The International Masterclasses - Clarinet and Saxophone (2010)

First soloist of the Orchestra of the Republican Guard of Paris, Sylvie HUE has pursued parallel studies in literature at the University of Paris XII and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. A student of G. Deplus and Christian Lardé, she obtained a unanimous First Prize in clarinet in 1987 and two First Prizes in chamber music in 1988. She also received a degree in modern literature in the same year. First Prize in the International Competition of Clarinet in Japan in 1988, laureate of the International Competition in Prague in 1991, she has performed in recitals and with orchestras in France and abroad. Concertos and chamber music pieces have been dedicated to her by renowned composers: Pierre Ancelin, Francine Aubin, Roger Boutry, Armando Ghidoni, Richard Phillips, and more. Equally active as a teacher, she is a tutor at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory of the City of Paris and gives masterclasses at the Julian Menendez academy in Spain. Eminent musicians recognize in Sylvie Hue an artist in possession of a proven technique and an exceptional sonority which conveys a great sensibility in her playing. The critics acknowledge her as "one of our best clarinetists."(J. Bonnaure, from Répertoire journal). Sylvie Hue plays a Selmer clarinet and uses Vandoren reeds and mouthpiece.

Music preview:

• Sylvie Hue / clarinet
  J. Horovitz: Sonatina, Con brio
  • S_Hue-Con_Brio.mp3 (3,7 MB)

Clarinetist, composer, teacher, and member of the highly regarded InterClarinet ensemble, Mr. Balogh is a graduate of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He has been the principal clarinetist in a number of leading orchestras, including the Budapest Opera Orchestra and the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In addition to the clarinet, he plays the saxophone and the Hungarian national instrument, the "tarogato". Somewhat unusual in today's world, he plays both the German and French system clarinets with equal fluency, and has a repertoire encompassing classical, jazz, contemporary, klezmer and gipsy music. In his unique compositions and improvisations, he combines Hungarian and Middle Eastern musical influences to create a highly personal style. "Hagada Klezmer Symphony: Four Glasses of Wine," was premiered in 2004. Jozsef Balogh is a prizewinner of national and international competitions (Prague, Graz and Budapest). In addition to performing at prestigious clarinet conventions and conferences around the world, he has given recitals and masterclasses in Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, England, Israel, the Netherlands, Italy, and the United States. He has also served as a guest professor at the universities of Oklahoma, North Texas and Idaho State in the US, and the Hochschule für Music Nürnberg-Augsburg in Germany. He can be heard on numerous recordings for the Naxos Label as well as on two highly acclaimed CDs with the InterClarinet ensemble, both of which feature some of his own works for clarinet quintet. His latest radio broadcasts include being featured as "Musician of the Week" by Bartók Radio, Hungary's arts station.

Jorge Montilla is considered one of the best clarinetists in Latin-America and one of the world’s finest E-flat clarinet players. Jorge Montilla holds a Bachelor degree in Clarinet Performance from the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales, (Venezuela) a Masters Degree in Clarinet Performance and an Artist Diploma both from Indiana University. (USA) Mr. Montilla’s clarinet teachers have included Filippo Rutigliano, Mark Friedman, Valdemar Rodríguez and Luis Rossi in his native Venezuela, as well as studies abroad with Michel Lethiec, Kalman Berkes, Harmen de Boer, Antony Pay, Eddy Vanoosthuyse, Jonathan Cohler, Ricardo Morales and Howard Klug. He has appeared as a soloist with the most important Venezuelan orchestras and the Indiana University Chamber Orchestra. He has given recitals at major venues in Venezuela as well as in the USA, Martinique, France, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, China and Brazil together with leading important soloists and chamber music groups. As a member of the Caracas Clarinet Quartet, Mr. Montilla has concertized extensively throughout the world (South America, Europe, Asia and the USA); he has recorded two CDs (the second featuring Paquito D’Rivera), and his many pieces for the CCQ have made him one of the pre-eminent composers/arrangers for clarinet ensemble today. As a teacher, he has taught clarinet at Arizona State University and he has been Chairman of the Clarinet Department at the Simón Bolívar Conservatory of Music. He has also given masterclasses, clinics and workshops for major universities and music conservatories in Colombia, Chile, Barbados, St. Lucia, the USA, Puerto Rico, China, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic and Brazil. Winner of the Indiana University Woodwind Competition, 2000, the Travel Grant Competition, (2001) the Performer’s Certificate (Indiana University’s highest award for a performer), semifinalist of the Concert Artist Guild (2001), and winner of both the Fifth and Seventh Competitions of Music of Latin America and Spain (2002 and 2004). At present, he is Professor at the Latin-American Clarinet Academy of Venezuela, Assistant Principal Clarinet of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and a member the Clarinet Trio Zephir, the Latin American Ensemble Taku and the Woodwind Quintet Maslanka. In addition, Jorge Montilla is a columnist for the International Clarinet Association’s magazine "The Clarinet" and maintains a hectic international career as a soloist and as a clinician. Jorge Montilla represents Rossi Clarinets, Rico Reeds and BG Ligatures. His compositions and arrangements are published by Woodwindiana Editions, USA.

