artists &
teachers
The Voicingers family is an ever-expanding group of experienced artists, teachers and musicians who has travelled with Voicingers for years, and talented local musicians from Denmark. Here’s our artist and teacher line-up from last year:
ABOUT
Grzgorz Karnas comes from a family without academic traditions of any kind. During his high school education he finished one year of classical guitar at the Szafrankowie Brothers State School of Music in Rybnik. He also spent eight years studying French, English and Arab languages, literatures and cultures at University of Mikołaj Kopernik in Toruń, English Teacher Training College in Cieszyn and Jagiellonian University in Cracow. Karnas is a graduate and a former teacher of the Jazz Institute of the Academy of Music in Katowice, considered prestigious in Poland. Throughout his career he has worked with top-line artists of the European jazz scene as well as some of its legends. In 1998, he was awarded first prize at the International Jazz Vocalists’ Meeting in Zamość (Poland). The following year, his debut album “Reinkarnasja” (Not Two 2000) was released and put Karnas on the road touring at main jazz clubs and festivals in Poland and Slovakia. Summer of 2004 saw the premiere of Grzegorz Karnas’ self-produced solo project “Sny/Dreams of a Ninth Floor”
(DeBies). Its promotion took place with a series of club and festival concerts in Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany and Romania. His composition “Dreams” featured on a compilation CD called “The Best of Polish Jazz 2005”. A new album “Ballads for the End of the World” featuring a Silesian cello player Adam Oleś was released in April 2006. Promotions of both projects continued in 2007. In 2006 Karnas was awarded first prize at Young Jazz Singers Competition Brussels. In August 2007 he was a winner of Crest Jazz Vocal competition held yearly in Crest – a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. His album under the title “Karnas” was released in 2011 by a Slovak label Hevhetia and his live performances from Budapest were produced and released by a Hungarian label BMC Records as “Audio Beads” (2012) and “Vanga” (2014) making Karnas a distinctive element of European jazz vocal scene. A live album called “Power Kiss” (Hevhetia 2017) was recorded during Karnas Formula’s Chinese Tour in 2016.
Apart from performing, Karnas occasionally lectures on improvisation. He conducted workshops in Poland, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungary, England, Ukraine, Russia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. Karnas is the spiritus movens and the artistic director of the Voicingers Festival – his brain child born in 2008.
CONCERTS
Sep 22nd 19:00 in Metronomen
Grzegorz Karnas Formula
Sep 24th 19:00 in Musikhøjskolen Frederiksberg
Voicingers All Stars
WORKSHOPS
Sep 23rd 11:15-12:45
Improvising songs
Sep 24th
Preperation for the concert of workshop participants and teachers
ABOUT
Grzgorz Karnas comes from a family without academic traditions of any kind. During his high school education he finished one year of classical guitar at the Szafrankowie Brothers State School of Music in Rybnik. He also spent eight years studying French, English and Arab languages, literatures and cultures at University of Mikołaj Kopernik in Toruń, English Teacher Training College in Cieszyn and Jagiellonian University in Cracow. Karnas is a graduate and a former teacher of the Jazz Institute of the Academy of Music in Katowice, considered prestigious in Poland. Throughout his career he has worked with top-line artists of the European jazz scene as well as some of its legends. In 1998, he was awarded first prize at the International Jazz Vocalists’ Meeting in Zamość (Poland). The following year, his debut album “Reinkarnasja” (Not Two 2000) was released and put Karnas on the road touring at main jazz clubs and festivals in Poland and Slovakia. Summer of 2004 saw the premiere of Grzegorz Karnas’ self-produced solo project “Sny/Dreams of a Ninth Floor”
(DeBies). Its promotion took place with a series of club and festival concerts in Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany and Romania. His composition “Dreams” featured on a compilation CD called “The Best of Polish Jazz 2005”. A new album “Ballads for the End of the World” featuring a Silesian cello player Adam Oleś was released in April 2006. Promotions of both projects continued in 2007. In 2006 Karnas was awarded first prize at Young Jazz Singers Competition Brussels. In August 2007 he was a winner of Crest Jazz Vocal competition held yearly in Crest – a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. His album under the title “Karnas” was released in 2011 by a Slovak label Hevhetia and his live performances from Budapest were produced and released by a Hungarian label BMC Records as “Audio Beads” (2012) and “Vanga” (2014) making Karnas a distinctive element of European jazz vocal scene. A live album called “Power Kiss” (Hevhetia 2017) was recorded during Karnas Formula’s Chinese Tour in 2016.
