Jury for wind instruments
Provide a general description of the items below and introduce the services you offer. Click on the text box to edit the content.
nikola
srdic
Nikola Srdić (Serbia) graduated from the Faculty of Music Arts in Belgrade (1975) in the class of Professor Bruno Brun. Two years later, he earned a Master’s degree in clarinet under the same professor. He further refined his expertise in Paris under the guidance of the renowned Professor Ulysse Delécluse as a French government scholarship recipient.
His artistic career has been marked by numerous first prizes in competitions across former Yugoslavia, a special award from Bavarian Radio and Television, and participation in the finals of the International Competition in Munich (1973).
As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in all major music centers of Yugoslavia, as well as in France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Germany. He has appeared with the Belgrade, Zagreb, Macedonian, Sarajevo, Vojvodina, Timișoara, and North Bohemian Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as with the Novi Sad and Mostar Chamber Orchestras, the Dušan Skovran Chamber Orchestra (over fifty concerts), St. George Strings, and string quartets such as Klima, Kodály, Moyzes, Tartini, the Belgrade String Quartet, the Serbian String Quartet, and others.
Notable festival performances include Ohrid Summer, Bratislava Summer, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Evenings on Grič, Tallinn Music Festival (Estonia), Janáček May Festival (Ostrava), Košice Festival, and more.
He is a full professor at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad and the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka.
Sebastijan Bereta
Born in Novi Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sebastijan discovered the flute at the age of 17. Five years later, he moved to France, where he studied at the CRR in Rueil-Malmaison, the CRR in Versailles, the PESMD in Bordeaux, and the National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance (CNSMDP) in Paris. In 2022, as a recipient of the Meyer Foundation scholarship for young artists, he obtained a master’s degree in Baroque flute under the guidance of Jan de Winne.
Fascinated and deeply passionate about the history and art of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, Sebastijan naturally specialized in performing early music on historical instruments, with a repertoire ranging from Lully to Prokofiev.
He performs with ensembles such as Les Talens Lyriques (Christophe Rousset), Le Concert d’Astrée (Emmanuelle Haïm), the Royal Opera Orchestra of Versailles, Le Palais Royal (Paris), Il Gardellino (Belgium), Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu (Lyon), Jeune Orchestre de l’Abbaye, Orchestre Français des Jeunes Baroque, as well as Ensemble Poséidon, with which he regularly appears as a soloist.
He has performed at major European festivals and concert halls, including the Philharmonie de Paris, the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in December 2024, the Bayreuth Baroque Festival in Germany, the Festival Midi-Minimes in Brussels, and the Festival de Saintes in France.
Sebastijan is the founder of the Baroque ensemble Les Flâneries, dedicated to preserving Baroque repertoire with a special focus on Parisian Baroque music.
Passionate about pedagogy, he is currently a professor of modern flute at the Conservatory of Fontenay-sous-Bois.
In collaboration with the French Institute, he regularly gives lectures to music students in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia.
Aleksandar Jovanovic
Aleksandar Jovanović was born in Zaječar in 1985. He received his primary music education in his hometown under the guidance of Professor Goran Turkalj and continued his secondary music education at the Kornelije Stanković Music School in Belgrade in the class of Professor Miloš Gerić. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Academy of Arts at the University of Banja Luka in the class of Professor Nikola Srdić, where he also obtained a master’s degree in clarinet. Additionally, he earned a master's degree in chamber music in the class of Professor Timea Hotić.
After completing his undergraduate studies, he worked as a clarinet teacher at the Savo Balaban Music School in Prijedor and the Konstantin Babić Music School in Prnjavor. He is currently employed as a clarinet instructor at the Branko Smiljanić Music School in Gradiška. From late 2017 to 2024, he served as the concertmaster of the Police Orchestra of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Srpska.
He has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra member across the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Austria, and Sweden. From its founding in 2010 until 2019, he was a member of the Banja Luka Philharmonic Orchestra. Since the establishment of the Symphony Orchestra of the National Theatre of the Republic of Srpska, he has frequently been engaged as a freelance clarinetist.
