"Frank Gratkowski, saxophone. Born in Hamburg, 1963.

Started playing the saxophone at 16 and, following a period at the Hamburg Conservatory (Hamburger Musikhochschule), moved in 1985 to study at the Cologne Conservatory of Music with Heiner Wiberny, graduating in 1990.

Further studies with Charlie Mariano, Sal Nistico and Steve Lacy.

Frank Gratkowski has been working as a soloist in various international formations (Grubenklang Orchester, Klaus Koenig Orchester, Musikfabrik NRW, Tony Oxley Celebration Orchestra, Bentje Braam, BikBentBraam, All Ears, Zeitkratzer, WDR Big band, etc.). Since 1990 he has been giving solo performances throughout Europe, Canada and USA. With his first solo program, he was a 1991 prizewinner in the Musik Kreativ contest. The release of the solo CD "Artikulationen" followed the same year and a new one "Artikulationen II" in 2002.

Since 1992 he has been working in a duo with the pianist Georg Graewe (CD "VicissEtudes"). The duo is often extended through the participation of different additional musicians, such as drummer Paul Lovens (CD "Quicksand") and bassist John Lindberg (CD "Arrears").

In 1995 he founded the "Frank Gratkowski Trio" with Dieter Manderscheid (Germany), bass, and Gerry Hemingway (USA), drums, (CDs "Gestalten" and "The Flume Factor" ). In 2000 the trio has been extended to a quartet by Dutch trombonist Wolter Wierbos (CDs "Kollaps", "Spectral Reflections", "Facio" and "Le Vent et la Gorge"). Since 2003 also appearing as a Double Quartet plus Tobias Delius, Herb Robertson, Wilbert DeJoode and Michael Vatcher. In 2005 he got the SWR Jazzprize.

In 1999 the duo with the Italian trombonist Sebastiano Tramontana has been formed and since 2001 Frank Gratkowski has been performing with a trio including Wilbert De Jode (NL) on bass and Achim Kaufmann (D) on piano (CDs "Kwast" and "Unearth"). Since 2006 he's working with the Trio Gratkowski / Brown / Winant (CDs "Wake" and "Vermilion Traces/Donaueschingen 2009"). He is also a co-leader / composer of the Multiple Joy[ce] Orchestra and got a commission to compose for the ensemble Apartment House by "November Music " (Den Bosch NL) and the "Huddersfield Comtemporary Music Fesitival" (England) in 2009. Further actual projects are Fo[u]r Alto, a saxophone ensemble dedicated to microtonal music and "Artikulationen E" a solo program for saxophone with 8 channel live electronic.

Frank Gratkowski played on nearly every German and on numerous international Jazz and contemporary music Festivals including Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Quebec, Les Mans, Muelhuus, Groeningen, Nickelsdorf, Barcelona, Lithuania, Warsaw, Zagreb, Prague, Bratislava, Sofia, Bucharest, Odessa and Roma, Huddersfield, London.

He has been teaching saxophone and ensembles at the Cologne, Berlin and Arnhem Conservatory of Music and is giving workshops all around the world.

Furthermore he has performed with Robert Dick, Phil Wachsmann, Radu Malfatti, Herb Robertson, Marcio Mattos, Eugenio Colombo, Peter Kowald, Ray Anderson, Michael Moore, Ken Vandermark, Greg Osby, Kenny Wheeler, Louis Sclavis, John Betsch, Jane Ira Bloom, Connie and Hannes Bauer, Xu Fengxia, James Newton, Muhal Richard Abrams, John Lindberg, Michael Formaneck, Ernst Reijseger, Fred van Hove, Theo Jörgensmann, Phil Minton, Peter Brötzmann, Mark Dresser, Mark Feldman, Hamid Drake, Michiel Braam, Han Bennink, Mal Waldron, Misha Mengelberg a.m.o."

-Frank Gratkowski Website (http://gratkowski.com/biography/)
4/30/2025

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"Maria Gstättner: bassoon

Born 1977 in Mürzzuschlag / Austria.

Lives and works in Vienna and Burgenland.