Apart from performing, Karnas occasionally lectures on improvisation. He conducted workshops in Poland, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungary, England, Ukraine, Russia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. Karnas is the spiritus movens and the artistic director of the Voicingers Festival – his brain child born in 2008.
CONCERTS
Sep 24th 19:00 in Musikhøjskolen Frederiksberg
WORKSHOPS
Sep 24th
ABOUT
ABOUT
Aleksandra Raczynska is a vocalist, violinist, singing teacher, choir conductor and music events manager. She gained professional qualifications at the Academy of Music in Gdansk and Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona. For several years she was a singer in the prestigious Polish National Youth Choir and the leader of the Solifonia Vocal Quintet. She is also the creator of the bands Almadera, Fasola and Shævrak. She lives in Copenhagen, where she recently graduated from the Marketing Management programme. She is a coordinator of the festivals Voicingers on Tour in Denmark and Idealistic Festival. She is also the conductor of the Modern Vocal Ensemble, ACE Performance Singers and the founder of the CHOIR CLUB at the “Korskolen” choir school.
CONCERTS
Sep 24th 19:00 in Musikhøjskolen Frederiksberg
Voicingers All Stars
WORKSHOPS
Sep 23rd 13:30-14:30
Musical journey in a capella singing
Sep 24th
Preperation for the concert of workshop participants and teachers
ABOUT
Aleksandra Raczynska is a vocalist, violinist, singing teacher, choir conductor and music events manager. She gained professional qualifications at the Academy of Music in Gdansk and Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona. For several years she was a singer in the prestigious Polish National Youth Choir and the leader of the Solifonia Vocal Quintet. She is also the creator of the bands Almadera, Fasola and Shævrak. She lives in Copenhagen, where she recently graduated from the Marketing Management programme. She is a coordinator of the festivals Voicingers on Tour in Denmark and Idealistic Festival. She is also the conductor of the Modern Vocal Ensemble, ACE Performance Singers and the founder of the CHOIR CLUB at the “Korskolen” choir school.
ABOUT
Mariusz Praśniewski, a double bass player, graduate of the Danish National Academy of Music in Odense, Denmark. During his scholarship at the Academy of Music and Drama, Geteborg, Sweden he studied under Anders Jormin. Currently he is a member of a few Polish, Danish and Polish/German/Swiss formations such as Maciej Czajkowski Trio, Massaka Storytelling Ensemble or Grzegorz Karnas Formula. One of the most promising Polish bass players.
CONCERTS
Sep 22nd 19:00 in Metronomen
Grzegorz Karnas Formula
Sep 23rd 19:00 in Metronomen
Manu Domergue
Sep 24th 19:00 in Musikhøjskolen Frederiksberg
Voicingers All Stars
ABOUT
Mariusz Praśniewski, a double bass player, graduate of the Danish National Academy of Music in Odense, Denmark. During his scholarship at the Academy of Music and Drama, Geteborg, Sweden he studied under Anders Jormin. Currently he is a member of a few Polish, Danish and Polish/German/Swiss formations such as Maciej Czajkowski Trio, Massaka Storytelling Ensemble or Grzegorz Karnas Formula. One of the most promising Polish bass players.
ABOUT
Sebastian Zawadzki is a Copenhagen-based pianist, composer, and producer born in Poland that blurs the line between genres. He has created his own, enthralling sonorous language that moves and inspires listeners around the world. Sebastian had an early introduction to music, growing up in a musical household. He quickly began to immerse himself in the music styles from the past as well as contemporary art. He blends inspirations from classical music, jazz and ambient, and his works embody both the great sense of Classical tradition, simplicity, and experimentalism. Despite its underlying sophistication, the music is narrative and is characterized by enigmatic playfulness and sensitivity. By turning hypnotic and captivating, Sebastian excels at creating moods and mesmerizing the listener.
He released many albums under his name, the last one called “Vibrations”, with original compositions, recorded with his Polish Trio.
CONCERTS
Sep 22nd 19:00 in Metronomen
Grzegorz Karnas Formula
Sep 23rd 19:00 in Metronomen
Manu Domergue
Sep 24th 19:00 in Musikhøjskolen Frederiksberg
Voicingers All Stars
WORKSHOPS
Sep 23rd 14:45-15:45
Listening to music
ABOUT
Sebastian Zawadzki is a Copenhagen-based pianist, composer, and producer born in Poland that blurs the line between genres. He has created his own, enthralling sonorous language that moves and inspires listeners around the world. Sebastian had an early introduction to music, growing up in a musical household. He quickly began to immerse himself in the music styles from the past as well as contemporary art. He blends inspirations from classical music, jazz and ambient, and his works embody both the great sense of Classical tradition, simplicity, and experimentalism. Despite its underlying sophistication, the music is narrative and is characterized by enigmatic playfulness and sensitivity. By turning hypnotic and captivating, Sebastian excels at creating moods and mesmerizing the listener.
