The finalists in the category trombone

Three of the five participants of the 3rd selection test in trombone reached the final round!

•     Botond Drahos (Hungary)
•     Gonçalo Nova (Portugal)
•     Tim Ouwejan (Netherlands)

The final with orchestra will take place on Thursday, 9 May 2024, 7 p.m. in the Markneukirchen Music Hall.

The three candidates will perform Eugen Reiche's Concerto No. 2 in A major for trombone and orchestra accompanied by the Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra Greiz/Reichenbach under the direction of Dorian Keilhack.

Tickets can be purchased at the box office for 5 euros.

In addition to the experienced ladies and gentlemen of the international jury, the audience is also invited to vote for their favourite in the final rounds. The audience prize winner will then be announced at the prizewinners' concert on Saturday, 11 May 2024, 7 p.m. in the Markneukirchen Music Hall.

Botond Drahos
Botond Drahos was born in 2003 in Kaposvár, Hungary. He started playing the trombone at the age of nine.
Botond has already taken part in many competitions, both in Hungary and abroad, and has achieved great success. As a student at the Hanover University of Music, he received a special prize at the Michel Becquet International Trombone Competition and the Prague Spring International Music Competition in 2023. He also won 1st prize at the international trombone competition ‘Citta di Porcia’, which took place in Pordenone, Italy, in 2023.
Since 2022, he has been studying at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media in the trombone class of Professor Jonas Bylund and Tomer Maschkowski.
Botond gained his first orchestral experience with the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra from 2019 to 2021, the Royal Concertgebouworkest Young from 2020 to 2021 and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra since 2019.

Gonçalo Nova
Gonçalo Nova, 20 years old, is the winner of the 1st prize of the International Music Competition ‘Prague Spring’ 2023. In addition, since 2013 he has been the winner of several competitions, in particular the first prize in the trombone category at the ‘Prémio Jovens Músicos 2023 RTP - Antena 2’, the largest competition for classical music in Portugal, and the first prize at the ‘Gilberto Gagliardi Competition’ 2022 of the International Trombone Association in the USA, the 1st prize at the International Music Competition ‘Grands Artistes - Les Musicales du Centre’ 2019 in France and many others. Prize at the International Music Competition ‘Grands Artistes - Les Musicales du Centre’ 2019 in France and many others.
Born in Porto, Portugal, Gonçalo Nova began his music studies in trombone at the age of six at the ‘Conservatório de Música do Porto’ with Prof. Joaquim Oliveira, where he later completed his major in music with the highest marks. Since 2021, he has been studying for a bachelor's degree in trombone with Prof. Fabrice Millischer at the Freiburg University of Music.
In terms of orchestral work, he was 1st trombonist with the Stuttgart State Orchestra in the 2022/2023 season and has recently worked with the Munich Philharmonic and the Freiburg Philharmonic as a guest 1st trombonist. He works as a guest with orchestras and ensembles such as the ‘Orquestra de Extremadura’ in Spain. He is currently also a member of the EBE trombone ensemble.
As a soloist, he has had the opportunity to perform with the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gulbenkian Orchestra and the ‘Orquestra do Norte’. In March 2024 he gave a live solo concert for RTP - Antena 2, the largest radio station for classical music in Portugal, and in April 2024 for the Banatul Philharmonic Orchestra in Timisoara.
He had the opportunity to work with great trombonists and musicians such as Joseph Alessi, Filipe Alves, Stefan Schulz, Christopher Houlding, Ben van Dijk, Jeremy Wilson and Jean-Philippe Navrez.

Tim Ouwejan
Tim Ouwejan, born on 29 April 2000 in Arnhem, Netherlands, is currently principal trombonist with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. In the 2021/2022 season he was an academist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Tim has just completed his bachelor's degree with honours at the Amsterdam Conservatory and is currently completing his master's degree there with Jörgen van Rijen, Pierre Volders and Remko de Jager. Tim is co-founder of the Nymphéas trombone quartet, which he founded together with three friends and colleagues from the same conservatory. He has won prizes at several competitions.