“João Alegria is an essential figure in the Portuguese underground music scene. With a prolific career spanning over a decade, the guitarist – as he prefers to be called – embodies artistic commitment, resilience, and a deep devotion to crafting dark, experimental soundscapes. The numerous albums the Lisbon-based musician has released testify to a sonic vision akin to its object of study: unhurried and unperturbable, yet continuous and tempestuous."

— João Morado (Beats for Peeps, Cosmofonia, Jazz.pt)

“You paint for fame & status, I paint for freedom & awareness”, reads one of the vertical graffiti that Mr.Paradox Paradise painted on some Berlin building. Likewise, there is nothing in João Alegria’s art that is done with the intention of fame or likes. He spent more than a decade editing with recognition limited to the “community” of sound nomads. “I’ve been doing this for some time and I don’t have a very wide audience”, he admits. However, who knows, knows. And who knows, like it. João Alegria’s music is for connoisseurs. Perhaps that will always be the case.
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However, the unique contours of his art, combined with a stubborn aesthetic consistency and prolificacy, are the characteristics that simultaneously nest and vitalize it. The unconditional and obstinate way in which this “guitarist” – as he likes to be called – has created his work is a rare case of perseverance. His motivation? It’s not entirely explicit, but somewhere between the love of music and the physiological need to create lives the truth of João Alegria. If he lives because he breathes, he seems to make music because he has to live. One senses in his speech an inevitability of cathartic genesis that surreptitiously emerges between the lines like a figure wandering through the night.
João Alegria can also move through the shadows, but his music definitely points to the heavens, full of verticality” 

– João Morado (Beats for Peeps, Cosmofonia, Jazz.pt)

In 1998, pianist and composer Bruno Sanfilippo, along with his wife Ximena Contreras, established their own record label, ad21, as a haven for their creative expression. Since then, ad21 has released over 30 solo and collaborative albums in digital and physical formats, solidifying its position as a cornerstone of the neoclassical music scene.
In 2024, ad21 embarked on an ambitious new venture by opening its doors to pianists worldwide, broadening its platform and artistic outreach. Collaborating with Javier Guglielmi, ad21 aims to foster a record label specializing in neoclassical music, with a particular focus on solo piano performances.
Their vision for ad21 is to create a nurturing environment where artists can discover a supportive community and access the resources necessary to maximize their musical potential. 

Stay tuned for upcoming big news. Demos are welcome.

James Garner is a composer whose music has been described as “utterly accomplished in all respects” (Dame Judith Weir) and praised for its “warmth, sincerity and tension” (Bachtrack). His works have been performed in the UK and internationally.

James has a deep affinity for vocal and theatrical music, having written multiple pieces for the stage. In 2017, his first chamber opera, East o’ the Sun, West o’ the Moon, received its North American premiere in Montreal, and in 2020 he collaborated on The Opera Story’s digital series Episodes, which won an RPS Inspiration Award. He has previously been commissioned by English Touring Opera (for whom he wrote his second opera, Dust Child), The Opera Story, and Tête à Tête. His next major work and first full-length opera, Much Ado, is based on Shakespeare’s original play and was previewed for the Association for Opera in Canada. It is commissioned by Opera McGill, who will give its world premiere in 2026/27 at the Monument-National in Montréal.

James’s music has also been performed at festivals and series, including the Kings Place Festival, Borough New Music, Richmond Concert Series, and Song in the City. Much of his recent output has consisted of solo and chamber music, including a new work for the guitarist George Tarlton, and a chamber commission from the Orchestra of Opera North. In 2024, he curated a programme of new and devised music at the historic Old Church Stoke Newington, in collaboration with Owen Spafford, Alex Lyon, Hania Woźniak and Carla Huhtanen. Future projects include a song cycle for the soprano Elisabeth Boudreault, and a new collection of solo piano pieces for Joseph Havlat.

James is in regular demand in the UK as a composer for participatory and outreach projects, and has mentored students in music facilitation and opera-making at institutions including the Royal Academy, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School and Oxford University. He has also worked as a conductor and music assistant for the Barbican Centre, Royal Opera House, Royal Festival Hall and BBC Four. He is a regular guest artist on McGill University’s opera programme.

This Spring, James is composing a film opera short with the Canadian novelist Lisa Moore for Opera on the Avalon’s New Commission Series, and leading participatory projects for Turtle Key Arts in association with the Royal College, Oxford University, and the V&A Museum.

James graduated from the Guildhall School with the Muriel Dawson/Mary Ryan Award for Composition. He is also a recent graduate from the Royal Academy, where he studied with David Sawer and additionally with Hans Abrahamsen, supported by the Munster Trust. Previously, James was co-founder and music director of workshOPERA, who were nominated for a New British Music Theatre Award.

His work has been generously supported by the Arts Council and the Maria Björnson Fund.

Composer and performer  

www.edward-henderson.com

Andrzej Karałow, b. 1991 is a Polish pianist, composer and improviser based in Warsaw (Poland). He is currently an assistant professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Doctor of Musical Arts.
He is a laureate of many national and international piano competitions, e.g. Milosz Magin Competition in Paris, Konzerteum in Athens, or Frederic Chopin National Competition in Warsaw. He performed in prestigious concert halls in the country and abroad, also with accompaniment of renowned orchestras [Warsaw National Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia], under the baton of Ewa Strusińska or Jakub Chrenowicz. Equally successful as a composer, he is a prize winner of, among others, the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International Composition Competition in Katowice, or Opera Compostion Competition in Miskolc, Hungary, where he was praised for his professionalism, imagination and artistic sensibility. Although classical music is the main field of his activity, he is also open to experiments in electronic and alternative genre, combining techniques and inspirations from various fields of art into his own, unique musical language.

collaborations, shared projects, ideas ..

http://marcolucchi.bandcamp.com/

https://musichevirtuali.blogspot.com/

www.musichevirtuali.org

https://twitter.com/musichevirtuali

https://www.facebook.com/pages/orchestra-eclettica-e-sincretista/111790807863?fref=ts

Guitarist and composer. Based in Parets del Vallés, Barcelona. 

Remember to seek beauty.

New album on the way, be part of it by participating to the crowdfunding: https://www.ulule.com/au-temps-pour-moi

Community music channel aiming to shine a spotlight on Ambient, Downtempo, Neo-classical and contemporary music

Run by Max Jeffrey & Sub-channel to @soundsofmanchester

Artwork by Ali Burke

Orchestra Eclettica Sincretista is following