Symphony Orchestra Mostar

About the institution:

The roots of today's Mostar Symphony Orchestra go back to 1888, when the Croatian Choir Society Hrvoje was founded in Mostar, as part of which the orchestra operated until the beginning of World War II. At the beginning of the 1950s, the initiative in the musical life of Mostar was taken by the Music School, which produced the first instrumentalists. This created the prerequisites for the establishment of a school orchestra. In 1953, the management of the National Theater, in cooperation with the Music School, gathered musicians, and at the end of the same year, the first rehearsals were held. In April 1954, the first leadership of the City Orchestra was appointed, which would grow into the Mostar Symphony Orchestra four years later.

Orkestar realizes its cultural mission throughout BiH. He often visits abroad, and the musicians of the only BiH symphony orchestra host many well-known conductors, as well as domestic and foreign soloists. The number of concerts held until 1992 is over two thousand.

During the Homeland War, the members of this orchestra founded the String Quartet of the Croatian Defense Council, which soon grew into the Croatian String Quintet. This body is still the backbone of the Mostar Symphony Orchestra, which gives its concerts of spiritual and secular music a recognizable feature of its city. For the promotion of musical culture, the Mostar symphonists have received numerous awards, but, as they point out, they are most pleased with the support of the loyal audience.

The Mostar Symphony Orchestra, in addition to its concert activities, sees its mission in bringing classical music works closer to young people in elementary school, as well as in the affirmation of young talents. In the past season, they hosted young musicians, such as clarinetist Marko Zavišić from Zagreb, accordionist Stefan Ćeha from East Sarajevo, pianist Sara Skopljak from Tuzla, cellist Mihovil Karuza from Split, violinists Sho Akamatsu from Zagreb and Jovan Bogosavljević from Belgrade, pianist Ivan Galić from Weimar. , guitarist Ivan Petričević from Cologne and numerous other talented artists. They start the new year with the now traditional New Year's concert (maestro Giuseppe Terzo from Vienna, maestro Igor Tatarević from Zagreb) with the aim of creating an enviable number of classical music fans in Herzegovina and the atmosphere of Viennese and other grand European halls where classical music is performed.

With local young artists, mezzo-sopranos Nikolina Zovko and Monija Jarak-Mikulić, soprano Nina Kadijević-Deronjić, baritones Karl Milićević, Hrvoj Merdž, Marija Bevanda, countertenor Marin Vitas, as well as numerous other solo singers, they nurture excellent cooperation and encourage them in their efforts to are profiled as top artists.

The Mostar Symphony Orchestra (SOM) also maintains a very good cooperation with the Music Department of the Faculty of Music of the University of Mostar, prof. Katja Krolo-Šarac, choirmaster of the Academic Choir, as well as numerous students from all universities, both in BiH and beyond.

Some of the representative concerts of SOM:

Season 2018/19. they started in great style: with the "Evening of Beethoven" concert. The program consisted of the Concerto for violin and orchestra in D major (soloist: Croatian-Japanese artist Sho Akamatsu - Zagreb), the "Egmont" overture and the Fifth Symphony in C minor. It was conducted by maestro Igor Tatarević, who is also the head of the Orchestra. The concert was held on September 17, 2018 in the large hall of the Croatian Home "Herceg Stjepan Kosač" in Mostar.

In October 2018, the "Miholjski Baroque" concert followed. The soloists were: Iva Ledenko, oboe - Strassbourg and Ana Korade, trumpet - Zagreb.

In November 2018, the Mostar symphonists under the direction of maestro Igor Tatarević delighted all the fans of the great master from Salzburg with the concert "Mozart Evening" and soloists: Nikolina Vukoja, flute - Široki Brijeg and Marko Zavišić, clarinet - Zagreb.

They regularly visit elementary schools in Mostar to delight the little ones with a school program composed of famous works by Sorkočević, Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi, as well as Scott Joplin and Astor Piazzolla. Their goal is to bring string instruments closer to schoolchildren and treat them to a small concert that is part of the everyday life of their peers in countries with a rich musical tradition.

For several years now, they have been organizing the Concert with Young Talents, which over time has grown into a real festival of young artists. They embraced all the little soloists with great pleasure! They responded with a smile, a confident tone and a desire to make music together. Students of music academies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as established musicians, regularly participate in the festival.

The Mostar Symphony Orchestra is grateful to all the teachers for the immense love they put into working with their students. This love includes professionalism and discipline, and the desire for Herzegovina to be recognized as a region of talented and valuable violinists. They also thank the parents of the young soloists, who in their own way significantly contribute to the beauty of the atmosphere of the Festival of Young Talents.