Luka Venek

Drum Encounters (Drums)

Luka learned his first drum beats at the Nazarje Music School under the mentorship of Davor Plamberger. Already during elementary music school, he stood out as a percussionist and participated in competitions.

He continued his education at the music gymnasium in Velenje with Prof. Tomaž Lojen. After finishing gymnasium, he started performing with various bands.

In 2018, he had the honor of playing with 5x Grammy Award nominee Eugene Hideway Bridges, one of the most recognizable blues and country guitarists in the world. He perfected his skills at various masterclasses around the world (Simon Phillips, Thomas Lang). In Slovenia, he plays with various musicians, but he especially likes to emphasize that he also plays with Uroš Perić and Oto Pestner.

Luka plays in the Smooth band, which received the title of best Elvis music performers in Europe in 2018. Besides performing concerts, Luka also works as a studio musician, and since 2020 he has been involved in the production of BONE custom drums.

Martin Vogrič Dežman

Classical Guitar, Six Strings Adventure

Martin began his musical journey at the Logatec Music School, where he learned to play various instruments besides guitar.

Between 2010 and 2015, he worked at the Kolenc family theater, where he was an actor in performances and an animator leading educational games for children. It was there that he discovered his passion for working with children and teaching. Later, he continued working at the Vox and EGO Lecta music schools, where he taught between 2015 and 2024.

In 2020, under the guidance of producer Tomaž Marič, he released his first song “My Mistakes,” which also became song of the week on Val 202. With this song, he began his journey in music production and songwriting. In 2023, he released the album “Straw Paths,” which he presented under the artistic name Martin Martian in January 2023 at the Cankarjev dom club.

Arian Krašna

Guitar Encounters

Ajda Stina Turek

Class Vocals

Ajda Stina Turek is a master of jazz singing and production, as well as a music composer and lyricist.

After graduating from the Conservatory for Music and Ballet Ljubljana in jazz singing – popular music, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2018, majoring in Vocal Performance. During her studies, she received several awards and the special award “The Outstanding Jazz Vocalist 2017,” when she was selected among 1,200 singers at the college. During her studies, she had the opportunity to collaborate with Kurt Elling, Lionel Richie, Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Lucinda Williams, and many other successful American musicians.

After finishing her studies, she moved to New York, where she created and also performed at the famous Birdland Jazz club and smaller Broadway venues. After returning from New York in 2019, Ajda received the award for most promising author and performer at Popevka 2019 for the song “In the Melody of Eternal Duet.”

Jazz producers of Euroradio unite musicians every year in the Euroradio Jazz Orchestra. Ajda Stina Turek was selected for the performance by Radio Slovenia, ARS program. The acclaimed concerts were in Vienna, Graz, Linz, and Salzburg.

Between 2018 and 2022, she released three of her original albums. The first, “Sonder,” in collaboration with 25 musicians from around the world, was recorded during her studies in Boston, USA. The second, titled “Bird of Paradise,” in collaboration with renowned vibraphonist Vid Jamnik and the ARS radio program, which they presented in the Jazz All Stars cycle at Cukrarna. The third album is titled “Trauma” and was part of her master’s project at Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain, where she received her master’s degree in 2022 in Contemporary Performance and Production.

In the last two years since returning from abroad, Ajda has been performing throughout Slovenia, Italy, and Croatia with various ensembles, often with big bands, while she focuses on jazz, musical theater, and cabaret. In her musical education, she completed 8 years of violin, 2 years of classical piano, and 2 years of jazz piano.
She teaches singing extensively, and she immensely enjoys finding each student’s unique expression, and above all, she is full of positive energy.

Klara Lavriša

Saxophone and Flute

Klara Lavriša is a flutist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. She began her musical education at age seven at GŠ Vrhnika. In 2021, she graduated in jazz saxophone from Prins Claus Conservatory (Groningen, Netherlands), and in July 2024, she received her master’s degree in jazz composition and arranging from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz (Austria).

She has years of experience teaching people of all levels and ages (5-79 years!). She regularly performs as a saxophonist with the Jazz Ladies ensemble and plays, writes, and arranges music for big bands and other larger ensembles (Big band Krško, Big band RTV Slovenia, Jazz Orchestra HRT, Revue Orchestra Big band Bjelovar, Jazz Punt big band…). In December 2024, she released her original big band debut titled ‘Odes & Oddities’.

Živa Letnar

Violin

Živa is a violinist from Krško. She started playing violin in 3rd grade at the Krško Music School with Professor Kristian Ilić. After finishing elementary school, she enrolled at I. Gymnasium in Celje and at the Celje Secondary Music School, where she studied violin for two years with Prof. Maša Mareš Ritlop and Nejc Avbelj. After successfully passing entrance exams, she was accepted into the 3rd year of violin at the Conservatory for Music and Ballet Ljubljana, with Prof. Veronika Vilar Brecelj, and later graduated with honors. She studies at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where she first studied with Prof. Monika Skalar and Prof. Gorjan Košuta, and is currently in Prof. Dan Zhu’s class.

Živa has further perfected her musical knowledge at masterclasses with renowned professors such as Helfried Fister, Emilio Percan, Shandor Javorkai, Anna Morgoulets, Dario Luisi, Anke Schittenhelm, and others.

She actively participates in various chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras, including the Slovenian Youth Orchestra, the Krško Symphony Orchestra, where she serves as concertmaster and has also played as a soloist, the Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatory for Music and Ballet Ljubljana, the Amadeo Orchestra, and the National Youth Orchestra in Luxembourg.

MANCA Tršar

Pianoforte – Piano, Play for Keeps – Keyboards

Manca began her musical journey at age seven at the Logatec Music School. Her dedication and talent quickly became evident, as she regularly participated in various competitions during elementary music school and gained valuable experience on stage.

She continued her education at the arts gymnasium in Koper, where she deepened her love for music. After graduation, she continued her musical story at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where she studies music pedagogy.

She feels a special passion for working with children – teaching inspires her and brings her great satisfaction, which is reflected in her dedicated and heartfelt approach to teaching.