11:00
11:00 Town Square
Concert: Classical music at 11
Belgrade’s Faculty of Music students
The Faculty of Music Art of the University of Arts in Belgrade celebrates 78 years of its activity as the oldest school of higher music education in Serbia in 2015. It built the foundations of the overall development of professional musicians and particularly of the overall system of music education. With 822 students and almost 200 teachers, it is the largest school of this type in the region and its study programs cover all the specific features of music.
The Faculty of Music has twelve departments: Composition, Conducting, Solo Singing, Piano, String instruments (violin, viola, cello, double bass), Wind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba), Musicology, Music pedagogy, Music Theory, Ethnomusicology, Chamber Music and Jazz. There are twenty-six study programs at under-graduate, master and doctoral level in the field of arts and science. Among the teachers are the most prominent Serbian artists – composers Zoran Erić and Isidora Žebeljan, conductor Bojan Sudjić, baritone Nikola Mijajilovic, soprano Aneta Ilić, pianist Aleksandar Serdar, violinist Maja Jokanović, violist Dejan Mladjenović, cellist Sandra Belić, bassist Nebojša Ignjatović, flutist Ljubiša Jovanović, trumpeter Mladen Djordjević, harpist Ljiljana Nestorovska and many others. Their best students will present themselves in the newly established program of The Days of Mokranjac – Classical music at 11 A.M. joining the European practice of holding concerts in the open air.
17:00
17:00 Birth house of Mokranjac
Grand Opening of the Festival
Laying flowers at the statue of Stevan St. Mokranjac
Welcome speech:
– Jovan Milovanovic,
President of Negotin Municipality
– Representative of the Ministry
of Culture and Information
Oration:
Vladimir Kranjcevic, conductor
Festival opening:
Bojan Sudjic, conductor
Joint performance of choir competition participants and Negotin choirs
Stevan St. Mokranjac – The Sixth Garland
Conductor: Vera Carina, MA
18:00
18:00 Cultural Centre’s Gallery
Paintings exhibition: Nedeljko Gvozdenovic
Аcademic Nedeljko Gvozdenovic (1902-1988), a painter, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, was one of the originators and key figures in establishing the Heritage House, a specialized cultural institution focused on preserving the legacies bequeathed to the City of Belgrade. He was a significant donor who had bequeathed complete movable and immovable property to Mostar, his birth town, to Belgrade, where he lived most of his life, and SASA (Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts) in acknowledgement of his long standing membership and a fondness for the institution. He was a painter of expressively lyrical sensibility, which placed him among the exponents of the intimate painting. When he painted plain, small objects and scenes, nature morte, interiors, landscapes and portraits, he was mostly focused on studying art problems within the process of transforming pure colour into abstract form, or as he used to say: “by a visual reduction to a single colour accent and clear linear structure”. In 1980, Nedeljko Gvozdenovic, wishing his work to be accessible to a wider public during his lifetime, bequeathed to the City of Belgrade a collection of 562 artworks, of which 45 were oil on canvas and cardboard, and more than 500 were on paper in various techniques. The City of Belgrade entrusted the Belgrade City Museum to maintain and exhibit the legacy, and later in 2007, this collection was entrusted to the Heritage House.
19:00
19:00 Cultural Centre
Choirs competition:
Required composition:
Stevan St. Mokranjac – The Second Garland
Bucharest – Sound
Conductor: Voicu Popescu
Sound Choir (Bucharest, Romania) is a mixed choir with a flexible structure generated by the nature of its repertoire and events it participates in. The choir was founded in 1994 and it’s comprised of students and graduates from various Bucharest universities. The choir’s repertoire is miscellaneous and includes traditional Romanian songs, madrigals, gospel, byzantine music, as well as modern and entertainment pieces. So far, the Choir Sound has participated in numerous national and international festivals and contests and won the hearts of the public and juries: Gold medals in Choir Olympics in Linz and Graz, Austria (2000, 2008), Festival of spiritual music in Pervez, Greece (2005), Grand Prix in Choirs festival in Ohrid, Macedonia (2010), Award in folklore music in the Festival Cracovia Cantans, Krakow, Poland (2011), and many more.
Voicu Popescu (1952) graduated at the National Music University of Bucharest in 1975. He began his activity dedicated to choral art as a member of the Choir Madrigal. Afterwards, he collaborated with this ensemble as choir master and artistic director. In 1994 he founded the Choir and The Cultural Foundation Sound, through which he organized a series of choral festivals, symposiums and master classes in Romania. As a conductor of the choir, he won many prizes in respectable festivals and competitions, where he also participated as a jury member. Since 1988, Voicu Popescu has been conducting Romanian Radio Children’s Choir.
