Currently an Assistant Professor of Composition at Texas State University, Michael Ippolito’s music has been praised by the New York Times and performed by orchestras as diverse as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra and the Juilliard Orchestra. His composition This Circle is a short piece based on a Croatian folk song “Ovo kolo.” A kolo is a broad category of circle dances, which can be sung or played by instruments, and can range from fast and lively to slow and lyrical. “Ovo kolo” is the slow, stately kind. He first heard this song on an old field recording, sung by a group of Croatian women.
Author: Nenad N. Bach and Darko Žubrinić
4 SEASONS FOR 3 PIANOS with Matej Mestrovic, Matija Dedic & Hakan Ali Toker
Navona Records proudly presents 4 SEASONS FOR 3 PIANOS, a whirlwind transcription of Vivaldi’s masterful string concertos by Croatian pianist and composer Matej Meštrović (on the photo). Performing with Hakan A. Toker and Matija Dedić on three pianos (and accordion), Meštrović thoroughly reimagines the four concertos, his work exceeding that of a normal transcription. The collection, in such a radical new form, becomes almost a whole new work.
Mike Vucelic 1931-2012 Apollo system manager for NASA and Rockwell in charge of 300 NASA engineers
Milojko Mike Vucelic, born in the town of Garešnica, Croatia, completed the Faculty of Machanical Engineering of the University of Zagreb in 1954. Since January 1962 he worked for Apollo, and subsequently he served as one of directors of the Apollo Program. The mission of Apollo 8 in 1968 was circulating around Moon’s orbit with the crew of three astronauts, and Mike Vucelic considers this to be his greatest success in professional life in the USA. During the Apollo 11 mission, he was at the control of the flight, just beside Gene Kranz, who served as the chief of the control. Due to this success in saving the Apollo 13 crew (Hello Houston… we have a problem), he was awarded by the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the then president of the USA.
Zoran Primorac Croatian table-tennis legend in New York at the WTTC on June 18, 2017
The Westchester Table Tennis Center welcomes Zoran Primorac, Croatian table-tennis legend, Seven-time, Olympian and medalist, at the European Championships. Silver medalist at the 1988 Olympics. One of the top European players of the past 25 years. On Sunday, June 18, 2017 two 90-minute group training sessions: Noon-1:30 and 2:00-3:30 pm. Every participant will get to play with Primorac personally plus: Party all afternoon. Beer, wine, soft drinks and snacks from Noon to 3:30. Food from 3:30 to 6:30. Also: Exhibition matches and remarks by Mr. Primorac at 4:30 pm.
AMCA Paris organized two lectures dedicated to Croatian Glagolitic Script in May 2017
Upon the invitation of AMCA Paris (a society of former students of Croatian Universities, living in Paris), Mauricij Frka Petešić and Darko Žubrinić had the honor to deliver a joint lecture entitled “Croatian Glagolitic culture and its European context” (May 4th 2017), with a special emphasis on Croatian-French relations. Two days later, D.Ž. had a short palaeographic course for children about Croatian Glagolitic, based on manuscripts written arround 1400 at Sorbonne in Paris by Georges d’Esclavonie (+1416), Croatian Glagolitic priest who entered into the history of French literature. On the photo are the lecturers with Mrs. Lamia Barbier Ruždić, president of AMCA Paris.
George Skurla 1921-2001 led the 1600-man team that built the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing module
In 1965, George Skurla became director of operations for Grumman at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Kennedy Space Center (KSC). In that position, he brought together the 1,600-man Grumman team responsible for the final assembly, test and pre-launch checkout for the Apollo lunar module vehicle. Skurla led the team that built the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing module. The lunar modul spacecraft, which was designed, developed and produced by Grumman co., was the final stage in NASA’s Apollo Program which landed American astronauts on the surface of the moon. The family of Skurla (Škurla) has Croatian roots, from Herzegovina, near the environs of the Dubrovnik area.