His greatest pride lies in the remarkable achievements of his many students from Prijedor, Prnjavor, and Gradiška, who have excelled both during their studies and in their professional music careers.
JURY STRING INSTRUMENTS
meinhard
holler
Meinhard Holler is originally from Graz, Austria. He started his musical education at the age of four. He is a recipient of numerous awards in youth competitions in his early years.
He studied at the Music Academy in Graz and at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich with professors Jannis Chronopoulos and Jan Polášek. Afterward, he continued his studies at the Music Academy in Saarbrücken under the guidance of Professor David Grigorian, a long-time student and assistant of Mstislav Rostropovich.
Meinhard has attended chamber music and orchestra courses several times with Heinrich Schiff. He participated in masterclasses with, among others, Philippe Muller, Marjory Cornelius, Paul Tortelier, David Grigorian, Eduard Brunner, the Altenberg Trio from Vienna, and Sergiu Celibidache. He is a recipient of the "Kulturkreis Gasteig" music support award from Munich.
He regularly performs with the ensembles Cello Mellow, Juon Trio (with Slava Cernavka – clarinet and Zoriana Tkachik – piano), as well as in duos with pianists Yuri Kot, Olga Salogina, Neritan Hysa, and harpsichordist/pianist Caroline Bergius. He has performed with these musicians on concerts and tours across France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia...
Meinhard is active in pedagogy and works with young talents in Munich, with his students regularly achieving success in competitions. He maintains intensive pedagogical collaboration with cellists Professor Boža Saramandić (Serbia), Professor Ivan Kučer (Kiev Music Academy, Ukraine), and especially with Professor David Grigorian. He is the author of extensive pedagogical literature for his instrument. Meinhard is a jury member at competitions and conducts masterclasses in Austria, Germany, Serbia...
Since 2001, he has led colluvio, a chamber music course for music students that concludes with an international concert tour.
ISAK
HARAcIc
Isak Haracic is a Bosnian cellist, born in Belgarde.
He attended School for Musically Gifted Children in Cuprija (Serbia) after which he graduated
from the Academy of Music Sarajevo (Bosnia) under the mentorship of Yevgeny Xaviereff, a
former pupil of Mstislav Rostropovich.
During his studies he became a member of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, country's
top professional orchestra, and became orchestra's principal cellist at the age of 19, in 2010.
Being equally interested in solo, chamber and orchestral playing, in the past several years he
had opportunity to perform at many international festivals, such as Music Academy of the
West (USA), ISA Music Festival (Austria), New York Youth Philharmonic Festival (USA), Liandu
Music Fest (P. R. China), Puccini Festival (Italy), Miami Summer Music Festival (USA), among
others.
As a soloist and a member of different chamber ensembles, he has performed in venues such
as the Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Guildhall School of Music, New World Symphony
Hall in Miami, Orchard Hall in Tokyo. Most recently, as a member of different ensembles he
was fortunate to perform alongside many prominent artists such as Leonard Slatkin, Riccardo
Muti, Jose Luis Gomez, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Emmanuel Pahud and Sergey Krylov, among
others.
Since 2012 he holds the position of associate principal cellist in the No Borders Orchestra.
The orchestra, which has an CD album released by Deutsche Grammophon and Universal, is
comprised of the finest young musicians from seven European countries and is based on
deconstruction of stereotypes and overcoming nationalism.
In 2018 and 2019 Isak has spent most of his time in China and Hong Kong where he was
asked to help set-up a cello section in a newly formed Kunming International Philharmonic,
performing recitals and concerts with different orchestras.
His most recent appearances as a soloist with orchestra include performances of Tchaikovsy's
Rococo Variations and Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Prokofiev’s Sinfonia-Concertante.
Currently, Isak performs regularly as a soloist and a principal cellist of Sarajevo Philharmonic
and No Borders Orchestra.
MARKO
POP RISTOV
Marko graduated from the Royal College of Music (London) with a BMus in
2009. He attained his Masters in Chamber Music from the Guildhall School of
Music and Drama in London, during which time he also performed his Barbican
debut in 2012.
