Indian Summer in Levoca Festival 2010

Ronald Sebesta studied clarinet at the Conservatory in Bratislava. During his univ ersity years he completed an internship at the Conservatoire de Région in Boulogne in France. Since 1993 he has been first clarinetof the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bratislava, and since 1996 as the Chamber Orchestra Cappella Istropolitana as well. He often plays as a soloist with the Slovak Chamber Orchestra. In 1988 he became a member of the VENI ensemble for contemporary music. His main professional interest is chamber music with an emphasis on music of the 20th Century, as a result of which hes co-founded in the year 1997 the Association of Chamber Opera Ensemble Aperto. He is a permanent member of the experimental group Vapor del cuore. Since 1995 he has been devoted to musicological research on clarinet sound in the post-graduate studies department of the Music Academy in Bratislava.

Jozef Lupták (cello) is one of the most active figures on the Slovak musical scene. Lupták is a graduate of the Performing Arts College (VŠMU) in Bratislava and the Royal Academy of Music in London (where he studied with Robert Cohen). He is a laureate and winner of many national and international music competitions. As soloist he has played with conductors including Andrew Parrott, Jiří Bělohlávek and Leoš Svárovský. He regularly plays with chamber music partners as Eleonora Škutová, Igor Karško, Ronald Šebesta, as well as with Robert Cohen and Vladimir Mendelsson amongst others. He also works with rock musicians including the legendary Slovak rock pianist/composer and improviser Marián Varga, and with Slovak mainstream composers including Peter Zagar and Vladimír Godár.

Jozef is founder and artistic director of the successful international festival of chamber music, 'Convergence'. His discography includes the World Premiere CD of Godár´s “Music for Cello” , a 2CD set of complete Bach Solo Cello Suites (the first Slovak recording), as well as his own project CELLO – a recording of five new compositions inspired by Bach´s 1^st Suite.

In the 2009-2010 season Jozef premiered Peter Zagar’s concerto with the Slovak Radio Orchestra, (written for him), conducted a concert tour of Hassidic Song with Bratislava rabbi Baruch Myers, premiered a concerto by Evgeny Irshai and undertook solo recitals in USA, Rome, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and performed at Robert Cohen’s festival in Charleston, UK. He has just completed his doctoral thesis on Slovak contemporary music written for cello since the 1989 revolution in Czechoslovakia.

Nora Skuta is a popular performer of contemporary music. She has participated in many unique projects, and regularly performs at international festivals. Chamber is playing a dominant part of her artistic profile; she has collaborated with many important figures, composers, performers of contemporary music (Beth Griffith, Sigune von Osten, Marianne Schroeder, Zygmunt Krauze, Johannes Kalitzke, Sofia Gubaidulina, L. Andriessen, Amadinda percussion group etc). She was co-founder of the Aperto Opera ensemble, and works with the Austrian VENI Ensemble für Neue Musik. She frequently performs in a piano duo with her husband, Miki Skuto. Nora is a welcome guest as soloist with Czech symphonic and chamber orchestras. She also acts as accopmoanist with may instrumentalists; he regular partners includeJ . Lupták, E. Prochác, and G. Grebeníček of the Czech Republic. Her discography includes recordings of principally chamber music and the works of Slovak composers. Her solo album of John Cage’s ‘Sonatas and interludes’ for prepared piano (Hevhetia, 2005) was highly esteemed and was selected BBC Music Magazine’s book ‘1001 Classical CDs You Must Hear, Before You Die’. This year her solo CD of Olivier Messiaen’s ’Vingt regards sur l'Enfant Jesus’ will be released.


	Indian Summer in Levoca \| home Stamic Quartet \| Julian Lloyd Webber \| Košice Philharmonic Orchestra \| European Union Baroque Orchestra \| Ivo Kahánek \| Aperta Trio \| Klára Kolonits \| Jonathan Powell \| Post Scriptum Quartet \| Tomasz Kamieniak \| Holywell Ensemble \| Monica Melcova \| Olivier Benichou \| Dionysios Tsaousidis Aperta Trio Ronald Sebesta (clarinet) -Jozef Lupták (cello) - Nora Skuta (piano) Ronald Sebesta studied clarinet at the Conservatory in Bratislava. During his univ ersity years he completed an internship at the Conservatoire de Région in Boulogne in France. Since 1993 he has been first clarinetof the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bratislava, and since 1996 as the Chamber Orchestra Cappella Istropolitana as well. He often plays as a soloist with the Slovak Chamber Orchestra. In 1988 he became a member of the VENI ensemble for contemporary music. His main professional interest is chamber music with an emphasis on music of the 20th Century, as a result of which hes co-founded in the year 1997 the Association of Chamber Opera Ensemble Aperto. He is a permanent member of the experimental group Vapor del cuore. Since 1995 he has been devoted to musicological research on clarinet sound in the post-graduate studies department of the Music Academy in Bratislava. Jozef Lupták (cello) is one of the most active figures on the Slovak musical scene. Lupták is a graduate of the Performing Arts College (VŠMU) in Bratislava and the Royal Academy of Music in London (where he studied with Robert Cohen). He is a laureate and winner of many national and international music competitions. As soloist he has played with conductors including Andrew Parrott, Jiří Bělohlávek and Leoš Svárovský. He regularly plays with chamber music partners as Eleonora Škutová, Igor Karško, Ronald Šebesta, as well as with Robert Cohen and Vladimir Mendelsson amongst others. He also works with rock musicians including the legendary Slovak rock pianist/composer and improviser Marián Varga, and with Slovak mainstream composers including Peter Zagar and Vladimír Godár. Jozef is founder and artistic director of the successful international festival of chamber music, 'Convergence'. His discography includes the World Premiere CD of Godár´s “Music for Cello” , a 2CD set of complete Bach Solo Cello Suites (the first Slovak recording), as well as his own project CELLO – a recording of five new compositions inspired by Bach´s 1^st Suite. In the 2009-2010 season Jozef premiered Peter Zagar’s concerto with the Slovak Radio Orchestra, (written for him), conducted a concert tour of Hassidic Song with Bratislava rabbi Baruch Myers, premiered a concerto by Evgeny Irshai and undertook solo recitals in USA, Rome, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and performed at Robert Cohen’s festival in Charleston, UK. He has just completed his doctoral thesis on Slovak contemporary music written for cello since the 1989 revolution in Czechoslovakia. Nora Skuta is a popular performer of contemporary music. She has participated in many unique projects, and regularly performs at international festivals. Chamber is playing a dominant part of her artistic profile; she has collaborated with many important figures, composers, performers of contemporary music (Beth Griffith, Sigune von Osten, Marianne Schroeder, Zygmunt Krauze, Johannes Kalitzke, Sofia Gubaidulina, L. Andriessen, Amadinda percussion group etc). She was co-founder of the Aperto Opera ensemble, and works with the Austrian VENI Ensemble für Neue Musik. She frequently performs in a piano duo with her husband, Miki Skuto. Nora is a welcome guest as soloist with Czech symphonic and chamber orchestras. She also acts as accopmoanist with may instrumentalists; he regular partners includeJ . Lupták, E. Prochác, and G. Grebeníček of the Czech Republic. Her discography includes recordings of principally chamber music and the works of Slovak composers. Her solo album of John Cage’s ‘Sonatas and interludes’ for prepared piano (Hevhetia, 2005) was highly esteemed and was selected BBC Music Magazine’s book ‘1001 Classical CDs You Must Hear, Before You Die’. This year her solo CD of Olivier Messiaen’s ’Vingt regards sur l'Enfant Jesus’ will be released.