International conference in Biograd and Zadar on the phenomenon of glagolitic script in May 12-13th, 2017
Thirty three scientists from Croatia, Austria, Italy, Japan, Russia and Slovenia participated at the Conference. It has been superbly organized by the city of Biograd and the University of Zadar (which the oldest Croatian university, founded in 1396), as well as by Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Old Slavonic Insitute, Matrix Croatica Zadar. The Conference was held under auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia. On the photo Dr. Keiko Mitani from Tokyo, one of the participants and contributors to the Conference. She speaks Croatian, and completed her PhD at the University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Croatia from Heaven
Croatia’s coastline is without a doubt one of the most beautiful Mediterranean destinations. Croatia hugs the Adriatic’s warm waters and presents one of the most beautiful Mediterranean getaways, so make the Eastern European nation your next Mediterranean retreat. Croatia has been called home by a number of people from a myriad of different cultures, and added its own unique culture and architecture to the mix, giving cities like Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split and Rijeka different atmospheres and qualities. On the photo, the unique heart-shaped island of Galešnjak near the city of Biograd.
Drago's Restaurant a part of close-knit Croatian community in New Orleans
Drago and Klara Cvitanovich opened their restaurant in New Orleans in 1969. They set out to offer delicious seafood and a good time to guests for a reasonable price. At that time, they couldn’t even imagine how many guests would become. Drago’s now has more than 400 employees who help us carry our legacy forward. In the weeks after Katrina tornado, their restaurant gave away more than 75,000 free meals. In March 2017, Nenad Bach visited Tommy Cvitanovich, the son of Drago and Karla, who is currently leading the company.
Dora Pejacevic 1885-1923 the first internationally known Croatian woman composer
Born into an old, noble family, the talented pianist would grow up to become one of the most influential figures in Croatian music. During her short life (she died in childbirth at the age of 38) she composed 57 completed works, including a hefty ouvre for solo piano, sixteen chamber works, and dozens of lieder. But she made her mark with the human voice; Pejačević is credited with bringing orchestral song to Croatian late-Romantic music.
Hrvojka Mihanovic Salopek presenting Croatian Mariological Heritage of the Varazdin Bishopric
Dr. Hrvojka Mihanović-Salopek prepared already her tenth DVD covering various aspects of extremely rich mariological heritage among Croatians. This DVD refers to the Varaždin Bishopric on Croatian north. Numerous baroque churches, lavishly decorated by Ivan Ranger and other Baroque artists, provide a special touch into the architecture of the city of Varaždin and surrounding towns and villages. A special emphasis is placed on the natural beauties of the region, liturgical and folk melodies, as well as on centuries old Croatian literature.
Marin Saric CEO of Optimoroute company in Croatia's capital Zagreb
Marin Šarić: “When people think about logistics, they think about routing, they think about package deliveries, they might think about some ships or freight crossing companies,” he concludes. “But I think what people need really to understand is that we are moving towards this mobile world, where every every year, in every country, there are more and more people who are working on the go, and Optimoroute is in the middle of it all.”
Cedric Villani visited Croatia lecturing at the University of Zagreb about Mathematics and Art
Cedric Villani, distinguished French mathematician, visited Croatia in 2017 (on the photo with Petra Ivatovic, 2nd grade of the XVth Gymnasium in Zagreb). On 3rd April he delivered two lectures, one for high school students in the city of Zagreb, dealing with Math and Bats, and another at the University of Zagreb, dealing with Mathematics and Art. In several of his previous lectures he mentioned the work of Croatian mathematician Danilo Blanuša in the context of achievements of John Nash in the study of isometric embeddings of hyperbolic spaces (important in the relativity theory) into Euclidean spaces. His appearance in Croatia has raised unprecedented interest.
