TUESDAY, 6TH NOVEMBER

CCNS, Club “Tribina mladih”, 5 Katolička porta Str.,8 pm

 

THE JAZZ CHOIR – FACULTY OF MUSIC ART, BELGRADE

Conductor: Vesna Patković

Organizational and expert assistant: Petra Leona Matiša

Rhythm section: Stevan Milijanović, piano

David Gegić, double bass; Aleksa Milijanović, drums

 

THE JAZZ CHOIR OF THE FACULTY OF MUSIC IN BELGRADE

The Jazz Choir made its first steps with the establishment of the Jazz and Popular Music Department at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade in 2012. Due to an increasing interest of students from the Jazz Department but other Departments as well, the Choir got a membership of between 20 and 30 students in 2016 and began serious activities. Aiming towards diversity, the Jazz Choir’s repertoire includes popular jazz standards arranged by renowned names (Darmon Meader, Roger Emerson, etc.), as well as contemporary original arrangements.

For the past two years, the Jazz Choir has had a number of notable concerts. Thanks to those performances, the audiences have had an opportunity to experience jazz choir as such, and invitations for tours followed.

 

VESNA PETKOVIĆ, conductor

Singer and composer Prof. Vesna Petković has enjoyed a 25-year long career.

Born in 1974 in Nišu, Vesna Petković moved to Austria in 1996 to study at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, at the study programme Jazz Singing. There she became part of the local music scene, and joined different projects: the Sandi Lopičić Orchestra, the Vesna Petković Band, Who Man Dog, Sosamma and David Bowie Tribute Special, making a name for herself with her singing and performing proficiency all over Europe.

Her first soloist album A New One, showcasing her performing and composing qualities, was released in 2007.

She renewed her ties with her homeland in 2012, when she started teaching Jazz Singing at the Jazz and Popular Music Department of the Faculty of Music in Belgrade.

Her latest album, 3Secrets, released in the early 2018 under the “Southchord Records” label, presents a wide range of music styles. The artist works with performers from over 10 countries, so the album is a journey around the globe, through different cultures and music genres, from jazz to traditional music of the Balkans and Africa, seasoned with serious and pop music. 3Secrets is available in a double vinyl format (one in marble magenta, the other marble neon blue), CD and digital format with illustrations of artists Marcy McChesney and Farad Ibrahimović from San Antonio.

 

PETRA LEONA MATIŠA, organisation and expert assistant

Born in Subotica in 1991, Petra Leona Matiša has had diverse interests since her early childhood, matriculating from high music school in two sections – Cello and Jazz Singing.

In 2010 she started studying Cello at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, but, due to circumstances, she decided to drop out of studies and dedicate herself to singing alone. In 2012, after successfully passing the entry exam for the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, she became one of the students of the first generation in class of Assistant Prof. Vesna Petković, MA, in the Jazz and Popular Music Department. She earned her Master Degree in 2017.

During her studies she attended workshops led by artists such as: Aaron Goldberg, Bojan Zulfikarpašić, Steve Gut, Michelle Hendricks, Anna Lauvergnac, Jelena Jovović, Sofija Knežević, among others, attending the Summer Jazz Academy in Novi Sad as well (2015).

Besides club gigs, her notable performances include concerts at: The Belgrade Jazz Festival (2014), Pančevo Jazz Festival (2014), Nishville Jazz Festival (2012 and 2013), the Youth Centre in Belgrade – The International Day of Jazz (2014), Jazzik Festival in Subotica (2010 and 2011), ARLEMM Art Festival (2013), 3rd European Student Summit, etc.

Her collaboration with the Jazz Youth of Vojvodina Big Band and the Big Band of the Academy in Ljubljana resulted in a mini tour of Ljubljana and five Serbian cities (2013); “EUtropia” project organised by the international network “Roots&Routes”– performance art piece presented within the “Sziget” Festival (2012); guest appearances in different programmes (RTS, RTV, Studio B, Pannon RTV…).

