ANIMA Trombone Quartet
CON ANIMA: An Italian musical term meaning
"with spirit" or
"with soul". It instructs performers to play with emotional intensity and vitality, infusing the music with a sense of life and energy.
Encyclopædia Britannica
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The Anima Trombone Quartet set itself as a goal, from the first moment on, to break the stigma and reputation of the trombone in the classical music scene as a functional instrument.
They seek to expand the repertoire of the trombone quartet, putting together meaningful programs with new socially related concepts and with the help of young composers, bringing onto classical music stages new music that is influenced by their different tradition and homelands while they keep exploring and expanding the technical and musical abilities of their instrument.
The Anima Trombone Quartet founded by Polina Tarasenko, Tolga Akman, Elai Grisaru Drori and Amit Rozenzweig, and gave its debut concert in January 2022 at the Nikolaisaal Potsdam, followed by several concerts in the HMTM Hannover. Since then, the ensemble played concerts in Aurich, Burgdorf, Dortmund and Stade and in May 2023 has been invited to the festival Gezeitenkonzerte in Ostfriesland. In September 2024, the Quartet was awarded the first prize at the first International Littin Competition for Trombone Quartet in Frankfurt/Main.
Since 2025 Botond Drahos and Marcel Puig Castello are the new members of the Anima Trombone Quartet.
THE QUARTET MEMBERS
BOTOND DRAHOS
Botond Drahos (born 2003, Kaposvár, Hungary) began playing the trombone in his hometown. From 2018, he was studying at the St. Stephen Conservatory in Budapest with Róbert Lugosi. Since 2022, he has been studying with Prof. Jonas Bylund and Tomer Maschkowski.
Since then, he has won various competitions, including the “Città di Porcia” Competition in Italy and the Markneukirchen International Competition, in which he also won the audience award. He received an honourable mention in the Michel Becquet Competition and was awarded Special Prize at the Prague Spring International Competition.
Despite his young age, he has performed in front of several orchestras many times as a soloist such as, the St. Stephan Conservatory Wind Band, Friuli Venezia Giulia Orchestra, Vogtland Philharmonie Greiz/Reichenbach, Kammerorchester Pforzheim or the Pannon Philharmonic.
He is regular guest with orchestras such as the Dresdner Staatskapelle, NDR Radiophilharmonie and the Munich Philharmonic.
ELAI GRISARU DRORI
Elai Grisaru Drori has been Principal Trombonist of the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal since the 2023/24 season.
He is a prizewinner of the prestigious International Aeolus Wind Competition 2023 and winner of the Israel Spring Competition, where he received both the First Prize in Brass Instruments and the Prize for the Best Interpretation of an Israeli Work.
As a chamber musician, he performs with the Anima Trombone Quartet, which won First Prize at the International Trombone Quartet Competition Frankfurt in 2024.
He also appears regularly with leading brass ensembles such as Trombone Unit Hannover and Salaputia Brass.
Elai has performed as a guest with several major German orchestras, including the Munich Philharmonic, Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, and the Staatsoper Hannover, and participated in the Pacific Music Festival in Japan (2022).
He currently studies at the HMTM Hannover with Prof. Jonas Bylund and Tomer Maschkowski.
MARCEL PUIG CASTELLS
Marcel Puig Castells was born in 1993 in Igualada, Catalonia. His musical education began at the age of 3 with the cello. He studied cello at the Conservatory of Igualada and completed his studies in 2011.
From 2011 to 2015, he studied and completed a Bachelor's degree in folk music at ESMUC (Barcelona College of Music). During his studies, he also began to take up the trombone.
In 2016, he began a Bachelor's degree in the trombone class at HMT Rostock with Jamie Williams and Tomer Maschkowski. He completed his studies in 2020 and in the same year began a Master's degree at the Freiburg University of Music, studying under Professor Fabrice Millischer.
Since 2023, he has been the principal trombonist of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Mainz at the city's State Theatre.
He performs as a guest with major orchestras in Germany and Europe, such as the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, Saarbrücken State Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony, and the German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate, among others.
Since 2025, he has been a member of the Anima Trombone Quartet.
AMIT ROZENZWEIG
Amit began his musical journey at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Israel before continuing his studies in Germany, where he graduated Master’s degrees in Orchestra Studies at the hmt Rostock and Artistic Education at the HMTM Hannover.
He has performed with many renowned orchestras across Europe and Israel, among them the Israel Philharmonic, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Haydn Orchestra Bolzano, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.
From 2012 to 2014, Amit served as Solo Bass Trombone of the Israel Opera Orchestra and later performed with the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra as an intern. He also played under a contract with Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester Hannover and Staatsorchester Braunschweig.
As a passionate chamber musician, he is a member of Ensemble Reflektor and founder of the Anima Trombone Quartet, with which he has received international recognition and competition prizes.
