After playing the cello with Damir Hamidullin, Alja Mandič Faganel was accepted to the Zagreb Academy of Music at the age of sixteen in the class of Prof. Valter Dešpalj, from which she graduated with honours and subsequently gained a master’s degree. She later studied with Monika Leskovar and Gavriel Lipkind, as well as perfecting her skills at numerous masterclasses. She is a multiple winner and recipient of awards at Slovenian and foreign competitions. As a soloist, she has performed with the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Århus Sinfonietta, the Czech Capellen Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra, the Pfoerzheim Chamber Orchestra and the Moscovia Chamber Orchestra. As a dedicated chamber musician, Alja Mandič Faganel has performed at many festivals in Slovenia and elsewhere in Europe, as well as in the USA, Canada, Russia, Israel and Japan. Her quartet Alisios Camerata was the resident ensemble of the Banff Festival in Canada in 2018, and their CD entitled Introductions was released the same year. In 2016, she was a member of the Zagreb Philharmonic, and since 2017 she has been a member of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra.