She graduated with distinction from the bassoon instrumental studies, the bassoon teaching qualification and the postgraduate course in cultural management at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, as well as the artistic doctorate (Dr. artium) from the Graz University of Art.

Works by Maria Gstättner were created for numerous well-known ensembles such as for the Ensemble Kontrapunkte, the Wiener Concertverein, the next step, the ensemble plus +, Granmo / Berg and are performed in various contexts e.g. wien modern, styriarte, cultural museum chicago, Klangspuren schwaz, Vienna Music Association.

Her musical oeuvre ranges from the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Volksoper to contemporary ensembles such as the Klangforum Wien, the Ensemble Kontrapunkte, die reihe, the Ensemble Phace and the Sonic Fiction Orchestra.

She also plays on the stages of the Burgtheater and the Volkstheater Wien, appears internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and works in the fields of interdisciplinary performance art and free improvisation.

She works as an artistic and scientific researcher in the field of musical improvisation / intuition and teaches at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna."

-Music Austria (https://db.musicaustria.at/node/82648)
4/30/2025

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"Martin Siewert (born 11 May 1972) is a German guitarist and film composer.

Siewert has been living in Vienna since the age of 10. He studied guitar at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. As a guitarist, he started his public performances in 1995. In his early performances, he played with Herwig Gradischnig, Freier Fall, Franz Hautzinger, and his band Duckbilled Platypus. With this band, he recorded two albums for the label Extraplatte.

He began to separated himself from the jazz idiom and developed an abstract sound on guitar. He became a member of Efzeg with Burkherd Stangl and Hauf and Komfort. He invited Dafeldecker, Hinteregger, Wayne Horvitz and Tony Buck to the group Komfort. In the group Trapist, he played with Joe Williamson and Martin Brandlmayr. On My Kingdom for a Lullably, he played with Christof Kurzmann, Axel Dšrner, and Billy Roisz, the video artist of Efzeg. He was a member of the guitar quartet SSSD with Taku Sugimoto, Werner Dafeldecker, and Burkhard Stangl.

He has worked with Oskar Aichinger, Christian Fennesz, Wolfgang Mitterer, Elliott Sharp, Franz Koglmann, Thomas Lehn, Karlheinz Essl, Ken Vandermark, Michael Sarin, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Kammerflimmer Kollektief, Georg GrŠwe, Frank Gratkowski, Michael Vatcher, and Klangforum Wien. He has composed music for, ballet, film, theater, remix recordings, and sound art."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Siewert)
4/30/2025

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"Sara Kowal is an Austrian harpist known for her work in contemporary and experimental music. She has performed with ensembles such as the Sonic Fiction Orchestra and the trio Inawhirl, collaborating with artists like Georg Graewe and dieb13. Kowal's discography includes the album "Streugebilde," recorded with Inawhirl in Vienna in December 2020 and released in 2021 on Random Acoustics.

In addition to her performance career, Kowal is involved in music education, teaching harp at institutions like the W.A. Mozart Musikschule Horn.

Her work is documented on platforms such as AllMusic and Discogs, where her recordings and collaborations are listed."

-Squidco 4/30/2025

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"Joanna Lewis: Violin.

1st Violin - Koehne Quartet, Vienna; Guest Violinist - Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kangforum & Philharmonia, Vienna

Australian Hometown: AdelaideEducation: Adelaide Conservatorium; Hochschule für Musik, Vienna

Studied violin, cello and composition in Adelaide and violin with Spiros Rantos in Queensland.

1985 received the Carl Ludwig Pinschof Scholarship for study in Vienna, where she studied at the Hochschule for Music and the Performing Arts with Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Gerhard Hetzel and Günter Pichler, receiving a diploma with excellence.

Numerous performances as a soloist and together with Lisa Moore, Dave Liebman, Wayne Horvitz, Peter Herbert, Koehne Quartet, Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, Ensemble of the 20th Century, Music On Line, Vienna Art Orchestra, Austrian-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonie, Vienna Concert-Verein, Vienna Symphony, Otto Lechner Quartet, Max Nagl Quintet and Ramasuri (Max Nagl Double-Quintet), Velvet Lounge (Hannes Loeschel Octet), Giorgio Occhipinti Nonet, Australian World Orchestra, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, Klangforum Vienna and Camerata Schulz."