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Istanbul – Nazim Hikmet
Conductor: Erdem Nusret Karakas
Academic Choir Nazim Hikmet (Istanbul, Turkey), was founded by the conductor Erdem Nusret Karakas in 2011. The goal of this ensembly (named after a famous Turkish poet) is to extend the established limits in the choir performance and provide an alternative choice for those who want to discover the diversity and richness of music composers from different countries, speaking regions, styles and eras. Choir members are mostly amateurs aged 14 to 55 years. The rich repertoire consists of classic works from the Renaissance to contemporary arrangements of pop, jazz, folk and children’s songs, as well as compositions written to the lyrics of Nazim Hikmet. The choir has so far participated in several festivals of choral music in Turkey where they won a prize in the category of folk and spiritual music (19th Festival of Turkish choral music in Ankara and 3rd International Choir Festival in Istanbul).
Erdem Nusret Karakas, born in İstanbul in 1982, studied opera with Stefano Gibellato at Venice State Conservatory ‘Benedetto Marcello’ between 2000 and 2005. He obtained his master in music teaching (2008) and PhD in opera (2015) at Istanbul University State Conservatory, where he has been teaching as a lecturer for years. He is also the founder and the conductor of Istanbul University State Conservatory Children’s Choir.
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Moscow – Elegy
Conductor: Marina Alekseeva
Мoscow choir Elegia was founded in 1992, and is mostly consisted of amateurs who graduated at the Vesna Choir school. Choir’s repertoire contains classical pieces, old masters’ pieces and pieces of modern Russian and international composers. Special attention is given to spiritual and folk music arrangements. Choir often performs in Moscow and other Russian cities, participates in domestic and international competitions and festivals and wins prizes. They had exceptional performances at the Festival of Church music in Hajnówka, Poland 2005. (special award), at the Festival of Orthodox Music in Grodno, Belarus 2009. (2nd prize), VIII International Mozart Festival in Prague, Czech Republic, 2013 (silver and gold diploma in two categories), Festival of Russian student and academic choirs in Yaroslav, 2009. and 2014. and many others. In May 2012. the choir participated in the II International Festival Sergej Rahmaninov in America, and realized a series of tours in Estonia, Finland, Germany, Austria, and France…
Marina Alekseeva finished the Vesna Choir School where she is currently working as a choir director and a music theory teacher. She received her professional education in the Ippolitov-Ivanov Moscow Musical College (1976) and the Glinka Nizhniy Novgorod State Conservatory (1985). Ms. Alekseeva had been a choirmaster of the Elegia choir since 1992 before becoming the art director in September 2008. Ms. Alekseeva is a recipient of several Moscow city awards in education and culture.
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Pancevo – Serbian Church choral society of Pancevo
Conductor: Vera Carina, MA
The Serbian Church Singing Society of Pančevo (SCSSP), founded in 1838, has been continually active for 176 and therefore it plays one of the most important roles in the music history of the Serbian people and culture. Many prominent figures were active in the Society: Reverend Vasa Živković, Nikola Đurković, Davorin Jenko, Kornelije Stanković, Mita Topalović, Jovan Bandur and Dr Mihovil Tomandl who wrote The Commemorative Volume of the Serbian Church Singing Society of Pančevo 1838-1938, one of the most important historical documents on the beginnings of the Serbian music culture. In its long history, the Society has received numerous awards and recognitions, among which the most important are: the Flag, presented by King Peter I in 1838, St. Sava Medal of III and II order, Charter of the Town of Pančevo in 2008, Medal Miša Anastasijević for contribution to the culture of Vojvodina, as well as awards at international and home choir competitions and festivals. The latest in this sucession of awards is, for the fifth time, the highest recognition by the Sacred Music Festival Choirs Among Frescoes – Vojislav Ilić Award in 2014 as well as the award for the absolute winner of the International Festival „Niš Choir Celebrations“ and a special award for the performance of Peta rukovet by Stevan Mokranjac.
Vera Carina, MA completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies of solo singing, piano and chamber music at the State Conservatory P.I. Tchaikovsky in Kiev, Ukraine. She is active as a choir conductor, singer and a solo singing and chamber music teacher. As a choir conductor, she has received many awards at festivals and competitions in the country and abroad, among which are: the Best Conductor at the Festival Choirs Among Frescoes (2003, 2005, 2010); Pro-Futuro Award for her contribution to the development of multiculturalism and multiethnic society; Charter for successful work in the fields of art awarded by the city of Pancevo in 2010. She is the author of numerous academic papers and lecturer at conferences, such as those in Joensuu in Finland, Pomorje in Bulgaria, Sremski Karlovci in Serbia. Together with her student chamber music ensembles from Music School Jovan Bandur, she has won many awards and recognitions at competitions in the country and abroad.
