Nicolas Gurtner (*1991) (CH)

Nicolas Gurtner holds a Master's degree in Performance, minor composition and a Master's degree in Pedagogy from the Hochschule Luzern - Musik. He combines his life as a musician with performing and teaching.

During his studies, he attended classes with John Voirol, Nathanael Su and Urs Leimgruber (saxophone), Roland Von Flüe (flute and clarinet), Ed Partyka (composition and arrangement), and worked with Chris Wiesendanger, Hans Feigenwinter, Michael Abene, Oliver Leicht, Jacques Demierre, Nils Wogram and Heiri Känzig, among others, in projects and masterclasses. He also won a scholarship from the Friedl Wald Foundation.

Before entering the Hochschule Musik - Luzern, he also had the chance to study for 4 years with Laurent Estoppey who introduced him to the classical and contemporary saxophone repertoire.

This improvisation enthusiast from the Neuchâtel region is curious about all musical styles and more generally about all forms of expression. He draws inspiration for his projects from his desire to discover new things.

From his first groups, as a teenager, he immersed himself in composition and developed a taste for it. After his first experiences in duet, trio and quintet, he wrote, among others, numerous compositions for the septet Earl Grey and Soul which he conducted for three years with Pauline Maurer (vocals). Since 2017, he and the Neuchâtel pianist Jérôme Jeanrenaud have been organising the Rencontres arrangées concert series (unique events each time hosting a different ensemble of musicians) for which the two musicians compose in pairs.

With Florian Weiss (trombone), he created Roentgenizdat - an audio-visual performance built around smuggled recordings censored under the Soviet regime and engraved on X-ray paper.

As a sideman, he is mainly active in the following formations: Paykuna (jazz inspired by Bolivian music), Mechanical Birds Factory (jazz, minimal music), Benjamin Knecht Jazz Orchestra (jazz, big band), NO'NET (melodic modern jazz) and Despina and her Bee's Knee's (swing, rhythm'n'blues, fun!).

He has been teaching saxophone since 2017 at the Pully School of Music, as well as saxophone, clarinet and transverse flute to the students of the Biel Youth Music, for which he also conducts two youth ensembles.

The Atelier Bricolage, which he co-founded with Lucien Matthey, offers children an introduction to improvisation and the making of musical instruments from recycled materials.