Biography

Lan Meden embarked on his musical journey at the Fran Gerbič Music School in Cerknica. He continued his education at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana under the mentorship of Prof. Lev Pupis and Prof. Jan Gričar. Upon completing high school, Lan pursued his undergraduate studies in saxophone at the Private University of Music and Arts in Vienna with Prof. Michael Krenn, graduating with honors in August 2022. In the fall of 2020, he participated in a prestigious exchange program at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, studying with Prof. Joonatan Rautiola. Since October 2022, he has been undertaking postgraduate studies in saxophone under Prof. Miha Rogina at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. Lan has refined his musical expertise through numerous seminars with renowned professors such as C. Delangle, A. Bornkamp, V. David, L. Mlekusch, C. Wirth, N. Zimin, A. Fateyeva, M. Garcia, D. Gauthier, J-D Michat, and the SIGNUM Saxophone Quartet, among others.

He is the recipient of multiple national and international awards and recognitions. In 2016, Lan won 1st place, a gold plaque, and a special jury prize at the national TEMSIG competition. That same year, he claimed 1st place and the 1st prize at the Woodwind & Brass competition in Varaždin. In March 2017, he got 2nd place in his category at the European Saxophone Forum competition in Wroclaw, Poland. In March 2018, performing as part of Duo Prospero together with Valeria Kučan, they won 2nd place, a gold plaque, and a special jury award for the best performance of a Slovenian composer's piece at the national TEMSIG competition. As a member of the Philia Saxophone Quartet, he won the Musica Juventutis competition, earning a concert in the Schubert Hall of the Vienna Concert House for the concert season 2020/21. In February 2020, Lan recorded for Radio ARS archives at the RTV Slovenia together with pianist Irén Seleljo. In March 2022, he achieved 2nd place in the highest category at the Slovenian national TEMSIG competition and received a special jury award for the best performance of an obligatory piece written by composer Uroš Rojko. As a member of the Ljubljana Saxophone Quartet, he won 2nd place and a gold plaque at the TEMSIG competition in March 2024. As a quartet, they regularly perform at various artistic festivals and concert cycles, among the most notable being: Solo e da Camera - Academy of Music Ljubljana, Festival June in Ljubljana, Nei Suni dei Luoghi, Festival Ljubljana na Ljubljanici - Festival Ljubljana, GM ODER - Jeunesse Musicale Slovenia, Salon mladih umetnikov - Festival Lent.

Beside his performances on home stages, Lan also appeared with the SOS Saxophone Orchestra at the 18th World Saxophone Congress at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb in July 2018. In November 2018, he performed in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein with the Symphony Orchestra of the Private University of Music and Arts in Vienna, celebrating Leonard Bernstein's 110th birthday.
In July 2022, Lan premiered Karol Beffa's Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra with Camerata Masaot Wien. In December 2023, he performed Frank Martin's Ballade for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra as a soloist with the Italian orchestra FVG.

In recognition of his exceptional academic achievements, Lan received the Škerjanc Award from the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana in February 2019. He has also been a long-term scholarship recipient from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.