KOTORART TALENTS

Thursday, July 25 
Church of the Holy Spirit, 9:30 p.m.
KOTORART TALENTS

LUKA PERAZIĆ, violin (Montenegro)
KOSTA POPOVIĆ, cello (Montenegro)
SIMO ŠIŠEVIĆ, piano (Montenegro)

Program:

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
Trio élégiaque in G minor, No. 1, Op. posth.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)
Piano trio in E minor, No. 2, Op. 67
Andante
Allegro con brio
Largo
Allegretto

Astor Piazzolla (1921–1992)
Invierno Porteño, from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires cycle

Luka Perazić, violinist, started playing violin at age of eight, under Professor Vili Ferdinandi at the Vasa Pavić Music School in Podgorica and by twelve was already embarking on his first performance with an orchestra, followed soon after by his first solo concert. In addition to participating in master classes held by the string quartet of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and the Montenegro Quartet, he has attended master classes of numerous renowned violinists and pedagogues, including: Roman Simović, Krzysztof Smietana, Vujadin Krivokapić, Marko Josifoski, Anton Martynov, Marko Radonić, and Marko Simović, among others. Luka attended the Whitgift School in London and the Junior Guildhall Program of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he is to continue his studies this autumn. He has participated in many competitions across Serbia, Italy, Albania, Macedonia, Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom, winning numerous first prizes and special awards. In recent years, Luka has performed as a soloist in an orchestral concert dedicated to the celebration of the Liberation Day of Podgorica, in the final concert of the Festival of Strings in Kotor, at the closing ceremony of Barski Ljetopis, and at the concert celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the Music Academy in Cetinje, while additionally appearing with the joint symphony youth orchestras of Montenegro and Albania. During the summer of 2017, he was a member of the Festival Youth Orchestra at the acclaimed Verbier Festival.

Kosta Popović, cellist, began his music studies at the Vasa Pavić Music School in Podgorica at the age of six under Professor Mladen Popović, his father. He has received numerous awards at national and international competitions in Italy, England, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro, as well as the Special Tim Posner Award at the Whitgift Competition for Strings in London in 2018. He has further honed his cello playing at master classes held by renowned pedagogues, such as Alexander Rudin, Viktor Uzur, and Raphael Wallfisch, among others, as well as at chamber music workshops with professors Peter Eastwood, Tatjana Prelević, Dmitrii Prokofiev, and Reinhard Armleder. In addition to performing as a soloist, Kosta is actively engaged in chamber music, and as a leader of the cello orchestra of the Vasa Pavić Music School in Podgorica he has participated in numerous projects organized by this institution in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro and the Budo Tomović Cultural and Information Center. Since September 2017, he has been continuing in his studies as a scholarship holder of the Whitgift School and the Junior Guildhall Program of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, under Professors Jonathan Few and William Bruce, where he is to continue his education this autumn.

Simo Šišević, pianist, is currently studying at the Royal College of Music in London under Professor Gordon Fergus-Thompson. He began his musical education at the Petar II Petrović Njegoš Music School in Bar at the age of six, under Professor Maja Basarab,  before continuting at the Vasa Pavić Music School in Podgorica, under Professor Anka Asanović. He has attended numerous master classes of eminent pedagogues, including Boris Kraljević, Yuri Kot, Giulio Potenza, Ian Jones, Vladimir Bochkariov, and Anton Martynov. Šišević is a winner of prizes at numerous competitions, most notably two Golden Lyres at the Youth Music Festival, First Prizes at the Pjetër Gaci Competition in Shkodra and the Piano Competition in Tivat, the Academy Award in Rome, and multiple special awards and Silver Lyras. He has participated in the Made in New York Jazz Festival, various projects of the Vasa Pavić Music School, and the Weekend of the Contemporary Piano Festival in Paris. During his studies, Šišević has been engaged in “marathon” concerts and projects with the academic choir. He has held recitals at the Barski Ljetopis Festival and in London, as well as performed as part of a piano trio at the final concert of the participants of the Summer Camp for Chamber Music in Cetinje. His career is generously supported by The Kathleen Trust Foundation, The Zetland Foundation, and the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro, among others.