Nikola Ćirić

This artist, a native of Niš, captivates with his modesty, but also with great talent. Holding the horn, the queen of instruments, in his hands, in front of eminent artists such as Zubin Mehta, Krzysztof Penderecki, Emmanuel Pahud, Stefan Dohr, Steven Isserlis and many others, he attracted the attention of the world public.

Irena Josifoska

The youngest participant in the semifinals of the “Queen Elisabeth” Competition in Belgium, the 24-year-old artist started playing her first cello tones at the age of five, in the class of Judit Niderholcer Josifoski, and before going to study in Germany she studied at the Novi Sad Academy of Arts in the class of Marko Miletić. She is known to have extraordinary talent, to be adorned with great musicality, with which she manages to perform some of the most difficult works written for cello with the most renowned symphony orchestras. In addition to great successes and recognitions at the most prestigious competitions, she especially attracted media attention of the domestic and world public by participating in the “Queen Elisabeth” competition in Brussels, to which participants up to the age of 35 can apply. After completing her studies in the class of Ksenija Janković at the University of Music in the German city of Detmold last year, she continued her musical training in Berlin at the University of the Arts in the class of Jens Peter Maintz. She gained the attention of the Berlin audience with her performance in the Berlin Philharmonic Hall with the German Symphony Orchestra.

Hadži Jakov Milutinović

A young man, who with his nobility and talent draws the attention of the local and international public. At the early age of 14, he wrote his first composition “Sve si premudro stvorio, Bože” which was brought to life by the Niš church choir “Branko” at prestigious concert halls such as the Moscow and Warsaw conservatories, and then the oldest theater in Mexico and the Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment, the Novi Sad Synagogue but also at Christ’s Tomb in Jerusalem and the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade. This young artist, with his modesty, captivates and awakens admiration with his art of composing, permeating the subtle melodies that emerged from the foundations of Byzantine music.

I have visited all of those halls with the “Branko” Niš choir. In some of those halls, some of my other compositions were performed, in some there weren’t any of my compositions on the repertoire at all. However, it is always a great pleasure to represent my culture in such classical music temples that somehow give you inspiration to show the world how valuable our culture is. The composition, “Sve si premudro stvorio, Bože” is a piece I wrote at the age of 14, and is the first composition I wrote for the choir. The lyrics were taken from the first collection of poems “Košulja od snova” by my mother, Hadži Marina Milutinović. What is interesting is that, that poem “Sve si premudro stvorio, Bože”, is in a way my peer, because it was written by my mother in 2001, the year when I was born. Many wonderful people participated in the creation and performance of this composition. Thanks to them, this work has travelled through many countries. What is the most precious to me is, when performers enjoy playing my music, I think that is crucial for a composition.