At 16 he was invited and awarded a scholarship to study with Prof. Pavel
Vernikov at the “Scuola di Musica di Fiesole”. Marko has been awarded first
prize in several international competitions including “Performing Australian
Music” (London, 2008), “Giovanni Batista Pergolesi” (Italy, 2003) and “Peter
Konjovich” (Yugoslavia, 2001).
He has appeared as a soloist with “Kensington Sinfonia” (UK), “Orchestra dei
Ragazzi” (Italy), “Bitola Chamber Orchestra” and “National Symphony
Orchestra” (Macedonia). Whilst in London, Marko received coaching from
eminent musicians and artists such as the: “Bedke Quartet”, “Chilingarina
Quartet”, “Domus Quartet”, “Belcea Quartet”, “Florestan Trio” and many more.
Marko has performed in festivals across the UK, France, Switzerland,
Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia. In 2010 he was invited to perform the
“Rombach” piano trio by P. Dusapin for the BBC Proms. Since his arrival in
New Zealand in 2013 Marko is a regular player with the APO and ACO as well
as section leader of “Bach Musica”. In 2022&2023 Marko was invited on a tour
as a concert master with NBO (No Borders Orchestra) as well as a tour of New
Zealand with the CSO and his piano trio.
Marko in 2021 was offered a place and awarded a full scholarship to do a DMA
research at the Wikato University in Hamilton, NZ.
In 2023 Marko with the newly formed ensemble Velkro Project, together with
cellist Marco Ariani and pianist Maja Bozhinovska, released two albums.
nastasja
vojinovic
Nastasja Vojinovic is an award-winning violinist with an international career as a soloist,chamber musician, and educator. She holds degrees from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade (B.M., M.M.), Temple University’s Boyer College of Music (M.M., Professional Studies Certificate), and the Mannes School of Music in New York (Professional Studies Certificate).
Her principal teachers include Gordana Matijevic-Nedeljkovic, Eduard Schmieder, and WenQian.
She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Youth Philharmonic
Borislav Pašćan and Belgrade Strings Dušan Skovran, performing in major venues such as the National Theatre in Belgrade, Kolarac Concert Hall, and Kimmel Center’s Verizon
Hall. Nastasja has won top prizes at numerous competitions across Europe and the
U.S., including the Città di Barletta, Petar Toskov, and Young Classical Virtuosos of
Tomorrow.
An active chamber musician, she has performed with the Philadelphia String Quartet, Vae Soli Quartet, and Tipica Messiez, and has appeared at international festivals including KotorArt, SUMMIT, and Philadelphia Tango Fest. As an educator, she served on faculty at Temple University’s Community Music Scholars Program. She has participated in masterclasses with distinguished artists such as Roman Simovic, Benjamin Schmid, and Aaron Rosand, and continues to perform and teach across Europe and North America.
jury piano
yuri
kot
Yuri Kot
Professor of Piano, National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv
Yuri Kot, an internationally acclaimed soloist and chamber musician, has been a Professor of Piano at the National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv since 1994. In 1995, he was awarded the honorary title of Honoured Artist of Ukraine. As a distinguished laureate, he has won prizes at the National Lysenko Piano Competition, the First International Prokofiev Piano Competition, and—together with duo partner Irina Aleksiychuk—at the Golden Autumn Competition, the 45th ARD International Music Competition (Piano Duo), and the Sixth Murray Dranoff International Two Piano Competition.
Professor Kot regularly appears at major international music festivals, including Musiksommer in Dresden, Two Pianos Plus in Miami, the Contemporary Music Festival in Banská Bystrica (Slovakia), Kyiv Music Fest, Music Premieres of the Season in Kyiv, the Regina and Vladimir Horowitz in Memoriam Festival, Farbotony in Kaniv, the International Festival of Kraków Composers (Poland), Richter Fest in Odesa, and the Piano Music Festival Una Tastiera Per Due Mondi in Carrara (Italy).