He released many albums under his name, the last one called “Vibrations”, with original compositions, recorded with his Polish Trio.
ABOUT
Jesper Lørup is a Danish jazz drummer, improviser and composer. He has a strong artistic approach to playing drums, and a versatility that allows him to be a part of numerous projects. He graduated from The Danish National Academy of Music in Odense with a master’s degree from the Jazz Department. During his educational years, he also spent a year at Codarts in Rotterdam. Throughout the years Jesper has played numerous concerts in both Denmark and around Europe and recorded and toured with bands such as Rahel Talts Quartet, Donatas Petreikis Quintet, Maciej Czajkowski Trio, SNUS and many more. In 2023 he will release his debut album as a leader. The album, Hi Fi Quartet: Sketches From The Black Box, will be out on May 19th 2023.
CONCERTS
Sep 22nd 19:00 in Metronomen
Grzegorz Karnas Formula
Sep 23rd 19:00 in Metronomen
Manu Domergue
Sep 24th 19:00 in Musikhøjskolen Frederiksberg
Voicingers All Stars
WORKSHOPS
Sep 24th 14:45-15:45
Listening to music
ABOUT
Jesper Lørup is a Danish jazz drummer, improviser and composer. He has a strong artistic approach to playing drums, and a versatility that allows him to be a part of numerous projects. He graduated from The Danish National Academy of Music in Odense with a master’s degree from the Jazz Department. During his educational years, he also spent a year at Codarts in Rotterdam. Throughout the years Jesper has played numerous concerts in both Denmark and around Europe and recorded and toured with bands such as Rahel Talts Quartet, Donatas Petreikis Quintet, Maciej Czajkowski Trio, SNUS and many more. In 2023 he will release his debut album as a leader. The album, Hi Fi Quartet: Sketches From The Black Box, will be out on May 19th 2023.
Grzegorz Karnas
Vocalist born in Upper Silesia, in Poland, in a family devoid of musical traditions. Karnas collaborated with Polish jazz legends and leading artists of the European jazz scene. Noticing through the jury, journalists and the audience opened his band to concert tours in many parts of the world. Since 2008, Karnas is the spiritus movens of “Voicingers” Intercultural Encounters of Music and Expression. His album “KARNAS” released in 2011 by the Slovak label Hevhetia and recordings of his live performances in Budapest recorded by the Hungarian label BMC Records as the albums AUDIO BEADS (2012) and VANGA (2014) were quite successful, making Karnas a characteristic element of European jazz scene. He is a polyglot fluent in English, French and Russian. Organizer of several Asian concert tours. Coordinator of the international Voicingers On Tour festival. Event Manager. He has performed in Europe, Africa and Asia.
Natalia Kordiak
The artist nominated for the award of the Polish Phonographic
Academy “FRYDERYK 2020” in the category PHONOGRAPHIC DEBUT OF THE YEAR –
JAZZ. Her debut, authorial album “BAJKA”, which she created with her Quintet, released
in October 2019 by the prestigious Slovak label HEVHETIA, only after a few months was
included in the summaries of the Best Jazz Albums of 2019 by Jazz Forum Magazine and
Polish.jazz.blogspot. Her voice, apart from the broadly understood singing, is treated as another
instrument using various means of expression. In music, she values the authenticity of
dialogue, being present and creating a space where the boundary between reason and
madness is blurred, and reality becomes an abstraction.
Grzegorz Masłowski
Drummer, graduate of the Music Academy Karol Szymanowski in Katowice, as well as the Music Academy in Krakow. Mainly associated with the Krakow jazz environment. Winner of many individual and team awards at international and national competitions. He collaborates with many leading artists of the Polish jazz scene, including with Janusz Muniak or Piotr Baron. Photographer. Pedagogue. English teacher. He performed in Africa, Europe and Asia.
András Dés
Although András Dés considers himself as a contemporary improvisative musician he started his studies of classical percussion at the age of seven. Later his interests turned towards the instruments used in different sorts of folk music and finally he graduated from the Jazz Faculty of Ferenc Liszt Music Academy in 2005. Over the past years, Dés has developed his own percussion set: with his right hand he plays like a drummer and with his left hand like a percussionist. As a member of numerous successful jazz bands he has been touring all around the world and has played at many important venues such as Carnegie Hall, Covent Garden, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Damascus Opera House, the Jerusalem Theatre, the Cairo Jazz Festival or the Shanghai World Expo. As a percussionist, he has contributed to more than 90 albums, three out of them (“Unquiet Stillness” 2009, “Tourist No 1” 2014, “The Worst Singer In The World” 2017) as a leader. He has also composed several film and theatre scores.
