Performers

airborne extended is a quartet for contemporary music consisting of flute, recorder/Paetzold, harp and harpsichord, with electronics, objects and performance. The ensemble was founded in 2013 and its unique instrumental combination offers the possibility of creating a wide range of new sounds and colors that in recent years has inspired several generations of composers from all over the world. Its constantly growing repertoire counts more than 80 premieres – working with both up-and-coming and established composers.

• Recorders / Paetzold: Caroline Mayrhofer
• Flutes: Elena Gabbrielli
• Harpsichord / keyboard: Sonja Leipold
• Harp: Tina Žerdin

• airborneextended.com

Elena Gabbrielli born in Arezzo / IT, studied flute and philosophy in Venice. Further studies with Chiara Tonelli, Patrick Gallois and Pier Narciso Masi. Specialization in contemporary music in the Master’s program PPCM at the University of Music in Graz under the guidance of Klangforum Wien. Nowadays Elena regularly plays in various chamber music projects and ensembles for new music across Europe. Performances at numerous festivals, including at the Salzburger Festspiele, Wien Modern, Biennale Musica Venezia, Ravenna Festival, Festival dei due Mondi Spoleto, Graz musikprotokoll, Kalv Festivalen, GAIDA Festival Vilnius, Archipel Genève. Radio recordings for RAI-RADIO3, Ö1, RTS-Espace 2, SWR, BR Klassik. From 2023 she holds a lectureship for contemporary flute and chamber music at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna (mdw).

• elenagabbrielli.com

Sonja Leipold studied piano and flute at the Mozarteum Salzburg, and harpsichord & basso continuo at the Universtiy of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Focusing on early and contemporary music, she regularly performs as a soloist, basso continuo-player, and with own ensembles at renowned concert festivals. As a soloist she appeared with Wiener Kammerorchester, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Bach Consort Wien, she regularly performs with Capella Leopoldina, Bach Consort Wien, Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna,, Tonkünstlerorchester Wien, MusikFabrikSüd, Reconsil, Phace.

She closely cooperates with contemporary composers all over the world, participated in many CD-, radio and filmproductions. Sonja Leipold is lecturer at various masterclasses, as an accompanist she worked with Emma Kirkby & Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Since 2015 she teaches at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, since 2019 she is president of IGNM/ISCM Austria.

• sonjaleipold.net

Caroline Mayrhofer born in Innsbruck, studied recorder at Bruckner-Konservatorium Linz and at Musikuniversität Wien. She graduated as a Master of Arts with distinction and was awarded scholarships at Amherst-Early-Music-Festival/USA and the Stichting Musici van Morgen/NL. At a post-graduate at the Conservatorium Amsterdam she got a diploma cum laude. She has been teaching at the conservatorio di Bolzano. Caroline was repeatedly pricewinner at the competition „Jugend musiziert“, 2012 she was price-winner at the international competition for contemporary recorder music in Darmstadt. As a soloist and in Ensembles she performs throughout Europe, America, Asia. She is part of many CD- and Radioproductions (RecRec, EMI digital, RAI, ORF, radio espace 2, Kairos).

• caroline-mayrhofer.net

Tina Žerdin the Slovenian harpist completed her concert harp studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with distinction. She is currently the principal harpist in the Wiener Akademie, Wiener Kammerorchester, Austrian-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic, and Synchron Stage Orchestra. Additionally, she is a frequent guest musician at the Vienna State Opera, Volksoper, and other Viennese orchestras. As a solo harpist, she has performed with the orchestra of La Scala in Milan, the orchestra of the Tiroler Festspiele, and the National Opera in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. As a performer of contemporary music, she collaborates with the ensemble airborne extended (member since 2017), as well as with ensembles such as Klangforum, Reconsil, Phace, and Kontrapunkte. She is a prominent interpreter of Slovenian contemporary music and has participated in many radio and CD recordings. Among others, she has released two CDs of Slovenian harp music in collaboration with Slovenian Radio and the Slovenian Composers’ Association. Since 2024, Tina Žerdin has been the coordinator of the Slovenian Cultural Center Korotan in Vienna.

• tinazerdin.com

Soundscore-Ensemble - The ensemble consists of students from the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, who study 20th and 21st century works as part of their ‘New Music’ course and present them in concerts.