Thessaloniki - Kalamaria Choir
Conductor: Kostis Papazoglou
Choir Kalamaria (Thessaloniki, Greece) was established in 2007. Their repertoire is varied, but the emphasis is on the works of baroque masters (Anerio, Vivaldi, Caldara, Buxtehude, Bach). The choir has so far participated in the competition World is Singing in St. Petersburg in 2007, and presented with a program of film music at the festival Para thin alos, in April 2008 they organized a concert with works by Johann Sebastian Bach on the occasion of 120 years of German institutes in Thessaloniki. With the choir of the Aristotle University Ioannis Mantaks performed in December 2009 oratorio Messiah by G.F.Handel, while in 2010 appeared in France. The following year, on occasion of 100th anniversary of the birth of Odysseas Elytis, the choir performed piece Axion Esti by Mikis Theodorakis composed on the verses of this Greek poet. The Chorus performed this composition in various cities of Greece. In 2013 Choir published the compact disc with works by composers of Thessaloniki and collaborated in concerts with Greek singer Maria Faranturi. In cooperation with the Municipality of Aristotelis, choir performed Vivaldi’s Gloria, and together with local associations actively participate in music education.
Kostis Papazoglou studied in the State Conservatorium of Thessaloniki. He continued his music studies in Vienna, in the fields of flauto dolce and conducting. In 1994 he founded the baroque ensemble Concerto ellenico and the chamber orchestra Concerto Conservatorio. He is the conductor of many salonican ensembles, such as the local Jewish Community choir, the vocal ensemble Еn chor, as well as the Symphonic Orchestra of Youth and the choir of Kalamaria Municipality (Eastern Salonica). He has given numerous concerts and participated in several festivals across Europe, in Egypt and Israel. He is also a member of ΕRΤΑ (European Recorder Teachers Association).
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Sofia - Аngel Manolov
Conductor: Darena Popova
The Academic Choir Angel Manolov was founded in 1933 by Maestro Angel Manolov and it is one of the first students`choirs in Bulgaria. During its more than 80-years existence the Academic Choir has performed 4000+ concerts in Bulgaria and 350+ abroad. The choir is a laureate of a number of first prizes and gold medals, diplomas and honors from choir festivals and competitions in Budapest, Berlin, Prague, Moscow, Vienna, Langollen, Varna Stockholm, Oslo, Torrevieja, Arezzo,Antalya… In the period since 1933 until nowadays over 4100 students have been members of the choir, 250 of them have chosen music as their profession. Among them are the well-known throughout the opera singers: Boris Christov, Margarita lilova, Aleksandrina Milcheva and others.The repertoire of the Academic Choir includes a wide variety of compositions from different periods and styles: Bulgarian and Russian works for choir, Slavonic Orthodox chants, West European classical works as well as various pieces by contemporary composers from different countries. Since 1998, the Choir’s conductor is Mrs. Darena Popova.
Mrs. Darena Popova graduated from the State Academy of Music, Sofia in 1984 with a major in choir conducting in the class of prof. Vassil Arnaudov. Since 1998 Darena Popova has been a conductor of Academic Choir Angel Manolov, Sofia, and since 2005 – of the folklore formation Chemerika. Her high professional responsibility is a prerequisite for her choirs’ successful future. In the recent years Darena Popova is a laureate of a number of first prizes and gold medals, diplomas and honours from choir festivals and competitions in Spain, Denmark, Austria, Slovakia, U.K, Italy, and France. In the 51st and 55th International Contest in Torrevieja – Spain, respectively in 2005 and 2009, Darena Popova won twice Best conductor prize José HódarIn the Ist Freamunde International Choir Competition, Freamunde – Portugal, 2010 Darena Popova won the prize Best conductor. Darena Popova is a member of Europa Cantat since 1993.
JURY
JURY OF THE CHOIRS’ SINGING COMPETITION
The art of Darinka Matic-Marovic represents a perfect harmony of cultivated musicality, authority, suggestive power, infinite energy and full commitment to work. The audience of some of the most prestigious concert halls in more than 40 countries worldwide (almost all European countries,the USA, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, South Korea, Mongolia) enthusiastically embraced her inspired interpretation of highly complex and demanding works in national and foreign, as well as classical and contemporary repertoire. Upon completing grammar school and music school in Kotor, she graduated in teaching with piano playing as major, and then in conducting in the class of Professor Mihailo Vukdragovic at Belgrade Music Academy. She worked as a teacher in the Music school Stankovic and at the Faculty of Music Art, where she had tenure, teaching conducting and holding the office of the dean from 1983 to 1989. She was the President of the University of Arts from 1989 to 1998. She made a brilliant career working with female choir Collegium musicum (which she runs since it was founded in 1971) and the Mixed Academic Choir Branko Krsmanovic – currently Obilic (since 1980), with which she made numerous concerts and tours. She has won numerous first and special prizes on the most prestigious national and world choir competitions (Llangollen, Varna, Arezzo, Gorizia, Berlin, Torrevieja, Maasmechelen) She participated in many major world festivals (The Prague Spring, the Festival Weeks of Berlin, the “George Enescu” festival, the Pueblo Festival in Mexico, Preveza). She has performed with numerous prestigious orchestras in country and abroad, especially with those staging great vocal and instrumental works. For over two decades now, she has been working as professor at the Music Academy in Cetinje. She has been honoured with a lot of prizes and recognitions (The Lifetime Achievement Award granted by the Association of Musical Artist of Serbia, and by Association of Musical Pedagogues in Serbia). In 2010, she became Professor Emerita and was proclaimed an Honorary Doctor of the University of Montenegro. She has raised numerous generations of young conductors. She is also a jury member at many national and international competitions.