-Australian World Orchestra (https://www.australianworldorchestra.com.au/1080-joanna-lewis/)
4/30/2025

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Laura Strobl is an Austrian violist currently studying under Mario Gheorghiu at the Music and Arts Private University of the City of Vienna (Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien). Her musical education encompasses both classical and contemporary repertoire, with a particular emphasis on ensemble performance and improvisation. She is a member of the Ton der Jugend Symphony Orchestra in Vienna, where she continues to develop her orchestral experience.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Strobl actively engages in experimental and improvised music. She has collaborated with pianist Georg Graewe in a program titled "music for viola & piano," and has performed with the Sonic Fiction Orchestra, sharing the stage with artists such as Earl Howard, Frank Gratkowski, and Gerry Hemingway.

Strobl's discography includes recordings available on platforms like Discogs and AllMusic, reflecting her involvement in both traditional and avant-garde musical projects.

-Squidco 4/30/2025

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Melissa Coleman was born in 1968 in Melbourne, Australia and began her musical education with piano lessons at the age of 7. She studied cello with Henry Wenig and performing arts at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, where she graduated with distinction 1981 - 1990.

The VCA granted Melissa the loan of a valuable Auguste Sebastian Bernadel cello for 3 years and she was subsequently awarded the prestigious "Peers Cotemore Scholarship" for further studies overseas. She was the recipient of the "Herbert N. Davis Chamber Music Award" from the Musical Society of Victoria in 1987 and the "Hephzibah Menuhin Award for string soloists" in 1989, both presented by Lord Sir Yehudi Menuhin.

In 1990 Melissa resided in London and attended private masterclasses throughout Europe including lessons with Mischa Maisky, Mark Dobrinsky and William Pleeth. In 1991 she moved to Klagenfurt, Austria to study with Milos Mlejnik and in 1992 she was the first prizewinner at the International Cello competition in Liezen Austria.

Since 1992 Melissa Coleman has lived in Vienna and performs and tours as soloist, chamber and ensemble musician in renowned classical, modern, jazz and world music festivals throughout the world. She also works with music concept, as a composer, arranger and experimental improviser together with individual artists, modern dance, theater productions (Burgtheater Vienna) and multimedia projects. Melissa Coleman has recorded over 40 CDs with diverse ensembles and bands since living in Vienna.

-Melissa Coleman Website (http://www.melissacoleman.at/uploads/cv/m_coleman_cv_short.pdf)
4/30/2025

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"Peter Herbert: Born Leap Day of 1960 in Bludenz, AustriaBassist Peter Herbert has been living in Paris since 2003 (in New York from 1989-2003) and leads a busy schedule with an average of 100 concerts annually performing throughout the world.Trained as a classical pianist/bassist, after years of successful 'main stream' jazz activities, he is now developing his own voice in the field of improvised music. Recent activities include solo concerts, in 2002 in New York (Glassfarm), London (The Vortex), Moscow (The Dome), Vienna (Porgy&Bess), a.m.o. (CD: 'Naked Bass' ) and a focus on small ensembles like his duos with David Tronzo (CD: Segmente, AZM 1001), Carol Robinson (bass-clarinette/electronics) or his Parisian Trio with Jean-Charles Richard (sax) and Christophe Marguet(dr), He is also involved in arabic music with artists like oud-master Marcel Khalife or Simon Shaheen.Herbert is also a prolific and versatile composer, mostly commissioned by European orchestras and ensembles. He has written for orchestras, choirs and chamber groups, designed experimental movie soundtracks and incidental music for European avant-garde theatre groups (Cd:Aktionstheater Ensemble 2000 music for theater, AZM 102).As a Jazz musician, he has worked with many artists and groups such as the John Abercrombie/Marc Copland Quartet, Bobby Previte's "The Horse", John Clark Octet, Art Farmer and Woody Shaw. His work has been well documented on over 120 recordings (please see COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY).Herbert was recently awarded the Hans Koller-prize as 'musician of the year' This prize is given to a jury chosen person, who had 'significant impact on the Austrian music scene for a long time'. He also established his own internet-based label Aziza Music in 1999."-Aziza Music (http://www.azizamusic.com/bio.html)
4/30/2025

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"Els Vandeweyer is a Belgian vibraphonist, percussionist, and composer currently living in Berlin. After studying classical percussion in Antwerp and jazz vibraphone in Brussels and Oslo, Els co-founded the IMI Kollektief, whose critically acclaimed album Snug as a Gun was released on Clean Feed in 2006.

