ArtistInfo

Vienna Art Orchestra

Band, 1977-2010 AT
Jazz

Founded in 1977 by director and composer Mathias Rüegg, the band started out by performing Rüegg's distinctive postmodern compositions on stages throughout Europe. Among the founding musicians were saxophonists Wolfgang Puschnig and Harry Sokal, singer Lauren Newton, and tuba player Jon Sass. In 1980 the ensemble signed a recording contract with the Swiss hatART label, and in 1984 it toured the United States for the first time. The group essentially disbanded for a brief period at the end of the 1980s. In 1992 the VAO opened a new phase with a smaller complement of musicians. The band played fewer of Rüegg's compositions and concentrated on arrangements of works by Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, and other noted American jazz composers, as well as music inspired by the classical music of Verdi, Wagner, Schubert, and Erik Satie. In 1997 the ensemble's personnel changed once again, increasing in size and adding younger musicians. New compositions by Rüegg became a regular feature of VAO concerts, which often included visual and dramatic elements. The Vienna Art Orchestra has performed more than 800 concerts and released more than 35 recordings. The film An Echo from Europe: Vienna Art Orchestra on Tour by Othmar Schmiderer was released in 1998. The ensemble was nominated for an Amadeus Austrian Music Award in 2001 for the album All That Strauss, and again in 2003 for Art and Fun. On July 10, 2010, Mathias Rüegg announced that the Vienna Art Orchestra had been disbanded for financial reasons.

Members

	Wolfgang Puschnig as, fl *1956 AT
	Corin Curschellas voc *1956 CH
	Thomas Alkier dr *1965 DE
	Mathias Rüegg voc, p *1952 AT
	Christian Radovan tb *1962 AT
	Karl Fian tr, fh 1960-2006 AT
	Herbert Joos fh, tr *1940 DE
	Joris Dudli dr, perc *1957 AT
	Hannes Kottek tr, fh 1958-1994 AT
	Harry Sokal ss, ts, fl *1954 AT
	Lauren Newton voc *1952 CH
	Woody Schabata vib, mar *1955 AT
	Janusz Stefański dr 1946-2016 DE
	Heiri Känzig b, cb *1957 CH
	Klaus Dickbauer as *1961 AT
	Jürgen Wuchner b *1948 DE
	Uli Scherer p, key 1953-2018 AT
	Wolfgang Reisinger dr, perc *1955 AT
	Rudi Berger vn *1954 AT
	Rudolf Pilz tr, fh AT
	Fritz Ozmec dr, perc *1948 AT
	Florian Bramböck sax *1959 AT
	Robert Bachner tb *1972 AT
	Roman Schwaller ts *1957 CH
	Herwig Gradischnig sax, bs, bcl *1968 AT
	Thorsten Benkenstein tr *1968 DE
	Jürgen Seefelder ts, sax *1954 DE
	Billy Fuchs tu
	Anna Lauvergnac voc IT
	Andrea Hahn vn