Guests 2024
Milena Stanišić, harp
Milena Stanisic is Full Professor of Harp at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. Previously she held the position of the principal harpist in the Opera Orchestra of the National Theatre in Belgrade (1994-2009).Additionally, she served as the principal harpist of Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra (2002-2005) and played as a member of all orchestras in Serbia, and many in the region.
Stanisic performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. She performed on numerous concerts, including performances at the World Harp Congresses in Geneva, Vancouver, Sydney and Hong Kong and at the International harp festivals in Rio de Janeiro and Saint Petersburg (“Northern Lyra”).She performed as a soloist with several orchestras (Serbia Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra, St. George String Orchestra, Skovran String Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Sarajevo Philharmonic String Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Metamorphosis, etc.). Together with Stana Krstajić – principal flutist of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra she forms Duo Floral. As member of this duo she had numerous concerts and has two published CDs of music for flute and harp.
Stanisic finished her studies of harp with professor Milica Barić at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, and she has spent two years at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester,as a recipient of the Headley Trust full scholarship, studying with Mr. Frank Sternefeld.Stanisic successfully finished Doctoral studies under mentorship of professor Ljiljana Nestorovska in 2016.
Stanisic won prizes on several competitions, including First prize at the »Young Musician of the Year” competition in England (1997)and First special prize at the “Petar Konjović” International Music Competition (1994). In 1994 she also received the City of Belgrade Youth October Prize.
She was one of the founders of Serbia Harp Association, and today she is a President of the Association. Also, she was one of the founders of the Belgrade International Harp Festival (in 2002), and acts as Artistic Director of the Festival ever since.
Srđan Tošić, guitar
Srđan Tošić is one of the most prominent Serbian guitarists and professors of classical guitar. He began his artistic career more than 30 years ago, after being awarded Second Prize in Yugoslav Competition of Music Artists (Zagreb, 1985). Shortly after that came the Third prize in International Competition Jeunesses Musicalles (Belgrade, 1985), which made him known to both audience and music critic in former Yugoslavia. After completing his music studies at Zagreb Academy of Music, in 1986, where he studied with Ante Čagalj and Darko Petrinjak, he moved to his hometown Belgrade and started steady concert career which resulted in many solo recitals, as well as a lot of chamber engagements and performances with orchestras. In 1989 he won a prestigious ANDRES SEGOVIA Prize, awarded to the best participant of Spanish music course at the Festival “Musica en Compostela” in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
His repertoire covers wide range of music styles and epochs, spreading from Renaissance to contemporary music. Concert named “XX Century”, held in February 1996, presented some major 20th century music works for guitar (pieces by Villa-Lobos, Britten, Walton, Dyens and D. Bogdanović) and was acclaimed as one of that year Belgrade’s concert season peaks. He performed abroad, in Moscow (USSR, 1989), Bulgaria, Greece, Slovenia and USA (Bloomington, Franklin, Indianapolis). He cooperated with singers, flutists and various guitar duos; performed concertos by Vivaldi, Giuliani and Rodrigo with Zagreb Symphonists, Belgrade Philharmonic and Belgrade Symphony Orchestra, orchestras in cities of Niš, Podgorica, Skoplje and Banja Luka.
Srđan Tošić participated in many guitar festivals in Serbia and abroad (Guitar Art Festival in Belgrade being most known among them), but was also regular guest in biggest music festivals in Serbia like BEMUS, BELEF, Mokranjac’s Days, Novi Sad Summer, and others.
SALZBURG GUITAR TRIO
Salzburg Guitar Trio has performed extensively throughout Europe. Highlights include a televised concert at the ‘Garrigues Guitar Festival’, a tour of the northwestern provinces of Spain, and concerts in music festivals and concert series such as the ‘Tübingen International Guitar Festival‘, ‘ The Hague Guitar Society’, ‘Costa Dourada Music Festival’, ‘Guitar Festival ‘Ciutat D’Elx’’, ’Valle dei Laghi International Guitar Festival’ and the ‘Stuttgart International Classic Guitar Festival’.
One of the trio’s most exciting projects was their time spent as artists in residence based in Antonin Gaudi’s famous modernist building, ‘La Pedrera’, in Barcelona. During the residency, Catalan composer Jose Galeote dedicated his work ‘La Pedrera – En Construcció’ to the trio. Inspired by Gaudi’s remarkable architecture, the trio had the pleasure of premiering the work inside La Pedrera.
As Grand Prize winners of the Guitar Foundation of America ‘International Ensemble Competition’, the trio is the first ever ensemble to be awarded a GFA Artist Tour. Their concert tour took them across North America in the Spring of 2023, where they also gave public masterclasses for guitar societies, universities and conservatories. Highlights include coaching soloists and ensembles from the Bachelor and Master programmes at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, the Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville, KY and the Mount Royal University Conservatory in Calgary, Canada.
The trio’s debut album “III“, featuring highlights of their current programme, was released at the beginning of 2023. Upcoming plans include recording John Duarte’s complete works for guitar trio.
Katie Lonson (Kanada)
Eliška Lenhartova (Češka)
Andrew Booth (Engleska)
Canadian-born Concert Guitarist Katie Lonson is a unique soloist and chamber musician whose exceptional musicality and powerful stage presence define her.