Today, Els plays regularly in Berlin, including solo performance, group improvisation, and contemporary music (including a performance of Xenakis's Rebonds b at the A L'ARME! Festival in Berlin).

In 2017, her composition Landscape, a 25-meter-long textile that functions as a mobile graphic score, was performed in Berlin as part of the Kontraklang series on contemporary music.

Past projects include a duo with Fred Van Hove, Quat (with Fred Van Hove, Paul Lovens, and Martin Blume), Andromeda Mega Express Orchstra, Pascal Niggenkemper´s Vision 7, the Serenus Zeitblom Oktett and collaborations with Hans Unstern en Real Geizt.

Recent projects are Metal Illusion (a shadow play with Rieko Okuda), Kudu (with Ignaz Schick and Klaus Kürvers), participation in the SFO- orchestra of Georg Graewe and a cooperation with Theater Zuidpool in Antwerp. With "Debut" she released her first album under her own name. (90%Wasser, 2019)"

-Els Vandeweyer Website (https://www.elsvandeweyer.com/about-me.html)
4/30/2025

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"Gerry Hemingway has led a number of quartet and quintets since the mid 1980's. In addition he has been a member of a wide array of long standing collaborative groups including Brew with Reggie Workman and Miya Masaoka, the GRH trio with Georg Graewe and Ernst Reijseger, the WHO trio with Michel Wintsch and Bänz Oester, as well as numerous duo projects with Thomas Lehn, John Butcher, Ellery Eskelin, Marilyn Crispell, and others. Mr. Hemingway is a Guggenheim fellow and has received numerous commissions for chamber and orchestral works as well as being noted for his innovative and multifaceted work as a solo performer which began in 1974. He was a member of the Anthony Braxton Quartet between 1983 and 1994 and is also well known for his collaborations with some of the world's most outstanding improvisers and composers including Evan Parker, Cecil Taylor, Mark Dresser, Anthony Davis, Derek Bailey, Leo Smith and many others. He currently lives in Switzerland having joined the faculty of the Hochschule Luzern in 2009."

-Gerry Hemingway Website (http://www.gerryhemingway.com)
4/30/2025

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"Georg Graewe began composing and performing professionally at the age of 15. He has since been leading a variety of ensembles - ranging from trio to chamber orchestra formats - which have involved some of the leading instrumentalists in contemporary music. His compositions, which include chamber music and works for full orchestra as well as scores for films, theater productions, radio drama, and video, have been performed and broadcast around the world.

Graewe has had a long-standing trio with Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger and US-based percussionist Gerry Hemingway since 1989. He has also performed and/or recorded with Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker, Dave Douglas, Phil Minton, Roscoe Mitchell, Barry Guy, Barre Phillips, Hamid Drake, John Butcher, Robert Dick, John Butcher, Mark Dresser among others.

Over the last 10 years, he has also written three operas. Kopenhagen (based on the same-titled play by Michael Frayn) was produced by OPER KÖLN (Cologne Opera House) in 2003. His second opera, Quicksilver, (a commission by Semperoper Dresden) came out in November 2006. And his most recent opera, Barbara Strozzi oder die Avantgarde der Liebe, was staged by Theater Luzern in Switzerland in 2010 and Oper Bonn in Germany in 2011.

Since 1999, Graewe has been closely associated with CNMAT (Center for New Music and Audio Technology) at UC Berkeley. From 2002 - 2007, he taught at Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin.

In 2010, Graewe curated a series of 27 events that presented different aspects of resonance between music, poetry, visual arts, and science as part of the European Cultural Capital RUHR 2010. A catalogue plus DVD edition documenting this project has been published on his own Random Acoustics label."

-Nuscope Records (http://nuscope.org/musicians/georg-graewe/)
4/30/2025

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