4 December, 2018, at 7 pm
Minorite Church, Maribor

The Association EPEKA, Soc. Ent., invites you to the last concert of the series “Classics Today? Tomorrow?” “Franziskus: Some sang a song”. The concert will take place on 4 December at 19.00 in the Minorite Church, Maribor.

“Crossover” is a term that has been used more and more often in the concert scene lately. It represents a musical concept – an equal mixing of several musical styles and genres. Drawing elements from different directions greatly increases the range of possibilities for musicians to fill the sound space and create new products. With such a wide spectrum of sounds, meaningful and thoughtful composition is all the more important. Franziskus, under the direction of German trombonist and composer Simon Kintopp, manages to combine the traditional sounds of classical and jazz into a coherent whole that does not foreground one genre and support the other, but creates a new kind that is aesthetically and harmonically in no way inferior to one or the other. At the same time, it offers the serious elegance of classical music and the borderline daring of jazz.

The 11-member international ensemble is a conglomeration of a traditional jazz ensemble (guitar, drums, bass, brass trio) and the established string quartet line-up, with the singer emphasising the message. The programme includes original compositions as well as ingenious arrangements of both jazz legends and classical masters. Last year saw the release of his debut album Some Sang a Song, where John Dowland’s composition is interwoven with the improvisational daring of Charles Mingus, Arvo Pärt dances to a waltz by Woody Shaw, and Simon Kintopp’s original compositions have been influenced by greats such as Vince Mendoza, Leo Tolstoy, Dmitri Shostakovich, and, he says himself, chef Jamie Oliver.

Franziskus has existed since 2015, when, while studying jazz composition, Simon Kintopp gathered a team “from all musical winds” and set out to create an ensemble that would fulfil his musical dreams. Since then, they have performed at numerous solo concerts and festivals, such as “Jazzwerkstatt Graz Shortcuts” (2016), “Ö1 / WDR3 Jazznacht” (2016), and the “Spring Tour 2017” with concerts in Vienna, Graz, Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Bialystok, and Maribor, and they also performed at the “Jazzwerkstatt Graz Festival Vol. 12” (2018). Currently, they are busy promoting their current album with concerts.

Tickets are on sale at the Maribor Puppet Theatre box office:

  • Advance sale of concert tickets:
    8€ – regular
    6€ – students, seniors
  • On-sale on the day of the concert:
    10€ – regular
    8€ – students, seniors
  • A package of three tickets for the Classics Today?Tomorrow? series on pre-sale:
    21€ – regular
    15€ – students, seniors

The Association EPEKA, Soc. Ent., is supported by: