Biography

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Alex Hren (b. 2002, Slovenia) is a composer currently completing his Master’s degree in Instrumental Composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, where he studies with Miroslav Srnka. He previously graduated from the Academy of Music at the University of Ljubljana, studying with Vito Žuraj and Uroš Rojko. He is a recipient of a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.

A winner of the ACHT BRÜCKEN Composition Competition 2025, he was awarded a commission by KölnMusik to write a new piece, Cotton Candy, for Ensemble Musikfabrik, a project supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, set to premiere in May 2026. Within the same festival, his first orchestral work Switch On was premiered at the Cologne Philharmonie by the HfMT Köln Orchestra in 2025. In April 2026, the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra premiered his symphonic work Arcing Seeds.

His works have been performed by renowned ensembles and soloists, including Ensemble Recherche, the Slovenian Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra, ASMANGU, and harpist Marion Ravot. He also participated in a workshop project in which his work Aiguille was performed by Ensemble Modern. His music has been presented at venues such as the Cologne Philharmonie, Kunst-Station St. Peter in Cologne, Kazina Hall (SNG Maribor), the National Gallery in Ljubljana, Ljubljana’s Congress Square, and Gallus Hall, Cankarjev dom. In 2024, he received the Prešeren Award of the Academy of Music, University of Ljubljana, for his compositional achievements.