Supernova Award for saxophone quartet Effel with David Patyra
21-year-old saxophonist David Patyra from Xavier Larsson Paez's class, together with his saxophone quartet Effel, was awarded the grand prize at the Klara Festival's Supernova Competition 2026 in Belgium. The annual competition for young chamber music ensembles is organised by Belgium's largest radio festival. The final of the competition took place on 18 January at the De Singel international arts centre in Antwerp. The winning ensembles, the ‘Supernovas’, will go on a concert tour of Belgium, perform at the Klarafestival 2026, among other venues, and receive media attention on the Belgian radio stations Klara and Musiq3.
The Effel Quartet was founded by saxophone students at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles and is made up of members from Belgium, Poland, Germany, Spain and Hungary. The ensemble reflects its international origins in its concerts and also enjoys performing unknown works for saxophone quartet. The quartet has been artistically influenced by renowned musicians such as Vincent David, the Habanera Quartet and Nicolas Arsenijevic, among others. David Patyra studied at the Institute for Early Education (IFF) at the University of Music, Drama and Media in Hanover and at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles. Since 2025, he has been continuing his bachelor's degree in Berlin at the Eisler.