Besides gaining experience as a performer and organizer, she has also been active in the field of education. After years of choir singing, Leona assisted Prof. Vesna Petković in leading the Jazz Choir as part of her vocational practice within her Master studies. This cooperation is on-going.

In November 2017, Leona led a workshop entitled “Sing and Learn!” within the programme of the Novi Sad Jazz Festival.

Matiša wanted to express her love for choir in the form of a small group, with a clear vision of performing only authorial compositions and arrangements – OKTATONIK is based on the idea of singing four-voice arrangements to the accompaniment of an instrumental quartet. The members are young musicians based in Belgrade. The group was established in the early 2018, and they have had appearances at the Novi Sad Studio M, at the Nishville Jazz Festival and the Belgrade Youth Centre.

Since 2011 she has been an associate collaborator of Radio Novi Sad as the author of the show “Jazz Hour”. Since 2017, she has been engaged in the production of the television programme of Radio-Television Vojvodina.

 

STEVAN MILIJANOVIĆ, piano

Stevan Milijanović is a pianist from Čačak, who started playing the piano at an early age of five. During his school years he won a number of prizes in the field of serious music, among which the most important ones is 1st prize at the World Competition in Gorica, Italy (2003). He developed interest in jazz at the age of 15, so he studied with Vasil Hadžimanov. After Music High School, he received a scholarship for the Newpark Music Centre in Dublin (Berklee College of Music outpost), where he was immediately admitted to the fourth year of studies. After a short stay in Ireland, he returned to Serbia and enrolled in the Jazz Piano course at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade.

He is active with his group “The Stevan Milijanovic Band” playing his original music. He works with Mina Matijašević and the Ethno Jazz Orchestra. Stevan has appeared at a number of festivals: the Jazzibar jazz festival, Nishville Jazz Festival, Jazzik Festival, Jazz Festival Kikinda, Karusel Fest, among others, and as a guest in the programme Tri boje zvuka (Three Colours of Sound).

 

DAVID GEGIĆ, double bass

David Gegić was born in Belgrade on 20th April 1995. He graduated in fagot from elementary and high music schools, and has won a number of prizes in national and international competitions. David has had numerous appearances with chamber ensembles and orchestras in our country and abroad, as well as with the International Youth Orchestra of the Danube Region Project, with which he has performed at concerts in Hungary and Romania. He has always loved jazz music, but he started playing it only after finishing high school. Besides the fagot, he played the bass guitar as well, and took classes with Vladimir Samardžić and Fedor Ruškuc. Two years later, in 2016, he enrolled in the Double Bass Course at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, in class of Prof. Milan Nikolić. Gegić is active on the Belgrade jazz scene, and has had an opportunity to play at some festivals: the Jazztronic in Vršcu, Jazz Bay Fest in Herceg Novi, Nishville Jazz Festival and Festival “Oslobađanja” in Belgrade.

 

ALEKSA MILIJANOVIĆ, drums

Born in 1999 in Čačak, Aleksa started to play drums at the age of five. He studied piano at elementary music school, winning a number of prizes in classical music. Jazz has been his interest since the beginning of his music activities. He completed high music school in Čačak at the Department for Music Assistants and Theory of Music, being successful in solfeggio and piano competitions.

For a number of years Aleksa has been working with various musicians, such as: Mina Matijašević and the Ethno Jazz Orchestra, and is currently a member of the Ethno Jazz Orchestra, Vladimir Tubić Quintet, etc. He has appeared at a number of festivals: the Jazzibar jazz festival, Nishville Jazz Festival, Jazzik Festival, Jazz Festival Kikinda, Karusel Fest, Belgrade Choir Festival, “Majske muzičke svečanosti” (May Music Festival), etc. He has also appeared as a guest in the programme Tri boje zvuka (Three Colours of Sound).

In July 2018, Aleksa started studying Jazz Drums in the Jazz and Popular Music Department of the Faculty of Music in Belgrade in class of Prof. Anđelko Stupar.