Conductor Vladimir Kranјcevic (1936, Zagreb) graduated in piano at the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of professor L.Saban. He studied conducting in the class of S. Zlatic in Zagreb and in the class of I.Markevich in Monte Carlo. He obtained his master degree in the class of V. Ilic in Belgrade’s Music Academy. He was the chief-conductor of the chamber orchestra Vatroslav Lisinski, of the Academic choir Ivan Goran Kovacic, Mixed choir and Symphony orchestra of Croatian Radio Television, Zagreb Madrigalists and Chamber opera. He was also Head of Music production of Radio Television Belgrade (1988-1991). He was the principal of Music school Vatroslav Lisinski in Zagreb, general manager of Croatian National Theatre’s Opera in Zagreb and manager of Varazdin’s Baroque Nights. At the Music Academy in Zagreb, he lectured uninterruptedly from 1978 to 2007 from 1995 as a full professor, and since 2000 (until retirement) as a full professor with tenure. In 2014 he was appointed Professor Emeritus at the Zagreb University. As a pianist and conductor, alone and with ensembles, he has performed in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Greece, Italy, China, Cuba, Macedonia, Germany, Slovenia, North Korea, the former Soviet Union, Serbia, Switzerland, Spain, and The UK. As a conductor he made about 5 thousand minutes of permanent recordings for radio and television, about twenty gramophone records and 20 compact discs with works by local and world music literature. He was awarded numerous prestigious awards, including: Josip Slavenski Award, the city of Varazdin (1983, 1986, 1995), Award Ivan Lukačić and Jurica Murai, an annual award Vladimir Nazor (1996), award Lisinski of the Croatian Composers Society (2001), Lifetime Achievement Award of the Croatian Association of Music and Dance Teachers (2008) and the highest award – Porin – for the best performance of vocal and instrumental works (1996 and 2003). He also won a gold medal from the Varazdin diocese. He was a mentor to 101 graduate of the Music Academy in Zagreb.
A leading name in Serbian conducting, Bojan Suđić is a chief conductor of the RTS Symphonic Orchestra and Choir and executive and artistic director of the Musical Production of the RTS. He is also employed as a full professor and the head of the conducting department at the Faculty of Music Art in Belgrade. In 2015, maestro Suđić celebrates 30 years of his professional career in conducting. Since the very beginning, his work and repertoire have featured an extraordinary breadth and diversity of choral, symphonic, and stage music, remarkable achievements in all of these domains, and numerous awards – ranging from First Prize at the 1989 Yugoslav Young Artists’ Competition in Zagreb to significant professional awards on the domestic music scene: the prize of the International Composers’ Forum, the annual prize of the Association of Musical Artists, The City of Belgrade Prize, the Golden Armlet,, the annual prize of the Musica classica journal, and others. He performs regularly in Serbia and abroad. Since 1992, he has been a permanent conductor with the RTS Choir and Symphonic Orchestra, with whom he has performed a large number of works from the international heritage of choral, symphonic, and vocal-instrumental music. Most of these concerts have been recorded for radio and TV, constituting the basis of Suđić’s extensive discography. Since 1989, he has been engaged in intense collaboration with the Belgrade Philharmonic. In 1993, he turned to conducting in opera, becoming a leading conductor at the National Theatre Opera in Belgrade, and its chief conductor during the season of 1999/2000. He was general music director of the Opera during the season of 2004/2005. In 1998, he was engaged as a visiting conductor at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, becoming a conductor in residence there in 2000. With their ensemble, he realised over 150 opera and ballet productions. He has also pursued a fruitful collaboration with the ensemble of the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki. As a visiting conductor, he has performed with over 40 orchestras in the region and abroad, such as the Helsinki Philharmonic, Novosibirsk Philharmonic, Turku Philharmonic, and UNAM Philharmonic.