Ljubljana Secondary School of Music and Ballet.

 Throughout his musical career he has also taken part in oberkreiner-style music bands and is currently member of the Avsenik House Ensemble.