CREATING HERITAGE

Sunday, August 11
Church of the Holy Spirit, 9 p.m.
CREATING HERITAGE
Promotion of the CD featuring works/commissions by KotorArt

Ivan Marović, composer
Nina Perović, composer
Aleksandar Perunović, composer
Antonije Pušić, pseudonym Rambo Amadus, author and performer
Boris Marković, moderator

The International KotorArt Festival is one of the few artistic organizations in the region that consistently commissions new works of art music. Over the past 23 years, the Festival has commissioned more than 40 original pieces from Montenegrin, regional, and international authors, contributing over four hours of music to the development, preservation, and accessibility of contemporary artistic creation. Additionally, through the practice of commissioning these compositions, KotorArt contributes to the preservation and valorization of culture and tradition, the establishment and nurturing of a new and unique national artistic expression, and the promotion of Montenegrin authors and performers.

The project titled Contemporary Montenegrin Musical Identities, through the CD edition of compositions commissioned by KotorArt Don Branko’s Music Days, inspired by important historical dates and the heritage of Montenegro and Kotor, was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media of Montenegro. It was realized in three cycles from 2021 to 2024. During the first two phases of the project (2021-2023), a significant portion of the commissioned compositions was recorded in the studio, while the third, final phase included the publication of the CD edition and the online release of the audio digital format of eight vocal, instrumental, and vocal-instrumental pieces.
The eight pieces selected for audio publication were commissioned by KotorArt Don Branko’s Music Days for gala openings and other important festival programs and were inspired by significant national, local, and universal themes such as the celebration of local and international anniversaries, Kotor’s inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the promotion of musical and artistic heritage, and the importance of sustainable development and ecology. Numerous partners have contributed to the realization of the project, including Artistix Pro Ltd., Vida Matjan Primary and Secondary Music School, and Studentski Grad Cultural Center Belgrade, among others.

COMPOSITIONS ON THE CD

Ivan Moody (1964-2024)
Hymn to St. Nicholas, for mixed choir, commemorating the 100th anniversary of St. Nicholas Church in Kotor (2009)*
Premiered on August 11, 2009
Mixed Choir of the Faculty of Music, Belgrade
Dragana Jovanović, conductor
Soloists: Dorotea Aranđelović, soprano, Vanja Biserčić, tenor

Ivan Marović (1981)
Evverlasting Spark, for narrator and string orchestra, commemorating the 200th birthday of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (2013)**
Premiered on August 7, 2013
Montenegrin Youth Orchestra
Premil Petrović, conductor
Dejan Đonović, narrator

Nina Perović (1985)
An Evening Prayer, for octet, commemorating the anniversary of the death of Blessed Osanna (2015)*
Premiered on August 6, 2015
Vocal Octet of the Faculty of Music, Belgrade
Dragana Jovanović, conductor

Aleksandar Perunović (1978)
I am Dead Now, You Used to be Before, for cello and string orchestra, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the death of Don Branko Sbutega (2016)**
Premiered on July 13, 2016
Montenegrin Youth Orchestra
Premil Petrović, conductor
Dmitrii Prokofiev, cello

Antonije Pušić, pseudonym Rambo Amadeus (1963)
Stella’s Passion, for soprano, narrator, and chamber orchestra (2018)**
Premiered on July 13, 2018
Montenegrin Youth Orchestra
Premil Petrović, conductor
Natalija Radić, soprano
Dejan Đonović, narrator

Nina Perović (1985)
Views, for three sopranos, string orchestra, and electronics, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Kotor's inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List (2019)**
Premiered on July 14, 2019
Montenegrin Youth Orchestra
Premil Petrović, conductor
Olivera Tičević, soprano
Milica Milanović, soprano
Natalija Radić, soprano

Shepherd, Lovely Girl, for wind quintet (2021)*

Boka Kolo, for wind quintet (2021)*
Premiered on August 6, 2021
Marija Đurđević Ilić, flute
Ivana Dakić, oboe
Marko Garić, clarinet
Antonio Nevski, bassoon
Nikola Ćirić, horn

* Recorded: April 2022, Studentski Grad Cultural Center, Belgrade
Marko Stanojević, sound engineer and music producer
** Recorded: August 2023, Church of the Holy Spirit, Kotor
Goran Vujičin, sound engineer and music producer