Upon graduating from the Senior Academy Program for Gifted Youth at Mount Royal University’s Conservatory (Calgary), Katie moved to Germany to pursue her studies at the age of 17. She holds a German Diplom in Artistic Solo Performance and a Masters of Music (Honours) from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart (Prof. Johannes Monno), and an additional Postgraduate degree from the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria (Prof. Laura Young). Further studies have included masterclasses with world-renowned artists such as Roland Dyens, Sergio & Odair Assad, Pepe Romero, Aniello Desiderio, Margarita Escarpa and Pavel Steidl.
Katie has performed with ensembles extensively throughout Europe and across North America. She is a founding member of the Salzburg Guitar Trio, one of the leading guitar ensembles of the new generation.
Katie is dedicated to arranging works for the trio and her tenor and guitar duo, HIKA. She is also a former member (cello) of the experimental crossover ensemble Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra and can be heard on indie band The Notwist’s album “The Devil, You + Me”.
Katie was broadcasted live on Catalan television in Spain, as well as from Kadriorg Palace in Tallinn on Estonian national Radio (ERR), and has made numerous solo appearances on Canadian television and radio. She has been awarded grants from the Deutsche Musikrat, Canadian Arts Council, Klangspektrum Baden-Württemberg and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and is an alumni of Yehudi Menuhin’s Live Music Now scholarship program.
Awards as a soloist include national winner of the Canadian Music Competition, 2nd Prize at the Tallinn International Guitar Competition, and 3rd Prize at the Sarajevo International Guitar Festival Competition.
Katie currently holds tenure as a lecturer on the music faculty of the School for Music and Art in Böblingen, Germany.
Eliška Lenhartova (Češka)
Eliška Lenhartová is a Czech guitarist of Asian descent known for her captivating performances and intense onstage presence. She is an award-winning soloist, deeply committed chamber musician and sought-after pedagogue.
Her musical journey began at the Pardubice Conservatory under the tutelage of the renowned Czech guitarist and pedagogue, Petr Saidl. During this time, Eliška won first prizes in numerous competitions as a soloist. Her most notable competition successes include First and Grand Prizes at the Prague Junior Note, Czech Republic, the International Guitar Competition, Sanok, Poland, and the Czech Republic Conservatory Competition, among others. She was also a finalist at the Stuttgart International Classic Guitar Festival, Germany. Eliška’s talent was recognized by the mayor of Pardubice, who awarded her the “Best Students of the City” prize three times. An interview on the beginnings of her career and performance was broadcast on Czech Radio.
She completed her Bachelor studies in Weimar, Germany, at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt under the guidance of Professor Thomas Müller-Pering. Her Master studies at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria, were with Professor Laura Young, where she graduated with the highest possible grade. During her studies she took part in masterclasses with world-renowned guitarists such as Zoran Dukič, Leo Brouwer, Pablo Marquez, Scott Tennant and Carlo Marchione. Eliška was a scholarship holder of the Live Music Now Augsburg program, which supports promising young artists in their careers. She currently holds teaching positions in Kutná Hora and Ledeč nad Sázavou.
As a chamber musician, Eliška actively collaborates with wind, string and keyboard instrumentalists and was a founding member of Duo Françaix (2013-18) and Duo Unicornis (from 2023). She also performs regularly in theatre productions, most recently in Astor Piazzolla's operetta “María de Buenos Aires” at the ABC Theatre in Prague. Eliška joined the Salzburg Guitar Trio in the 2024 season.
Andrew Booth (Engleska)
An engaging performer, British classical guitarist Andrew Booth enjoys a diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Andrew has given solo and duo concerts throughout the UK and was a member of the Countess of Munster Musical Trust recital scheme. He was a recipient of a study scholarship from the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund and at the soundSCAPE Composition and Performance Exchange in Italy, he was awarded the Performer Prize.
As a founding member of the Salzburg Guitar Trio, Andrew has played at festivals and venues in Germany, Austria and Italy, and has toured throughout Spain, Canada and the United States.
Andrew’s primary studies were with Gordon Crosskey and Craig Ogden at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, where he gained a Bachelor’s degree with First Class Honours. He holds a Master’s degree from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague having studied in the class of Zoran Dukic. Under the tutelage of Laura Young he completed his Postgraduate studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
Julija Bal (Srbija)
Pianist and composer Julija Bal has been present on the world stage as a soloist, chamber performer and piano teacher for more than a decade.
After basic and master's studies at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, she obtained the title of Doctor of Fine Arts at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, and the topic of her research was piano transcriptions and paraphrases of the Italian composer Ferrucci Busoni.
In addition to performing the standard piano repertoire, Julija Bal also devoted herself to work in the field of composition and piano transcriptions during her schooling.
Her multiple award-winning piano transcriptions of Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “12 Etudes” have been performed all over the world, and their sheet music / audio / video edition entitled “12 Guitar Etudes by Heitor Villa-Lobos Transcribed for Piano by Julija Bal” is archived at the Villa Museum – Lobos in Rio De Janeiro. On that occasion (2018), the President of Brazil and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil awarded Julia with the prestigious “Order of Rio Branco” (Ordem de Rio Branco) for her significant contribution to the diplomatic relations of Brazil and the affirmation of Brazilian music in the world.
After a notable performance at Carnegie Hall in New York (2009), where she performed her own piano transcriptions of works by Schubert, Albeniz and Lobos, her career as a pianist is on an upward trajectory. She performed in the USA, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Israel, England, Italy, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, as well as in many cities of Serbia and the region.
As a chamber musician, she performed with many artists and ensembles from the country and abroad, and in 2007 she founded the piano duo Jelena and Julija with the pianist Jelena Bajić. The circle of collaborators of Julia Ball is expanding every year, as well as the number of written transcriptions and original compositions for different ensembles.