Music preview:

• Jorge Montilla / clarinet:
  Desenne
  • J_Montilla-Desenne1.mp3 (0,2 MB)
• Jorge Montilla / clarinet:
  Cierra tus ojos Proyecto
  • J_Montilla-Cierra_tus_ojosProyecto.mp3 (0,3 MB)
• Jorge Montilla / clarinet:
  Piazzolla
  • J_Montilla-Piazzolla.mp3 (0,2 MB)

Ronald Šebesta studied clarinet at the Conservatory and Academy of Music and Drama in Bratislava (Slovakia). During his studies at the Academy he completed an 8-months course at the Conservatoire de Région in Boulogne (F). Since 1993 he has been 1^st clarinetist of the in Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bratislava. Since 1996 he has played 1^st clarinet in the chamber orchestra Cappella Istropolitana. He has co-founded several groups of chamber music: in 1988 the VENI ensemble for contemporary music; in 1997 the chamber group OPERA APERTA for 19^th and 20^th century music; in 1995 the experimental group VAPORI del CUORE, resp. in 2004 experimental group DON@U.com; and in 2004 the LOTZ trio of 18^th century basset horns. He also gives occasional solo performances with Slovak symphony orchestras. Since 2002 has been a teacher at the Academy of Music and Drama in Bratislava.

Arkadiusz Adamski received his Master's of Music degree from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, in the clarinet class run by Professor A. Janicki While still a student he entered and succeeded in many national and international music competitions. He won First Place Award in the National Chamber Music Competition in 1983 in the duo category, and in 1985 he was the winner of the K. Kurpinski Second International Clarinet Competition. Mr. Adamski attended many international master classes (in Germany, France and Poland) and as a recipient of the State Scholarship he continued to improve his clarinet skills under Professor J. Schou in Denmark. In 1985 he began to collaborate with the Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra and two years later he became a Principal with the Polish Chamber Philharmonic. Since 1993 he has been the Principal in the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice and he has also been the Principal in the Sinfonietta Cracovia Orchestra since 2000. He has performed as a soloist as well as an active chamber musician with numerous orchestras and ensembles including the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Hilliard Ensemble, the Polish Chamber Philharmonic, the Warsaw Chamber Opera, the Byelorussia National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sinfonietta Cracovia, and many others. In 2007 was invited as a recital performer to the International Clarinetfest in Vancouver. He has made many recordings for Polish Radio and TV broadcasting stations and also for the BBC. Since 2001 he has been a lecturer at the Academy of Music in Katowice.

Mr. Dohnal studied at Ostrava Conservatory in the class of Petr Bohouš. After graduating from the Academy of Performing Arts (with Vlastimil Mareš), in years 1996-1997, he attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with Thea King and Julian Farrall. In 1999, he spent three months in residency at the State Conservatory of Rimsky-Korsakov in St. Petersburg with V. Bezrutchenko and in 2003-2004 he studied at the Hochshule für Musik in Berlin with Francois Benda. He has successfully participated in many international competitions: 2004 "Premio Valentino Bucchi" Rome (1^st Prize), 2002 Prague Spring (3^rd Prize), 2001 XIV. International Music Competition "Pacem in terris" Bayreuth (2^nd Prize), 1999 International Clarinet Competition Ostende, Belgium (1^st Prize), 1997 VII. International Clarinet Competition Dos Hermanas, Seville, Spain (3^rd Prize). During his career up to now, he has given concerts not only in the Czech Republic, but also in many countries in Europe and the USA. He has performed concertos by Francaix, Nielsen, Copland, Penderecki and other composers with orchestras including the Prague Philharmonia, the Czech Chamber Orchestra, the Talich Chamber Orchestra, and the Belgrade Philharmonic. Mr. Dohnal is also a regular performer of chamber music. He is a member of the Prague Clarinet Quartet and the Amadeus Trio. He intensively studies and performs the music of the second half of 20^th century. He plays on Rico Reserve reeds and Selmer Recital clarinets.