Jaime Wolfson from the Joseph Haydn Institute for Chamber Music and Contemporary Music at the mdw is responsible for programme planning, coordination and direction, as well as collaboration with partners.

Jaime Wolfson - Particularly formative and inspiring for Jaime were his classes with Sergei Babayan, Martha and György Kurtág, who "welcomed him into the musical family," Christian Wolff, Yuji Yuasa, and Johannes Marian, as well as years of rehearsals with René Staar.

Jaime Wolfson has had the opportunity to work on various productions and projects with Peter Ablinger, Marianne Pousseur, Wolfgang Mitterer (Salzburger Festspiele as music director of the 2019–21 Jedermann production), Michael Sturminger, Nadja Kayali, Mark Andre, Bernhard Lang, Georg Nussbaumer, Olga Neuwirth, among others.

Since 2018, he has been the artistic director of the Platypus Ensemble, whose new artistic identity and very high musical quality led to his invitation to the Imago Dei Festival (Krems, Austria) and the Carinthischer Sommer Festival (in southern Austria) for three consecutive years (https://www.platypus-ensemble.com)

In 2023, Wolfson was commissioned to prepare the Vienna Symphony Orchestra for the performance of Peter Jakober's "Saitenraum II" during the opening of Wien Modern at the Vienna Konzerthaus.

The duo ANNEA, formed by Andrea Edlbauer and Barbara Maria Neu, brings together two musicians who work at the intersection of contemporary music, performance, and interdisciplinary art. Both artists share a progressive approach to music and performance.

Andrea Edlbauer is a saxophonist, composer, and educator known for her cross-genre projects bridging contemporary music, classical, and jazz. Barbara Maria Neu, clarinetist and performance artist, combines music with visual and performing arts.

As a duo, they have performed in venues such as the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (ACFNY), Lotto Jazz Festival Brussels, Musikverein Vienna, and Festspielhaus St. Pölten.

• Soprano and alto Saxophone / Andrea Edlbauer
• Clarinet (B-flat, A clarinet) / Barbara Maria Neu

• annea.at
• barbaramarianeu.at
• andreaedlbauer.at

Andrea Edlbauer sees herself as a musician, educator, and creative artist. The focus of her work lies in progressive and contemporary projects.

With the formation ANNEA and the "Rebenerzählungen" project, she has toured Austria, performing at festivals such as Horizonte in Landeck and the Neujahrsjazzfestival in Feldkirch. Furthermore, she has performed internationally with ANNEA, including appearances in Brussels and New York.

With the band MERVE, she released the album "Ich war einmal" on the classical label Gramola. The album has been presented at festivals like Musica Sacra Linz and at the opening of the 2024 Salzkammergut European Capital of Culture.

With the saxophone-piano Duo Edlbauer Kuzo, 2024 concerts were scheduled through IGNM Austria and the Alte Schmiede Vienna. New works are regularly commissioned for the duo. In July 2024, the duo also shared the stage with Frau Thomas (aka Conchita Wurst) and Herr Martin as part of the Salzkammergut Capital of Culture program. The duo released the album „The Lovers" on the classical label Gramola in October 2025.

Andrea completed the postgraduate program "New Music Ensemble" at the Joseph Haydn Institute of the MDW Vienna with the Duo Edlbauer Kuzo in 2022/23. Prior to that, she completed her Master's degree in Concert Saxophone under Michael Krenn at the MUK Vienna in autumn 2020. She also studied in the pedagogical Master's program at the Bruckner University Linz under Peter Rohrsdorfer (2015), as well as Music Education at the Mozarteum Salzburg and Biology at the University of Salzburg (2017). She has been teaching saxophone at the Upper Austrian State Music School system since 2014.

The saxophonist is a grant recipient of the Austrian Federal Chancellery (BKA) for the nation's promising young artists in the fields of music and performing arts (2020).

• andreaedlbauer.at

Barbara Maria Neu is a clarinetist and performance artist based in Vienna. In addition to her work as a classical clarinetist, she explores the fusion of music with performing, visual, and performance arts, focusing on intertwining classical approaches with contemporary developmental forms.

