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JELENA VUKOVIĆ

head of the Croatian Music Information Centre

Jelena Vuković (Studenci–Lovreć, 1973) is a Croatian musicologist and editor, head of the Music Information Centre of the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall. She graduated in musicology from the Academy of Music of the University of Zagreb in 1998 with the thesis Musical Life in Zagreb from 1890 to 1920 in the Outline of Reception in the German Language, and is currently a doctoral candidate in the postgraduate program Media and Communication at the University North. Her scholarly interests include the history of Croatian music at the turn of the 19th/20th century, reception studies, and the relationship between music and the media. She published a comprehensive study on the operatic life of Zagreb in Arti musices (2000) and a recent study on the “culture of cancellation” in the performing arts (2024), linking musicological analysis with contemporary media phenomena. At the MIC, she develops projects documenting Croatian musical heritage: she is co-author and editor of the database Quercus – Central Information System of Croatian Musical Life, and from 2001–2005 led the international project IAMIC – Annual List of Works. Since 2020 (together with Dr. Ennio Stipčević) she has been the editor-in-chief of the international series Opera omnia. Tomaso Cecchini. As editor, she has overseen eight bilingual books on Croatian composers and more than 150 critically prepared music editions, which today serve as fundamental resources for the study and performance of Croatian music. In 2025, she was a program advisor of the festival Zagreb Musical Spring, dedicated to the work of Stjepan Šulek, and conceived and co-authored a large exhibition on Šulek at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall. She has also been active in church music as an organist (1989–2019), and since 2021 has worked as a consultant for liturgical music at the Archdiocesan Theological Seminary in Zagreb. Alongside her editorial and research work, she is active as a translator from German (Ulrich Michels, Atlas zur Musik) and Polish. She is a member of the Croatian Composers’ Society, the Croatian Musicological Society, and the Society of Croatian Literary Translators.

DAVOR MERKAŠ

editor advisor

He completed his musicology studies at the Department of Musicology of the Music Academy in Zagreb. In addition to studying musicology, from 1990 to 1992 he studied German studies and philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, and continued the same studies in 1992 at the University of Vienna (Universität Wien) in musicology, philosophy and German philology. He defended his doctorate in musicology at the University of Vienna in 2018. Since 1991, as an external associate, he has been publishing articles on music in daily newspapers and magazines, and his scientific articles have also been published in the musicological journals Arti musices and the collection Rad of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In 1999, he founded the Association for the Promotion of Croatian Music in Vienna, whose task is to actively promote Croatian music in Austria. In 2005 he founded and until 2018 led the Croatian Music Festival, a project in which Croatian music is presented in the interpretations of prominent Croatian musicians from the field of classical, pop-rock, original traditional and jazz music, in the most prestigious concert venues in Vienna. In 2007, he initiated the release of a sound carrier with works by Dora Pejačević and Boris Papandopulo within the German publishing house “cpo” (jpc). He is also the initiator of projects for finding, collecting and digitizing autographs of compositions by Croatian composers, which have the important task of protecting, preserving and preserving Croatian musical heritage.

JOSIP BEREND

editor advisor

Josip Berend (born 1999 in Gornja Rijeka) began his musical education at the Albert Štriga School of Music in Križevci, where he completed his studies as a tamburitza musician. At the same time, he completed the Ivan Zakmardi Dijankovečki Gymnasium in Križevci, after which he enrolled at the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb. He completed his studies in Music Pedagogy with a thesis titled Management of School, Amateur and Professional Orchestras, integrating his prior musical and production-related experience. His interest in music production and organization began in 2019, when he worked as an assistant producer at the Sonus op. 5 International Competition for Young Musicians. Since 2023, he has been actively engaged as an executive producer on a wide range of projects. Among his most notable production engagements are: Svemirski koncert (2023), the concert cycles Tambura pod ljetnim nebom (2023–2025) and Po dragome kraju (2021–2025), concert tours of GTO KŽ in Bratislava (2023), Vienna’s Musikverein and MuTh (2024), the project Križevci kroz zvuke tambure (2021–2023), Šibenik Summer Masterclass (2024), 150 Years of the Tamburitza in Križevci (2024), Tamburitza Summer School on Pag (2024, 2025), the Sonus International Music Festival (2024, 2025), and Optimization of the Production Process – HRT Symphony Orchestra. A concert tour in China with GTO KŽ (2026) is also planned. Since 2019, Josip has additionally worked as a music engraver and editor of sheet music editions, and his broader skill set includes graphic design, audio and video production, recording, and editing.

IVOR ZIDARIĆ

marketing advisor

With a Master’s degree in Sociology of Education and additional studies in Philosophy and Journalism, he has cultivated a rich, over 25-year professional career across numerous projects and events organized and promoted both in Croatia and internationally. He has dedicated his work and energy to the protection and promotion of Croatian heritage and education, as well as to advancing various cultural and artistic models. His formal work experience includes roles within the Ministry for European Integration, as Head of Marketing and Communications at Magma d.d., with the marketing agency McCann Erickson, and at the Zagreb Concert Management, where he led the Marketing, Sales, and Communications Department for 12 years. Most recently, he held the position of Head of Program Implementation at Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall. Known for his organizational and managerial skills, he is particularly proud of securing significant sponsorships and media partnerships for numerous cultural and artistic projects. His education in EU funding facilitated the successful implementation of the Interreg EU project “Živa Štrigarija – Živa Coprnija” SLO-HR (Pohorje and Istria), for which he received several awards and honors. In his work, he places a special emphasis on developing civil society, promoting democratic values, freedom of expression, coexistence, and diversity in all spheres of life. His musical education (in clarinet and singing) and extensive professional experience support his efforts to achieve the goals of the Croatian Music Information Centre, which include initiatives to modernize, democratize, and popularize cultural life. In his commitment to meeting the evolving needs of the cultural and artistic sector, he will continue to foster the development of policies that promote CMIC, actively contribute his knowledge and experience to new initiatives, and help advance innovative cultural policies aimed at enhancing Croatia’s cultural and artistic landscape.