Download Saša Mirković is one of the most charismatic viola players who

Saša Mirković is one of the most charismatic viola players who inspired many Serbian and
foreign composers to write and dedicate their works to him. Active both as soloist and as a
chamber musician, Saša has developed special affinity for contemporary music and he performs
regularly in the country and abroad.
As a soloist, he has performed with the ARTE Ensemble, Belgrade Chamber Orchestra Ljubica
Marić, Belgrade Strings Dušan Skovran, Schlesinger Chamber Orchestra, Serbian Military
Symphony Orchestra, Youth Symphony Orchestra of South-Eastern Europe, Slovakian Chamber
Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of University of Arts in Kragujevac, No Borders Orchestra and
Ensemble Metamorphosis. Likewise, he took part in all major music festivals in the country
(Belgrade Music Festival – BEMUS; International Review of Composers).
As soloists and refined chamber musician Saša has toured numerous countries – Italy,
Montenegro, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Switzerland, Spain, France, Germany, Island, the
USA, Canada, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Holland,
Russia, Slovakia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Slovenia…
Saša’s talent, cultivated technique and polished musicianship established him as one of the most
reliable collaborator of numerous orchestras where he has acted as solo violist and the section
leader – Ensemble for New Music, ARTE, Belgrade Strings, Ljubica Maric Chamber Orchestra.
Žebeljan Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonics…
Saša Mirković received the highest musical education in Serbia, including the School for Music
Talents in Ćuprija (special school for musically gifted children, one of few in the world, such as
the Menuhin Music School or the Central Music School in Moscow) and the Faculty of Music in
Belgrade, together with the PhD studies. He attended numerous master-classes led by
distinguished musicians, such as Ognjan Stančev and Ivo-Jan van der Werff.
Saša won numeorus First and Special prizes at all Serbian competitions. He was the First Prize
winner at the Talents for 21st Century Competition in Slovakia. Additionally, he has been
awarded numerous prizes for his sophisticated performances of contemporary pieces.
Saša Mirković is founder, artistic director and soloist of the Metamorphosis Ensemble and solo
violist and the section leader of the highly acclaimed regional No Borders Orchestra.
He is assistant professor at the Kragujevac University of Arts.
www.sashamirkovichviola.com
Born in 1980, Vladimir Blagojević obtained primary and secondary musical education in his
hometown of Kragujevac, Serbia. In the year of 2007, he obtained his advanced MA degree
(Solisten Diplom) at Hochschule der Künste-Bern (Switzerland), where he was mentored by prof
Teodoro Anzellotti. Currently, Vladimir is an accordion teacher at the Music Academy in
Kragujevac, Serbia.
Amongst numerous achievements as a renowned accordion player a number of first prizes at
various international competitions is certainly worth mentioning. Vladimir is the winner of seven
most prestigious international accordion competitions. He had solo and chamber concerts in
Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, France, Argentina, Austria, Nederland etc. He performed
with many prestigious chamber ensembles and orchestras such as ensemble „Modern“, SWR
symphonic orchestra, BR symphonic orchestra, ensemble “Paul Klee”, ensemble “13”. Vladimir
is a regular member of the “Pre-Art” ensemble from Zurich and the “Studio6“ ensemble from
Belgrade.
His creativity is evident in joint efforts with numerous composers on the creation of new soloaccordion and chamber pieces.
He had over fifty premier performances with different chamber ensembles and as a soloist.
The Ensemble Metamorphosis was created in 2005 at the initiative of violist and artistic
director Saša Mirković.
Since the very beginning of its origin it was devoted to the performing of borderline, more
seldom existing genres of art music, like are new music, world music, works being on the border
or those ones that contain elements of popular styles, but also performing of the well known
works of the West-European music tradition in new style – in different, seldom heard,
arrangements of the scene sets as the specific respond to the contemporary moment, taste of the
audience and the practice of the music performing of the world.
The Ensemble Metamorphosis is unique society in Serbia. Being flexible, it could be transformed
- from the string quartet ensemble to the string orchestra, but it also allows, not only numerous
possibilities of increasing of the number of performers with additional instruments but also less
conventional means - from the usage of the electronic sounds to the mixed-media and theatre
elements.
Because of that the Ensemble Metamorphosis is also included in the wide specter of projects,
from the concert music to the music theatre, from Bach to Piazzolla. This kind of flexibility,
except of making possible of experimental works performing and more complex musical-scene
forms, has also as its aim the approaching of the art music to the all.
In order to contribute not only to promotion but also to developing of the Serbian music,
Metamorphosis is specially devoted to ordering and premiering of the works of the local
composers, both those young ones and as well as those already established . During its short
existence, this ensemble premiered enormous number of compositions devoted just to this
ensemble and its spiritus movens, Saša Mirković.
Since its foundation, 2005, the ensemble Metamorphosis has cooperated with probably the most
representative composer of the world music, composer Goran Bregović, with whom they toured
as part of his Orchestra for weddings and funerals in the projects "Orchestra for weddings and
funerals", "Tolerant Heart" "Alcohol", "Memoirs of Queen Margot", on festivals around the
world and concert halls all over the world such as the Toulouse Theatre (France), the Essen
Philharmonic (Germany), Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center, the Carnegie Hall (NY, USA),
the Walt Disney Hall (Los Angeles, USA), the Luxemburg Philharmonic (Luxemburg), the
Chicago Philharmonic, the Sydney Opera House (Australia), the Israel Philharmonic (Israel), the
Palau de la Musica (Spain) and many others...
Since 2010, the ensemble has run its own projects. Its first independent performance, its specific
promotion, was held within the Belgrade celebration of the World Music Day, June 21st. As an
ensemble devoted to the performing of the Serbian music and its authors, the performance of the
Metamorphosis at the festival KOMA (Contemporary Music Festival – Concerts of the Young
Composers) was a great success and excellently visited in the Belgrade Philharmonic Hall, in
December 2010. At the initiative of Sasa Mirkovic six young composers of the quite different
poetics and different sound options composed specially for this occasion new concert works for
viola and chamber orchestra. In this way the specific contribution to the, in fact, poor Serbian
concertante literature for viola was realized. There was one more significant project of ensemble,
again marked with genre mix of art and popular music, a performance with world known violinist
Vanessa May, February 2011, in Belgrade Arena. In the second part of the 2011. Metamorphosis
took part in Dies organorum festival, Lascir vibrare in Belgrade,run their own projects.
www.ensemble-metamorphosis.com