• dohnal.czechian.net

Music preview:

• Karel Dohnal / clarinet, Václava Černohorská / piano:
  R. Kókai - Four Hungarian Dances / Friss
  • K_Dohnal-Friss.mp3 (1.5 MB)
• Karel Dohnal / clarinet:
  T. Oláh - Sonata for Clarinet solo
  • K_Dohnal-Sonata.mp3 (4,9 MB)

After graduating from the Ostrava Conservatoire, where he studied from 1989 to 1995, Igor Františák continued in his studies at the Department of Art and Education of the University of Ostrava under the instruction of senior lecturer Valter Vítek. In 2001 Igor studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music under the tutelage of Prof. Hans Christian Braein. As a soloist Igor has performed repeatedly with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Musici Boemi, the Janáček Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Janáček, the Ameropa Ensemble, the Wihan Quartet, the Talich Quartet, the Wallinger Quartet and others. In addition to performing as a soloist at recitals, Igor is a member of a number of chamber ensembles. He is a founder of the Stadler Clarinet Quartet and the Moravia Ensemble, who have recorded a CD for Slovart. This ensemble won 1^st Prize at the International Music Competition "Marco Fiorindo" 2002 (Chamber Music) in Italy. Recently Igor has applied himself to the study and performance of classical music from the second half of the twentieth century. He has been invited repeatedly to participate in the Ostrava Days international festival of contemporary music. Igor is currently teaching at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Ostrava.

Music preview:

• Igor Františák / clarinet, Eliška Novotná / piano:
  B. Martinů - Sonatina fot Clarinet and Piano / Moderato
  • I_Frantisak-Moderato.mp3 (2,9 MB)
• Igor Františák, Z. Kaleta - clarinets, Janáček Chamber Orchestra:
  G. Ph. Teleman - Concerto for 2 Clarinets and Strings / Allegro
  • I_Frantisak-Allegro.mp3 (4,9 MB)

Graduated with distinction from Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava (clarinet) in 1995, the University of Ostrava (clarinet class of Valter Vítek) in 1999, and the Academy of Music in Katowice (with Andrzej Janicki) in 2001 on a Polish Government scholarship. He also graduated from the Institute for Jazz and Pop Music of the Academy of Music in Katowice (saxophone class of Jerzy Główczewski) in 2004. Prize winner of many national and international music competitions. Since 1997 he has been the first clarinetist of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. He has toured with this ensemble in Europe and other continents, and has recorded for the Polish Radio and foreign record companies. As a soloist he has appeared with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, the Silesian Philharmonic, the NPRSO, the Moravian Philharmonic, the Janáček Chamber Orchestra, Impuls Chamber Orchestra (Poland), the University Chamber Orchestra and the Silesian String Quartet. From 1994-97 he was the first clarinetist of the Stadler Clarinet Quartet in Ostrava. He appears also in other chamber ensembles as well as jazz bands including the Big Ostrava Band. Since 2005 he has taught the saxophone class at the Leoš Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava, and since 2006 he has taught clarinet at Academy of Music in Katowice.

He is a laureate of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and has been sponsored since 1990 by the Selmer Company. In 1990, he won first prize in chamber music at the international competition of U.F.A.M. Mr. Portejoie received the Médaille d'Or de Saxophone at the CNR de Nantes under the tutelage of Jean-Pierre Magnac. He received the second prize in the Concours National d'Aix-les-Bains in 1980. In 1982 he received the C.A. de Saxophone and first prize of the CNSM de Paris with Daniel Deffayet. In 1986 he received a diploma in arranging and in 1987 first prize for composition at the Concours National de Jazz a la Défense. He played first alto in the Claude Bolling Orchestra and has performed with such renowned jazz artists as Roger Guerin, Stéphane Grapelli, Didier Lockwood, Martial Solal, Kenny Clark, Phil Woods and Jon Faddis.

Music preview:

• Philippe Portejoie:
  D. Milhaud - Brazileira
  • D_Milhaud-Brazileira.mp3 (2,3 MB)