Kalamos Reed Quintet

Kalamos reed quintet is the first and the only reed quintet in South Eastern Europe. It was founded in 2013 in Zagreb and in a short time has performed a series of recitals on important stages throughout Croatia. The members of the ensemble collaborate with leading orchestras, theaters, and are engaged in the field of music education, studio and festival production. Rich individual musical experience, a wide range of musical tastes, and training and studying with leading world music artists, make this quintet one of the leading wind ensembles in Croatia. In collaboration with NOTA BENE publishing house they released three albums.

Kalamos quintet are:

Dora Draclin – oboe, Yaroslav Sadovyy – clarinet,
Aljaž Razdevšek – saxophone, Branimir Norac – bass clarinet,
Šime Vuksan – bassoon

When she's not adjusting her reeds, oboist Dora Draclin enjoys making pilgrimages to metal concerts and festivals, and is particularly proud of her (so far) eight-time Iron Maiden experience. She dreams of waking up one day under a Mediterranean pine tree and realizing that global warming has won and that eternal summer will reign from now on. Dora boycotts social media, as befits a true alternative, but fortunately, there is never a shortage of good company in the Kalamos quintet.

Desperately trying to balance all segments of his private and professional life, clarinetist Yaroslav Sadovyy clutters his schedule with more and more obligations in the hope that the universe will resolve some of them on its own. And like in a magical fairy tale, sometimes it does. Tends to linear existence, avoids cyclicality, therefore does not like to celebrate birthdays. Being an DIY kind of guy, he is the author of all transcriptions for the Kalamos quintet, and he is also no stranger to home repairs, cooking, designing, geopolitics and countless other puzzles.

Aljaž Razdevšek, saxophonist and lover of cats, nature and poetry. His passion is coffee and chocolate. In his free time, he likes pretend he is a masterchef in the kitchen. He collects old saxophones and plants. As a saxophonist in a quintet and in general, he feels responsible to always explore the sound and nature of other instruments in order to broaden his range of colors, articulations, sound, vibrato and musical expression.

From the mythical spaces of low frequencies comes Branimir Norac with his bass clarinet. He loves to produce the sounds of solid and dark velvet the most, although he doesn't mind the sounds of aliens stealing cattle either. He has always viewed music as a map with hidden treasure. He set off on a journey to distant lands at the age of eight, and sailed under the flags of brass bands, symphony orchestras, theater troupes, alternative rock bands, church choirs, folklore groups and dance collectives. He made noise that shook the walls and quietly played Bach's inventions - all as needed. He is currently working on some new maps and inventing worlds that others could sail on. He is the newest member of the crew of the ship Kalamos, which he happily sails into the embrace of new musical storms and calms.

Šime Vuksan chose the bassoon because there were no drums at school, but when he saw the bassoon, the little boy in his head thought it was a "cool bazooka" that he could carry everywhere, and that's why he chose that instrument. In his free time, he likes to go to concerts and discover new bands and ensembles. He is a professor at a music school and sometimes gets annoyed when a student blames his reed for incorrect notes, and he likes when the children leave his classes happy and fulfilled.