Artists

Ivana Kuljerić Bilić

Marimba

Ivana Kuljerić Bilić  is an international marimba virtuoso and percussion artist. Known for her versatility, she regularly appears as soloist with European orchestras (Danish Radio Symphony, W. Lutoslawski Philharmonic, Pannon Philharmonic, Slovenian Philharmonic, Dohnany Symphony, Presidential Symphony Orchestra Ankara, Symphony Orchestra of the Croatian Radiotv…) and on international festivals (Music Biennale Zagreb, Musicora Paris, Tempus Fugit Tel Aviv, Melos Ethos Bratislava, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Split Summer Festival, Julian Rachlin and Friends…). Since 2017 she is regularly collaborating with the festival "Musical Platform Opatija", holding students'  workshops for contemporary music, creating original projects and performing with Synchronos ensemble. 

Her concert activities include recitals, crossover projects, stage productions, cd recording sessions, appearances at live tv shows and cooperations with artists and ensembles in Europe, USA, China and South America, in halls such as the Merkin Hall in New York, Palacio de las Bellas Artes in Mexico City and Franz Liszt Hall in Budapest.

Ivana regularly gives marimba clinics and masterclasses (Manhattan school of Music; Stuttgart Hochschule für Musik; Anton Bruckner Universität Linz; Conservatoire de Paris and Lyon; Wuhan, Dalian and Beijing Universities; Royal Northern College of Music, Birmingham Conservatory, Salzburg Sommerakademie etc)  and serves as jury member at international competitions ( Linz, Salzburg, Stuttgart and Paris Marimba Competitions, August Everding Competition Munich, Timisoara Percussion Competition, Beijing Percussion Competition, etc). and participates in percussion and marimba festivals in USA, China, South America and Europe (Tomarimbando, Portugal; Shenyang Percussion Festival; KALIMA; Tenerife Percussion Festival; Amsterdam Marimba Weekend; Santa Fe Marimba Festival; Marimba International Festival and Conference in Minneapolis; several ZMF and PASIC editions; Belgium Marimba Competition and Festival; Festival de marimbistas, Chiapas, Mexico and many others).

For many years, Ivana has been the solo timpanist of the Symphony Orchestra of the Croatian RTV. She is the recipient of all major croatian performers’ and discography awards.

Ivana is a commissioned author, her pieces are published by Edition Svitzer, Inkoplastika edition, Malletworks and Cantus.

Since 2014 Ivana is regularly performing with Nikola Krbanyevitch in I.N.K. Experiment Duo, with special focus on stage projects and collaborations with other artists. 

A pupil of I. Lešnik, she currently teaches at the Zagreb Academy of Music and is Head of Department for conducting, percussion and harp.

Ivana is a Marimbaone artist with her own signature line of mallets.

Nebojša J. Živković

   percussion

Hailed by the critics as one of the most unique and expressive marimba and percussion artists in the field today, Nebojša Jovan Živković has greatly influenced the international percussion scene during the last two decades – as both a masterful composer and virtuoso performer. A native from Serbia, Živković completed his master’s degrees in composition, music theory and percussion in Germany. He tours extensively throughout Europe, and performs frequently in the USA, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Latin America, Russia and Scandinavian countries. Živković performed in such prestigious venues as Vienna’s “Konzerthaus”, National Recital Hall Taipei,  Munich’s Herkulessaal, St. Petersburg’s Eremitage Theatre, or Stockholm’s Nybrokajen. He was also guest of the number of Festivals such as Gaudeamus Amsterdam, Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival.

As a soloist, mostly with his own marimba and percussion concertos, Živković has performed with the Moscow Philharmonic, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Munich Symphonic Orchestra, Bochum Philharmonic, Austrian Chamber Symphony, Belgrade Philharmonic, Thessaloniki State Orchestra Greece, Osaka Festival Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Costa Rica, Lithuanian State Symphony, Slovenian Philharmonic,  Minnesota Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, to name but a few.

Živković released six compact discs of music for marimba and percussion, and over a dozen CD's including his compositions are recorded by other performers.  
Since 2012, Živković serves as Professor of Percussion at prestigious Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, Austria (former Vienna Conservatory) and at University of Novi Sad, in his native country, Serbia.  

Composer Živković is is today one of the worlds most performed composers for Percussion music.
Many of Živković’s compositions (for example: Ilijaš, Ultimatum 1, Trio per uno) have become standards in contemporary percussion repertoire world-wide.  His symphonic works are performed by orchestras world wide such as the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, BBC Concert Orchestra, London, Orchestra di Santa Cecilia, Rome, The Northern Sinfonia in Newcastle, UK or Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra.  Commissioned by soloists, orchestras and institutions, including two commissions from the German Ministry of Culture. Recent years included commissions of Double Percussion concerto with Large Orchestra “Obsesiones”, percussion Trio “Sandy, the Hurricane”  solo marimba piece “Homo Balcanicus”, and  “Credo in Unum Deum” a percussion quartet commissioned by Hamburg State Opera.