Her solo performance Von Gläsernen Himmelsscherben was recently presented at the Music Theatre Days Vienna (2023) at WUK. Since 2021, she has performed regularly with the ensembles MERVE and ANNEA, including at the opening of the European Capital of Culture 2024 in Bad Ischl. Her debut performance Stalltänze (2020) was showcased both as a video work and as a stage performance, taking her to various venues such as MuTh Vienna, Transart Bolzano, and Schaumbad Graz. She has also performed in various ensembles at venues such as the Musikverein Vienna, Wiener Konzerthaus, the Austrian Cultural Forum in NYC, Jazzfestival Saalfelden, and Jazzfest Berlin. Additionally, she has served as a substitute with RSO Vienna. In 2020, Barbara Maria Neu was awarded the Austrian Federal Ministry of Arts’ Start Grant for Music and Performing Arts.

• barbaramarianeu.at

BLACK PAGE ORCHESTRA, founded 2014 in Vienna, is an ensemble for radical and uncompromising music of current times. The name derives from Frank Zappa’s composition the black page,n a piece which score is due to the high density of notes and musical events nearly a black paper. Beside this clear aesthetical approach the ensemble focuses on compositions using electronics, video and different technologies in an artistic context as well as pieces with performative character.

• Violin: Eirini Krikoni
• Cello: Irene Frank
• Trombone: Pablo Marin-Reyes
• Piano: Luca Lavuri
• Percussion: Igor Gross

• blackpageorchestra.org

Igor Gross is an innovative percussionist and composer, celebrated for his contributions to contemporary music and his distinctive sound approach. He began as a classical percussionist, performing with major Austrian orchestras like the Wiener Philharmoniker and Wiener Staatsopernorchester. During his studies at the Musikuniversität Wien, he developed a passion for contemporary and electronic music, free improvisation, and composer collaboration. Gross is a member of esteemed ensembles such as Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Phase, and Ensemble 20. Jahrhundert, and is a founding member of the Black Page Orchestra. He explores new sonic territories by integrating electronic devices and building custom instruments. His “Elements of Sound” series, including works like “Maschinenraum,” showcases his innovative compositions. Gross has also contributed to theater, film, and education, and taught percussion for 11 years at MS Perchtoldsdorf, and has lectured in Europe and Asia. Gross’s work embodies a continual search for new ways to realize and experience music, embracing complexity, unconventional beauty, and the transformative potential of sound.

Irene Frank - First piano lessons at the age of four, first cello lessons at fourteen. Studied concert cello and instrumental pedagogy with a focus on piano at the Universities of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and Graz. Participant of the Académie de musique du XXe siècle in Paris under Pierre Boulez. Librarian of the RSO Vienna Member of the Black Page Orchestra and the Ensemble Reconsil Vienna.

Eirini Krikoni, born in 1995, is a Greek violinist, chamber musician, and interpreter of contemporary music. Her musical education began at an early age and has always been marked by great joy and passion. She has performed both as a soloist and chamber musician in numerous concerts and festivals — including Wien Modern, Musiktheatertage Wien, Teatro Due, Young Euro Classics, among others. Her artistic work has been recognized with several awards and scholarships, and she has participated in numerous masterclasses with internationally renowned teachers of violin and chamber music. Eirini Krikoni is a co-founder of the Oxymoron Duo, the Punctum Collective, and the Oros Ensemble.

Pablo Marin-Reyes was born in Guatemala in 1992 and began studying trombone at the age of 15 at the Germán Alcántara National Conservatory in Guatemala City. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and a master's degree from the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. He has played with several ensembles and orchestras in Latin America. Shortly after arriving in Europe, Marin-Reyes turned his attention to contemporary music and made his debut with Klangforum Wien in 2021.

Luca Lavuri, pianist and organist, was born in Milan, Italy, in 1991. A versatile musician, he actively devotes himself to a broad repertoire ranging from early to contemporary music in his dual role as pianist and organist in chamber and ensemble music. Since fall 2020, he has been teaching as a senior lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 2018, Luca Lavuri made his debut as co-founder and active member of the N Ensemble in Vienna. He is a permanent member of the Chromoson Ensemble, with which he has performed at major festivals in Europe and Singapore. He has also had important engagements with Viennese ensembles such as the Black Page Orchestra, the Kontrapunkt Ensemble, and the Phace Ensemble, and has performed at renowned festivals throughout Europe.