In addition to performing worldwide, Professor Kot has given masterclasses and served on the juries of numerous international competitions. He has taught in Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Japan, North Macedonia, Slovenia, and Austria, among other countries. As a soloist and orchestral collaborator, he has performed in Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and the United States. He has also served on juries in Ukraine, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia.
Yuri Kot graduated from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv, where he studied under V. Kozlov.
.jpg)
Kristina
socanski
Kristina Socanski is a versatile pianist who explores both classical and contemporary repertoire and regularly performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist across Europe. Her most formative musical influences came through her studies with professors Håkon Austbø, Einar Smebye, Niklas Sivelöv, and Friedrich Gürtler. These influences are reflected in her distinctive, expressive playing, praised for its poetic quality as well as for her thoughtful, collaborative approach to ensemble work.
Kristina earned her Bachelor’s degree from the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo (2014) and her Master’s degree from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen (2016). In 2019, she completed the soloist program at the Royal Danish Academy—Scandinavia’s highest-level performance program. Her debut concert was broadcast on Denmark’s national radio station P2 Klassisk. In recent years, she has focused her artistic activity on contemporary music and collaborations with composers. She was a guest researcher at the Aaron Copland School of Music (Queens College, New York) as part of an artistic research project, which resulted in a critically acclaimed album released in 2019, featuring works by Misi Maçoli, Edward Smaldone, George Crumb, Leo Ornstein, and Philip Glass.
In 2022, she was invited back to New York by the American Composers Alliance to premiere works by Edward Smaldone and Mads Emil Dreyer with the ensemble Seit Quartet. As a prizewinner at international competitions, Kristina has performed in prestigious venues such as the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Chamber Hall of the Berlin Philharmonie. Her diverse career includes performances with dancers from the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen and specialization in vocal accompaniment and opera coaching under D. Klaviter at the Bel Canto Institute in Florence, which led to performances in both Italy and the USA in 2017.
A passionate chamber musician, Kristina regularly performs as a member of several ensembles, with a repertoire that spans both contemporary and traditional chamber music. From 2016 to 2019, she served as the artistic director of the concert season at Disen in Oslo and is the founder of the International Chamber Music Festival in Vršac, established in 2017.
Her artistic projects have been consistently supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and other cultural foundations in Norway. Kristina has performed across Scandinavia, throughout many European countries, and in the United States. As part of her soloist studies, she served as a teaching assistant in the piano class of Prof. Niklas Sivelöv at the Royal Danish Academy. Since 2021, she has been working at the University of Oslo on a research project exploring contemporary music and spirituality. Her most recent album, dedicated to the solo piano works of Philip Glass (2022), received high critical acclaim.
dragomir
bratic
Dragomir Bratic
Piano Professor, Pedagogue, and Chamber Musician
Dragomir Bratić began studying piano at the age of fourteen. He graduated from the “Josip Slavenski” Music School in Belgrade in the class of Zlata Poparić. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in piano and his Master’s degree in chamber music (specializing in piano duo) from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, where he studied under Ninoslav Živković and Zorica Ćetković. He continued his professional development through masterclasses with Arbo Valdma, Igor Lazko, Pavel Nersesyan, and Natalia Trull. He currently teaches piano at the “Davorin Jenko” Music School in Belgrade.
A member of the Association of Music Artists of Serbia since 2005, Mr. Bratić has served as the Serbian coordinator for Professor Arbo Valdma since 2006, organizing four accredited seminars approved by the Institute for Educational Advancement. From 2008 to 2015, he was the head of the Board of the International Competition for Young Pianists in Šabac. Since 2011, he has been Director of the National Competition for Music and Ballet School Students of Serbia. In October 2015, he was appointed President of the Piano Section of Belgrade.