Edgard Sanchez Moyano
A Colombian musician, composer and bassist, born in the capital of Colombia – Bogotá. Popularizer of Latin American music. At the age of 13, he received his first guitar from his father, and his musical education began in the high school group “Restrepo Millán”, where the repertoire mainly included Andean Colombian music, and thus he developed his guitar technique among rhythms such as bambuco, pasillo, guabina and others. His musical education continued at National Pedagogical University in Bogotá. Simultaneously with learning to play the classical guitar, he became an electric bass guitar teacher at National Pedagogical University. He has traveled all over the world, drawing inspiration from his music. Since 2009, he has been conducting annual percussion and rhythm workshops during the “Voicingers”. He also conducted music workshops for children and young people as part of the Little Jazz Academy organized in various cities in Silesia. In 2010, he recorded the album “Domingo” inspired by Colombian rhythms and enriched with Polish music, and in 2011 the album Garujazz was created.
Mariusz Praśniewski
Mariusz Praśniewski, a double bass player, graduate of the Danish National Academy of Music in Odense, Denmark. During his scholarship at the Academy of Music and Drama, Geteborg, Sweden he studied under Anders Jormin. Currently he is a member of a few Polish, Danish and Polish/German/Swiss formations such as Maciej Czajkowski Trio, Massaka Storytelling Ensemble or Grzegorz Klarnas Formula. One of the most promissing Polish bass players.
Alan Wykpisz
One of the most awarded double bass players among the Polish young generation of jazz musicians. A graduate of the Academy of Music in Kraków. Currently a student of the Katowice Academy of Music Jazz Department considered the most prestigious in Poland during his Ph.D studies. His flag formation is called High Definition. Nominated to Fryderyk 2014 (Polish Grammy). Awarded in numerous jazz competitions: Jazz Hoeilaart 2011, Bass 2012 Copenhagen, Denmark, Tarnów International Jazz Contest 2014, Poland. He received a scholarship from the Minister of Culture three times! A cool Guy!
Adam Wajdzik
Polish drummer, born in 1997. A graduate of the Academy of Music in Krakow. Winner of numerous awards at prestigious competitions. He is a co-creator of the album “Abstract” by the Andrzej Kowalski Quartet created as part of the Jazz Phonographic Debut 2019 program carried out by the Institute of Music and Dance, and the album was nominated for a Fryderyk award. Wajdzik has also performed at many excellent festivals, including Enter Enea Festival, Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, Nisville Jazz Festival (Serbia), Fara Jazz Festival (Italy), International Jazz Pianists Festival in Kalisz, Sopot Jazz Festival, Kansai Music Conference ( Japan), Jazz on the Odra, Jazz Juniors or Jazz Jantar.
Mateusz Kołakowski
A classical piano graduate of the Academy of Music in Katowice, holder of a Berklee College of Music scholarship, winner of various piano competitions, including “Chopin for the Youngest” in Antonin, XXX International Piano Competition in Usti (Czech Republic), Polish National Piano Competition I.J. Paderewski in Kartuzy, the 3rd Jazz Piano Competition M. Solala in Paris, Montreux Jazz Piano Competition. He received the “Guarantee of Culture 2009” award from TVP Kultura and the Grand Prix of Jazz Melomani. He has performed in the USA, Chile, Kenya, Cuba and Eropa, in places such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Jazz Pianists Festival in Prague, the International Festival of Improvised Music Ad Libitum and many more.
Daniel Sommer
A Danish drummer living in Copenhagen. Being born (1987) in Aarhus, Denmark in a musical family Daniel Sommer has always been surrounded by music. He started playing drums when he was 5 years old and started to perform with different bands when he was 13 years old. He is widely known for his sensitive and creative drumming and he has been touring all over the world. Sommer has contributed to a wide range of releases ranging from minimalist avant-garde to highly swinging straight ahead – which has won great praise among critics. Sommer’s musical flexibility and sharp contrasts create the right conditions for the music to never lose its grip. He holds a Master’s degree in Music from the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus and The Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Sommer is an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma / Soloist Line of Study (A.P.D) from the Danish National Academy of Music.
