Big Band Radio România

Tobias Hoffmann (Austria) – conductor

Vilkka Wahl (Finland) – guitar

 

Big Band Radio România

Big Band Radio România is a unique ensemble on the Romanian music scene; it was founded as a combo in 1949 and in 1953 it was expanded to include a string section. Within a short while, it had become an ensemble group of 45 musicians. Comprising elite musicians and the top instrument players of the new generation, Big Band Radio România had four different conductors over the years: Sile Dinicu (from 1953), Cornel Popescu (from 1985), Ion Cristinoiu (from 1991) and Ionel Tudor (from 1994).

From jazz to blues, pop, pop-rock, or symphonic-pop, Big Band Radio România has performed on the stages of numerous festivals in Romania and abroad, alongside Josephine Baker, Cliff Richard, Marie Laforêt, Juliette Gréco, Ray Charles, Aura Urziceanu, Anca Parghel, and Elena Mîndru.

 

Tobias Hoffmann (Austria) – conductor

Composer, conductor and saxopone player, Tobias Hoffmann was born in Göppingen (Germany) in 1988 and discovered his passion for music and the saxophone during his high school years. Atter he graduated Prins Claus Conservatorium Groningen (Netherlands), he started his studies of Jazz Composition and Arrangement at the Musik und Kunst Universität der Stadt Wien. At the same time he studied Jazz-Saxophone at the Musik und Kunst Universität Wien. Besides working his own projects, Tobias Hoffmann is a sought-after sideman, composer and arranger for a wide variety of lineups and styles. From 2014 to 2017 he was conductor of the Vienna Spittelberg Jazz Orchestra, for which he also appeared as composer and arranger. Concert tours have taken him to Russia and several European countries. He has played with musicians such as Bob Mintzer, Joe Gallardo, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Paul Kuhn, Benny Golson.

 

Between 2005, when he started performing, and 2016, he won a few national and international awards while playing in different formations. On top of that, in December 2021 he was one of five composers from all over Europe to be invited by the renowned “Subway Jazz Orchestra” in Cologne (Germany) as part of the project “European Composers – Sound Of A Generation” to write a composition and to rehearse and perform it with the band. In March 2023, two of his compositions were awarded at“2nd Ise-Shima International Popular Music Competition in Japan”. Finally in May 2023 another of his compositions was awarded as “outstanding original composition” in the category “graduate college” at the “46th Downbeat Student Music Awards”.

 

Vilkka Wahl (Finlanda) – guitar

Based in Vienna, Austria, with roots in Finland, Vilkka Wahl is a guitarist and a musician with

passion to music in a broad perspective. With roots in rock and progressive rock, Vilkka has

converted to jazz music and is combining many elements of the afro-american music

tradition in his music and playing. Vilkka has studied guitar with Peter Bernstein, John

Abercrombie, Wolfgang Muthspiel and Guido Jeszenszky. In 2017, Vilkka Wahl was the “Artist

of the Year” at the Turku Jazz Festival in Finland, where he presented his debut album

“Nebula” (Eclipse) as a composer and band leader. Currently he is working on a new release

for his new band KAIHO, featuring Jure Pukl and Kari Ikonen – this album will be out in 2024.

Vilkka can also be heard on Tobias Hoffmann Jazz Orchestra’s new 2022 release “Conspiracy”

(Mons Records).