The Ivan Goran Kovačić Academic Choir will hold a concert on July 15th in Dobrota

After performing at the opening ceremony of the 25th International KotorArt Festival, one of the oldest and most respected amateur choirs in Croatia and the region, the Ivan Goran Kovačić Academic Choir, will hold a concert, Voices of the Heart, on Wednesday, July 15, at the Church of St. Eustachius in Dobrota, starting at 21 p.m., KotorArt announced today.

"The concert also carries special symbolism. The Church of St. Eustachius is the place where Don Branko Sbutega, one of the founders of KotorArt, served as a priest, whose twentieth anniversary of death the Festival is marking during this year's edition. The choice of this space represents another way in which KotorArt cherishes the culture of memory and pays tribute to a man whose vision, spirituality and love for art are woven into the foundations of the Festival. Under the artistic leadership of conductor Ivan Šćepanović, the Academic Choir Ivan Goran Kovačić will present a program that brings together significant works of European choral literature, from the Baroque to the 20th century. The repertoire will include works by Handel, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Rossini and the Cross of Odak," the statement states.

KotorArt added that the Ivan Goran Kovačić Academic Choir was founded in 1948 and is one of the most respected and awarded choirs in the region.

"During almost eight decades of existence, it has collaborated with the biggest names on the world music scene, including Zubin Mehta, Jehudi Menuhin, Krzysztof Penderecki, Ennio Morricone, Kurt Masur and Valery Gergiev. It has performed on the most important concert stages and ceremonies in Croatia and abroad, and today it operates under the artistic leadership of conductor Ivan Šćepanović, one of the most promising Croatian conductors of the younger generation," the statement reads.

Šćepanović graduated in organ and conducting from the Zagreb Academy of Music, studied with renowned European conductors, and collaborated with leading Croatian orchestras and choral ensembles. Since 2022, he has been the artistic director and conductor of the Ivan Goran Kovačić Academic Choir, with whom he continues the tradition of artistic excellence and international success.

"The Glasovi srca concert represents an opportunity for the audience, after the grand opening of the Festival, to experience this exceptional ensemble in the intimate setting of one of the most beautiful churches in Boka Kotorska, through a program that combines spirituality, cultural heritage and top-notch choral art. Tickets for the event are available through the GigsTix network, via their website. www.gigstix.me as well as at certain Tobacco S Press kiosks throughout Montenegro," KotorArt said in a statement.