Steyer / Borges / von Wrochem / Stolyar // #PANDAjazz

Edith Steyer – clarinet, saxophone
Sofia Borges – percussion, composition
Johannes von Wrochem – strings
Roman Stolyar – piano, composition

Edith Steyer is a free improvising clarinet and saxophone player with her roots in jazz and classical music of the 20th century. As a former student of social anthropology she is also interested in ethnic music. She is dedicated to the exploration of her instruments and works with different preparations and elements like drum skins, water and wind and lately also with electronic devices. Aside from working on a solo concept, her foremost interest is to create intelligently woven interactions and sound scales with other artists. For that she is
using timbre, noises and tonal or melodic fragments. She is currently also working on expanding the technical possibilities that are inherent to the awkward fingerings of the „old fashioned“ German clarinet system. The challenge to the motor skills acts as a source for inspiration to develop ideas for tonal and instrumental deconstruction and compositional constructions. She is also working in different musical theater groups and has a great interest in using the space as an element in her work.

Sofia Borges is a percussionist, composer and improviser who has gained prominence through a wide range of international projects. As a solo performer, and in collaboration with the most diverse international artists in the fields of contemporary music, improvised
music, free jazz and global music, she has performed in a variety of international festivals, including the Jazzfest Berlin (Germany), CTM Festival Berlin, Klangwerkstatt (Berlin), Hamburger Klangwerktage, Jazz no Parque (Portugal), WOMAD — World of Music, Arts and Dance (Spain, Australia, the UK and New Zealand), Percpan — Panorama Percussivo Mundial (Brazil), Women Voices (Taiwan), Cork Choral Festival (Ireland) and many others in Switzerland, Estonia, Netherlands, France, Poland, Macau and U.S.A. For her compositions and performances, she brings together traditional and custom-made
instruments and electronics configurations.

Coming from a family of musicians, Johannes von Wrochem first played violin, followed by electric guitar. After a period of song-oriented music with different groups he decided in 2003 to concentrate solely on Free Improvisation, without genre limitations, and often in
combination with other art forms such as dance or mise-en-scene. He has played extended range guitars in 2016(8string) and added a 10string in 2022. His set usually comes with dynamically driven fx. In the last twenty years, he performed on several open stages, concerts and international festivals with interchanging partners. He also appeared as a co-organizer at international festivals and curated a small series of monthly concerts in Berlin. Since 1995 he has worked as an event technician for bands, ensembles, and soloists in art music, entertainment, and other cultural environments. He has always
interpreted his work as an activity of art and values the different perspective, that of technical realization and intuitive musical work…. and beyond.

Berlin-based Russian composer and pianist Roman Stolyar has performed in 27 countries collaborating with a number of internationally renowned improvisers, including Dominic Duval, William Parker, Vinny Golya, Oliver Lake, Susan Allen, Thomas Buckner, Weasel Walter, Assif Tsahar, Martin Kuchen, Glen Hall, and many others. His improvisational
workshops have garnered him an international reputation, and have led to many invitations to create and implement workshops for organizations and universities around the world, including the University of Michigan, Mannes College NY, the California Institute of the Arts, Music Academy Basel, Chateu d’Oex Music School in Switzerland, Frescobaldi State Conservatory in Ferrara, Italy and the Versailles Conservatory, France. Moved in Berlin in 2023, he is active as an improviser and an initiator of number of music and theater projects, including Ukrainian – Swiss – Russian Peacemakers improv ensemble, multinational Identities Quintet, and an antiwar multimedia performance LIBERA ME created together with Bosnian actress Maja Zeco.