Miro Gavran's seventh Festival in Prague 5-10th April 2017
The festival was initiated in 2003 at the Theater of Jan Palarik in Trnava, Slovakia, where it ran four times until 2009 before relocating in 2013 to Theater LUDOWY in Krakow, Poland. As of 2016, GavranFest takes place in Prague, Czech Republic. Gavran is the only living writer in Europe who has a theater festival dedicated to him, that continuously operates outside his homeland. His books and plays have been translated from Croatian into as many as 38 languages throughout the world.
Maksim Mrvica and the worldwide echo of Croatian Rhapsody composed by Tonci Huljic
Maksim Mrvica is a distinguished Croatian pianist born in the city of Šibenik on the Adriatic coast. He studied piano at the Academy of Music in Zagreb. One of Maksim’s greatest hits is Croatian Rhapsody , composed by Tonči Huljić. It is very popular among numerous musicians throughout the world, especially in Asia, playing not only piano, but some old exotic instruments, for example in China and Indonesia. We also introduce a few of his interesting interviews.
Ana Vidovic in Zagreb on 28th March 2017, in LA on 29th April and in Tokyo on 14th June 2017
Ana Vidovic comes from the small town of Karlovac near Zagreb, Croatia, and started playing guitar at the age of 5, and by 7 had given her first public performance. At the age of 11 she was performing internationally, and at 13 became the youngest student to attend the prestigious National Musical Academy in Zagreb where she studied with Professor Istvan Romer. Ana’s reputation in Europe led to an invitation to study with Manuel Barrueco at the Peabody Conservatory where she graduated in 2005. In 2017 she has a series of concerts in Croatia, USA and Japan. In November 2016 she has been interviewed by Lisker Music Foundation, which presented “On a Side Note” – a casual conversation with Ana.
Days of the Croatian Language celebrated 11-17th March each year
Days of the Croatian Language (in Croatian, Dani hrvatskoga jezika) is an annual week-long cultural event established by Matica hrvatska (Matrix Croatica) which celebrates the Croatian language. It is held from March 11 to March 17. It was first organized upon Croatian independence in 1991. In 1997 the Croatian Parliament (Sabor) declared that this week would officially commemorate the Declaration on the Status and Name of the Croatian Standard Language published exactly thirty years earlier, in 1967. We provide an interesting article about Croatian language by Armenian scholar dr. Artur Bagdasarov, living in Moscow, who is an expert in Croatian language and author of a dozen of books and dictionaries.
Rudjer Boskovic distinguished Croatian scientist from 18th ct has a monument in Milano in Italy
Rudjer Boskovic, distinguished Croatian scientist, diplomat and poet (18th ct.), born in the city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa), is the founder of the astronomical observatory in Brera near Milan. Due to this, Ivan Mestrovic’s monument of Boskovic has been transported from Croatia to Italy and placed in Milano in 2017. In 1773, a charter granted by Louis XV made Rudjer Boskovic a French subject. With his theory of forces he was a forerunner of modern physics for almost two centuries. He was the discoverer of the principle of determinism, 56 earlier than Pierre-Simon Laplace.
Miro Gavran's novel Forgotten Son published in Tokyo in Japanese
Miro Gavran’s novel Zaboravljeni sin (Forgotten Son) has been translated from Croatian into Japanese by Ikuko Yamamoto and published in Tokyo by reputed Kindabungeisha Publishing House. It already had nine Croatian editions, as well as in German, English and Castillian, while in 2002 it has been placed on the IBBY HONOUR LIST in Basle, Switzerland. Miro Gavran is a global phenomenon: his books have been translated into 38 languages worldwide.
Dario Saric the new Philadelphia basketball King
Dario Šarić, born in 1994, is Croatian basketball player playing for Philadelphia 76ers. He had a decisive role in great win against very strong New York Knicks in March 2017. His offensive play is full of wit, good ideas and precision, and in defense he is equally good. He was born in the city of Šibenik, Croatia, as well as legendary basketball player Dražen Petrović. Dario represents the Croatian national basketball team.