Benjamin Jacobsen
Pianist based in Northern Sealand, Denmark. A noted pianist in the band Little North (DK) where his lyrical playing and inimitable nordic sound can be heard on critically acclaimed albums such as “Finding Seagulls” (2021) and “Familiar Places” (2022) released on April Records. Excelling in small group settings with a high degree of awareness and improvisation, his influences can be traced to the vibrant music scene of New York and the melancholy of Scandinavian folk music and jazz. After attaining a Master of Composition degree from Odense Conservatory he can regularly be found in Denmark accompanying singers, choirs and theatre productions.
Mads Nørgaard
Mads Nørgaard is a Danish guitar player from Copenhagen who works in the intersection between jazz, rock, Jimi Hendrix and afrobeat. He’s into ambient flows, rough sounds and improvised spaces. At the moment Mads is playing with an alternative pop/rock-band called Lucky Lo and a Fela Kuti-inspired jazz quartet called Bæst. Mads is looking forward to meeting and playing with you all!
info about concerts
Groovy, energetic, and at times abstract with a hefty dose of improvisation. Initiator of the traveling festival Voicingers on Tour, the Polish vocalist Grzegorz Karnas is an unusual bird. His unique voice and singular intonations are marked by his passion for language and culture. His approach to the stage and his uncompromising improvisations make him a very special entity on the international jazz scene. Halfway between storytelling, performance and avant-garde jazz.
Emanuel “Manu” Domergue is a remarkable French singer, mellophone player, improviser and composer. He studied jazz, classical music and jazz singing at the conservatory in Valence, France. He also studied jazz singing in California (on a Fulbright scholarship). His group Raven was selected for a number of competitions, especially the Crest Jazz Vocal 2013 competition, where they won the first prize for both the jurors and the audience. Their first album Chercheur d’orage released in 2015 was awarded as “essential” by the French magazine JAZZ NEWS. He is an experienced and acclaimed teacher, working with professionals and amateurs. He has collaborated with artists such as Mônica Psaaos, Roy Hargrove, Magma, and the Carine Bonnefoy Orchestra. “When Domergue is not singing, he recites, playing the accompanying instruments as if he were a soloist, an equally coherent role from start to finish, a little crazy, eccentric and more than fascinating…” – Franck Bergerot – Jazzmagazine)
A promise of an unexpectedly strong musical experience. Jazz with melodic colors, accents and grooves is combined with rock riffs and free improvisation. On this final day of the Voicingers Festival in Copenhagen, the artists and teachers involved in this years festival joins together on stage to perform an unforgettable concert. Some of the participants of this years workshops gets a chance to join their teacher’s on stage and put in practice what they have learned and explored during the course of the festival.
Friday September 22nd – Metronomen 19:00
Groovy, energetic, and at times abstract with a hefty dose of improvisation. Initiator of the traveling festival Voicingers on Tour, the Polish vocalist Grzegorz Karnas is an unusual bird. His unique voice and singular intonations are marked by his passion for language and culture. His approach to the stage and his uncompromising improvisations make him a very special entity on the international jazz scene. Halfway between storytelling, performance and avant-garde jazz.
Price: 59DKK
Saturday September 23rd – Metronomen 19:00
Emanuel “Manu” Domergue is a remarkable French singer, mellophone player, improviser and composer. He studied jazz, classical music and jazz singing at the conservatory in Valence, France. He also studied jazz singing in California (on a Fulbright scholarship). His group Raven was selected for a number of competitions, especially the Crest Jazz Vocal 2013 competition, where they won the first prize for both the jurors and the audience. Their first album Chercheur d’orage released in 2015 was awarded as “essential” by the French magazine JAZZ NEWS. He is an experienced and acclaimed teacher, working with professionals and amateurs. He has collaborated with artists such as Mônica Psaaos, Roy Hargrove, Magma, and the Carine Bonnefoy Orchestra. “When Domergue is not singing, he recites, playing the accompanying instruments as if he were a soloist, an equally coherent role from start to finish, a little crazy, eccentric and more than fascinating…” – Franck Bergerot – Jazzmagazine)
Price: 59DKK
Sunday September 24th – Musikhøjskolen Frederiksberg 19:00
A promise of an unexpectedly strong musical experience. Jazz with melodic colors, accents and grooves is combined with rock riffs and free improvisation. On this final day of the Voicingers Festival in Copenhagen, the artists and teachers involved in this years festival joins together on stage to perform an unforgettable concert. Some of the participants of this years workshops gets a chance to join their teacher’s on stage and put in practice what they have learned and explored during the course of the festival.
Price: 59DKK
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