Biography
Sašo Vollmaier (1982), pianist, composer, performer, teacher
He graduated from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in 2008 - professor of piano. In 2005 he met "Pantheatre" (Paris, FR). This collaboration opened new area and possibilities about the voice work which he followed after as an accompanist for singers, worked in Slovene National Theatre in Maribor - opera department, teaching in different musical institutions and playing with several musicians in different musical formations.
He joined the Slovenian avant-garde music group Laibach in 2007 - 2013 as a keyboard player. The experience with Laibach was crucial in understanding the elements of the industrial music, curiosity about politics, awareness of oneself and the opportunity to express himself in this particular musical genre. In 2013 he moved to France for a change and development.
He meets Viviane Gay in Paris, an actress&singer with whom he started to create music-theatre-pieces and developing his presence on the stage as a performer trough his voice, movement and music.
The voice work brought him to Malérargues (Centre Artistique International Roy Hart) again where he started to give classes, collaborating with other voice teachers and giving the concerts and performances. In the same year he begins the project called "Generation" as a musical director with performers/singers: Kaya Anderson, Carol Mendelsohn, Marianne Le Tron, Ian Magilton, Saule Ryan and David Goldsworthy. This project allowed him to meet the Roy Hart Theatre in terms of the power of the presence, fragility, expression, authenticity, curiosity…
In autumn 2014 he started to teach in Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo (IT) invited by Kevin Crawford, MFA program director. Vollmaier teaches musical aspects, encourages the students to invent their own language, working on presence, voice and movement. This structure allows him to define his direction.
In the same year he started to collaborate with Susanne Weins, giving the voice/movement workshops in Düsseldorf and creating their own theatre productions (Bewegte Oktaven, Fragile Breath, Melancholia,…) most of them directed by Sabine Seume.
He works as a voice teacher mainly in France, Germany, Italy and Brazil.
"Electric Unicorn" is the name of electro-acoustic project created by Izidor Leitinger, Luka Jamnik & Sašo Vollmaier (2013 -20xx).
Vollmaier’s accomplishments include theatre and cartoon scores, choral arrangements, marching orchestras, big bands, playing as a studio musician (Laibach, Bratko Bibič, Silence, Funtango, radio/TV broadcastings,…)
short CV
- 1982 Born in Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia
- 1997-2001 Secondary music school in Maribor (professor Narcis Grabar)
- 2001-2008 Academy of music in Ljubljana (professors: Aci Bertoncelj, László Baranyay, Andrej Jarc)
- 1998-2005 Big Band Radlje (conducted by Izidor Leitinger), keyboards
- 2005-20XX Pantheatre (Elizabeth Meyer*, Linda Wise, Enrique Pardo), collaborator, teacher// Roy Hart International Arts Centre, collaborator, teacher
- 2005-2009 Slovenian tango group Funtango, piano
- 2007-2013 Slovenian industrial band Laibach, keyboards
- 2008-20XX Bratko Bibič & the Madleys, piano
- 2010 Slovene National Theatre Maribor, accompanist
- 2012 Music school Franc Šturm, teacher, accompanist
- 2012-2013 Slovenian alternative Synthpop band Melodrom, keyboards
- 2013 Music school Radlje ob Dravi, teacher, accompanist, choir conductor
- 2013 Paris
- 2014-20XX Performing, theatre, voice, P.M.S. (piano music singing) // La compagnie Patte Blanche (Viviane Gay), musician, composer // Atelier Performative Künste (Susanne Weins), teacher, collaborator // Accademia dell’Arte, guest music & voice teacher
- 2015-20XX "Generation", Roy Hart International Arts Centre, composer, musical director // Chrysopée, keyboards // "Electric Unicorn", Electro-Acoustic trio: Luka Jamnik (programming, keyboards, vintage analog devices, composing, arranging), Izidor Leitinger (trumpet, keyboards, composing, arranging), Sašo Vollmaier (piano, keyboards, composing, arranging)