Nebojša plays YAMAHA marimbas,  Meinl percussion & His signature Mallets Series made by  Schlagkraft.

FLAM-a Duo

percussion DUO

Flam-a Duo is a percussion duo created in 2016, while Francesco Mazzoleni (Treviso, Italy) and Luis Camacho Montealegre (Alcázar de San Juan, Spain) crossed their paths on their Master Degree studies in Zagreb Music Academy, under the mentorship of professors Igor Lešnik and Ivana Kuljerić Bilić.

From the beginning, one of the main characteristics of the duo has been their communication, both with each other and with the audience. Using musical performance as a means of storytelling, Flam-a leans on brilliant intuition that is based on a strong emotional connection with the selected repertoire. For the duo, the essence of chamber music is to achieve the maximum possible synergy between performers and, in doing so, to investigate together all the elements that shape the music: from organizing and expanding the repertoire of the percussion duo to breaking down and analyzing music, sound and movement to the realization and transmission of ideas and emotions during the performance.

Already from its creation, the duo has performed at important festivals throughout Europe: Ivana Bilić Marimba Week (Samobor, Croatia), Salotto Musicale (Treviso/Belluno, Italy) International Percussion Ensemble Week (Bjelovar, Croatia) and Percussion Camp (Tenerife, Spain), Keiko Abe Lausanne International Marimba Academy (Lausanne, Switzerland), Arte Entre Gigantes (Campo de Criptana, Spain). The duo has performed on the occasion of the European project – 2018 Birthday of Art, with a live broadcast of Croatian Radio in the EBU network.

Flam-a Duo started principally focusing on marimba repertoire and has won two second prizes: Percute Chamber Music Competition in 2016 and the Universal Marimba Competition in 2017. Later on the duo widened their style including all types of percussion, currently focusing on marimba and vibraphone. They have premiered several Croatian pieces written specially for the duo and have inaugurated the newly opened Zagreb Music Academy recording studio. In 2020, they released in YouTube their recording session “Sunday at Soundbrick Studio” in which they featured some of their newest arrangements for marimba and vibraphone among classics for the same instruments’ set.

Since 2019 both Luis and Francesco have been employed as percussionists of the Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra (HRT), and Luis works as Igor Lešnik’s assistant at Zagreb Music Academy.

Registration & fees

registration

Festival Fees

Regular registration  - 200 EUR 

Guest & passive participants - 100 EUR

Festival fee includes entrance pass for all concerts and masterclasses/clinics, and two private lessons + group lessons for active participants.

*apply online by clicking on the Online Application button below

Contact ADDRESS

travel & accomodation

how to reach us

By Plane

Airport Zagreb, 30 min from Samobor

*transfer can be organized by the Festival

By Car

Trg Matice hrvatske 3, 10430 Samobor
 

Accommodation

Hotel Livadić

Trg Kralja Tomislava 1, Samobor

Hotel Lavica

Ulica Ferde Livadića 5, Samobor

Hostel Samobor

Obrtnička 34,

Samobor

Airbnb

Partners

ISPF Team 2020

Artistic director / Ivana Kuljerić Bilić

Executive director / Renata Glojnarić

Executive producer / Goran Gorše 

Artistic producer and graphic design / Nikola Krbanyevitch 

Assistant producer & Social media / Suzana Komazin 

ISPF Council / Josip Konfic, Francesco Mazzoleni, 

Luis Camacho Montealegre

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The Festival is produced by:

Pučko otvoreno učilište Samobor 

Trg Matice hrvatske 3

10430 Samobor

*Ivana Cover Photo by Romano Grozić 

Contact ADDRESS

ISPF 2020 

It has been some time since Samobor and percussion have seriously fallen in love.

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After a decade of colouring the Samobor Autumns with numeros shades of percussion and marimba music, and bringing exciting concerts by renowned international guests under the name of Ivana Bilic Marimba Week, we have decided to turn to the starry skies and late summer nights for new inspiration.

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In these unusual times we don't want to give up on music and art.

With great joy, we are happy to present you our special guests. There is not a single percussionist who doesn’t know the name of Nebojša Živković, legendary musician and composer who had once shakened the world of percussion and who keeps creating and recreating music for our instruments. From the opening concert featuring the music by J. S. Bach that I will be presenting with the guest appearance of Nikola Krbanyevitch, to the final participants show, we are sure to give you plenty of reason to visit the festival.

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See you in Samobor

program