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.

T. Goliński & I. Manolova

(Lucid duo)

marimba duo

Lucid duo is the first prize winning laureate of the Universal Marimba Competition 2011 in Belgium, praised for their amazing degree of sensitivity to sound. Among others they were also recognized as Prizewinners of the Fidelio Chamber Music Competition 2015 in Vienna and were chosen as finalists of the Contemporary Music Competition De Linkprijs 2012 in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

Their success allows them to perform regularly at international festivals and to hold masterclasses in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Mexico, including giving lectures at some of the most renowned music universities in Japan - the Toho Gakuen School of Music Tokyo; Osaka College of Music; Kunitachi College of Music Tokyo. They were also invited as guest jury members at the Japan Percussion Association’s Competition in 2019. Irena and Tomasz took part in festivals such as the Festival Internacional de Marimbistas 2019 in Chiapas, Mexico; Midis-Minimes Festival 2018 in Brussels; Festival de Música Contemporánea de Tenerife 2017, performing at venues as the National Olympics Hall in Tokyo, Dolce Artists Salon in Osaka, Japan; Stadschouwburg Leuven, Belgium; Koszalin Philharmonic Hall, Poland; Auditorio de Tenerife, Spain; Austrian Cultural Forum in Berlin; Palais Rasumofsky, Vienna etc.

The ensemble was formed in 2011 by Irena Manolova and Tomasz Goliński in Belgium. After graduating Europe´s first Marimba Master Degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, the duo believes in bringing the instrument to a further development. Lucid premieres many new works by Tomasz for marimba duo, marimba duo with electronics or double marimba concertos with an orchestra/percussion ensemble.  Irena and Tomasz completed their specialization in 2016 with the Japanese composer and marimba virtuoso – Keiko Abe, at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Japan with the help of the Start-Stipendium Scholarship, awarded by the Federal Chancellery of Austria, given to outstanding artists.

Lucid Duo is based in Vienna, Austria and is an Innovative Percussion Endorser, represented by the Cougar Artist Management in Europe and collaborating with the Armstrong Music and Arts Agency in Beijing.

Walter Mertens

Percussion 

Walter Mertens (b. 1965) began his musical studies at the Academy for Music in Mol. He won a First Prize Percussion at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp, where he studied with Mr. Louis Caubergs. He obtained the Higher Degree at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven with Mr. Leo Ouderits as his tutor and mentor. To complete his musical studies, Walter Mertens obtained a Master Degree percussion & chamber music at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp, also guided by Mr. Leo Ouderits.

Walter Mertens currently teaches percussion, ensemble and instrumental ensemble. He is also coordinator at the Academy for Music in Schoten (Be).

Besides his teaching Walter often participates in workshops, he offers artistic support and is frequently asked as a member of the jury for contests for soloists and ensembles in Belgium and abroad e.g. Vlamo, Belgian Percussion Days 2011, 2012, Perculliria (Sp), Bumfest (Slo), Waubonsie Valley High School (Chicago US), International percussion festival Gdansk (Pl), Colours of Rhytm Nis ( Srb).Together with three other professional percussionists, Walter Mertens forms the group '4Pk'.

This renowned quartet arose from the former Mol Percussion Orchestra and plays its own creations at home and abroad. As a composer, Walter Mertens focuses on teaching methods as well as compositions for percussion solo, duo, ensemble, symphonic orchestra, musical, wind instruments, jazz combo, piano, chamber music and choir.

Several compositions won prizes in different competitions or were assignments in national and international contests or manifestations such as WVMC in Kerkrade (Nl), Temsig-Slovenian Music Competition for youth (SLO), EMJ Neerpelt (B), Vlamo (B).

Most of his music is published by different national and international publishers such as Beurskens (Nl), C. Alan Publications (US,) Golden River Music (B), Southern Percussion (UK), Alfonce Productions (Fr). The oeuvre of Walter Mertens is well-known far beyond the boundaries and one can find it in Europe, America and Asia.

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.

Registration & fees

registration

Festival Fees

Early bird registration by March  15, 2019 - 175 EUR 
Regular registration by May 15, 2019 - 200 EUR 

Guest & passive participants - 100 EUR

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Meals

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(Restaurant Samoborska Klet)

Lunch and dinner coupons (5,50 EUR) can be purchased on the spot

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

*after downloading and filling the application form, please send it to the contact address 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 warm summer nights for new inspiration.

Now it`s time for Samobor in summer to dream, shake and swing to the rhythms of music.

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I had a dream about next summer and it got real! 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. Another young musician, Tomasz Goliński, has already made a name with his pieces for marimba and his collaboration with Irena Manolova in the frame of Lucid duo. 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 led by Walter Mertens, prolific composer and percussion pedagogue, we are sure to give you plenty of reason to visit Samobor.

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See you in Samobor

program