He was the author and presenter of the roundtable "Evaluation Criteria in Music Competitions: Subjective or Objective Judgment?" at the 17th International Competition for Young Pianists in Šabac, also accredited by the national education institute. In 2014, he gave a lecture at the PIANO/FVG piano competition in Sacile, Italy, under the patronage of the Central European Initiative and the Alink–Argerich Foundation, on the Serbian piano school and the pros and cons of music competitions. He is also co-author and organizer (with Professor Dragoljub Katunac and Croatian pianist Aljoša Jurinić) of the professional symposium “Meeting the Artist: The International Chopin Competition – Then and Now” at the 2016 Belgrade Chopin Fest. He has moderated public discussions with rising stars such as Dmitry Shishkin (Russia) and Szymon Nehring (Poland). He frequently holds masterclasses across Serbia and throughout Europe.
Mr. Bratić is the author of the “Music Culture” textbook for first-grade primary school, published by BIGZ.
Recognized for his original and individualized teaching approach, he is considered one of the most talented pedagogues of the younger generation. He has received numerous awards for his pedagogical work both in Serbia and internationally. He is the author of many distinguished piano classes focused on solving performance challenges through a personalized approach.
His students have performed in Serbia’s most prestigious concert halls and internationally renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and Musikverein in Vienna.
To date, his students have won more than 500 first and special (laureate) prizes at competitions in Serbia, as well as in Italy, Slovenia, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the USA, Germany, and Austria. He actively performs in a piano duo with Maja Rajković and is the official piano collaborator of the Children’s Choir of Radio Television of Serbia “Kolibri.”
Mr. Bratić serves as a jury member at nearly all major national competitions, as well as at international competitions in Slovenia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Austria, Germany, and Poland.
He has been featured in the Lexicon of the 1000 Most Successful Serbian Educators in Pre-University Education, published by KLET.
.jpg)
nenad
ivovic
Nenad Ivovic
Pianist – Performer, Educator, and Rising Star of the Serbian Piano Scene
Nenad Ivović, one of the most prominent Serbian pianists of the younger generation, began his music education at the age of four at the “Mokranjac” Music School in Belgrade, under the guidance of Professor Milica Vasiljević Bisenić. At the age of nineteen, he completed his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade under Professor Nevena Popović, graduating as the top student of his generation.
His exceptional talent was evident from early childhood, earning numerous awards at both national and international competitions, including the Republic Competition, “Isidor Bajić” Memorial, “Petar Konjović,” and “Città di Moncalieri.” In recognition of his outstanding abilities, he received the “Olga Mihailović” Award for the most talented piano student in April 2013 and the “Emil Hajek” Award for the most promising young pianist in April 2014, both presented by the Faculty of Music in Belgrade.
At the international “Jeunesses Musicales” competition in March 2014, he was awarded as the best Serbian participant, reaching the semifinals. His international recognition continued to grow after his participation in the Tel Hai International Piano Academy in Israel during the summers of 2012 and 2013, where his performances received high acclaim. This led to an invitation from renowned pianist and pedagogue Emanuel Krasovsky to pursue master’s studies in his class. He won second prize at the Tel Aviv University School of Music competition, named in honor of conductor Zubin Mehta.
In June 2013, he achieved a major success at a competition in Saint Petersburg, winning first prize in the highest three-round category. His performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra in the final earned him additional recognition for the best performance of a Russian composer’s work, as well as the EMCY Prize, which led to concert engagements across Europe.
His artistic excellence was also acknowledged by the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, which awarded him the prestigious György Cziffra Prize. In July 2019, he won third prize at the Yakov Flier Piano Competition during one of the largest piano festivals hosted by New York University. Throughout his career, Nenad has had the privilege of working with musical legends such as András Schiff, Emanuel Ax, Augustin Hadelich, Dmitri Bashkirov, the Emerson String Quartet, Mikhail Voskresensky, Alexander Toradze, and Peter Serkin.
In May 2019, Nenad earned his Master’s degree from Yale University, studying under Professor Boris Berman. For the following three years, he worked at Yale as a collaborative pianist and chamber music mentor. In September 2022, he began doctoral studies under Professor Julian Martin (Juilliard School) at New York University. He currently serves as a collaborative pianist and chamber music instructor at the University of Hartford.