Erev Shel Shoshanim concert
Jubilee concert on the occasion of the 145th anniversary of the founding of the Baruch Brothers Choir
Atrium of the National Museum
January 30, 2024, at 8 p.m
On the occasion of the 145th anniversary of the founding of the Baruch Brothers Choir, the oldest Jewish choir in the world, the final evening concert of Rosi Fest - Erev Shel Shoshanim (Evening of Roses) named after one of the most beautiful love songs in Hebrew, was held at the National Museum on January 30. The program of the concert is unique because it is inspired by love poetry written in Hebrew and by composers of Jewish origin. In the Atrium of the National Museum, on February 1 at 8 p.m., together with the Baruch Brothers Choir, the Jewish Chamber Orchestra, soloists Stefan Hadžić and Marko Živković, will perform under the direction of the festival director, Stefan Zekić.
Entrance is free of charge.
The program:
E. Whitacre, F. Mendelson, G. Mahler, K. Berić
Performers:
The Baruch Brothers Choir
Jewish Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Stefan Zekić
Soloists:
Stefan Hadžić, baritone
Marko Živković, tenor
Stefan Zekić, dirigent
He studied at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade in the departments of conducting and solo singing. At the same faculty, he has been employed at the Department of Conducting since 2022. Since 2009, he has been engaged as a conductor, accompanist, and conductor in the Opera Studio of the National Theater in Belgrade. He is the founder and artistic director of the early music ensemble Canticum Novum, conductor of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra since its foundation, and chief conductor of the Baruch Brothers Choir, with whom he won numerous national and international awards at prestigious festivals and competitions. He is the founder and director of Rossi Fest. He studied at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade in the conducting and solo singing departments. At the same faculty, he has been employed at the Department of Conducting since 2022. Since 2009, he has been engaged as a conductor, accompanist, and conductor in the Opera Studio of the National Theater in Belgrade. He is the founder and artistic director of the early music ensemble Canticum Novum, conductor of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra since its foundation, and chief conductor of the Baruch Brothers Choir, with whom he won numerous national and international awards at prestigious festivals and competitions. He is the founder and director of Rossi Fest.
Stefan Hadžić, baritone
He was born in 1989, in Belgrade, and started playing the piano at five. He studied piano at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade (2007-2011). At the same time, he graduated (2011) from the department of solo singing at the secondary music school Kosta Manojlović in the class of Prof. Nenic Nenada. In 2016, he completed his opera singing studies in Professor Klaudija Viska's class at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. At the same University, from 2016 to 2019, he attended master's studies with prof. Florian Boesch. He is a scholarship recipient of the Thyll-Dürr Foundation from Switzerland. He performed at numerous solo concerts in Serbia, Croatia, Austria and Germany. He made his opera debut as Il Conte d´Almaviva in the university production of Mozart's opera Le nozze di Figaro (2014, Vienna). In 2019, he became a member of the opera studio of the Cologne Opera, and in 2021 he became a member of its ensemble. Since September 2022, he has been part of the opera ensemble of the State Theater in Kassel, Germany. So far, he has performed as a soloist in opera houses in Basel, Szczecin, Koblenz, Würzburg, Halle, and Hanover.
Marko Živković, tenor
He graduated in solo singing with Prof. Nikola Mijailović at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. He participated and won prizes at various competitions in Serbia and neighboring countries and performed with various ensembles from Belgrade. Since 2014, he has been performing as a soloist at the National Theater in Belgrade, the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad and the Madlenianum Opera and Theater in Belgrade and at various festivals. He performed in more than 15 opera titles. He also performed as a soloist with the leading national choirs in Serbia, the RTS choir, and he also performed two concerts with the Belgrade Philharmonic.
The Baruch Brothers Choir
The Baruch Brothers Choir from Belgrade was founded in 1879 as the Serbian Jewish Singing Society. Eminent researchers claim that it is the oldest Jewish choir in the world. It changed its name to its current name in 1952, in memory of three brothers from the famous Baruch Jewish family from Belgrade, who died in the pogroms at the beginning of World War II. During its many years of work, the choir performed numerous concerts in all important music centers of Yugoslavia, while foreign guest appearances were performed all over the world, from Europe and Asia to concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1978. The Baruch Brothers Choir is a regular participant in all the most important classical music festivals in the country and abroad, from which it regularly brings a number of awards and recognitions for its work. The choir was awarded twice by the Presidency of the Republic for its contribution to the cultural affirmation of the country, and it was led by some of the most important figures from the history of our artistic music. The choir's conductor, Stefan Zekić, and the choir's president, Branka Cvejić Mezei, are responsible for the extraordinary success that the choir has achieved in the last few years.
The Jewish Chamber Orchestra
The Jewish Chamber Orchestra was founded in 2012 by cellist Ladislav Mezei, in cooperation with the B'nei B'rit Lodge of Serbia, and the members of the orchestra are professional musicians of Jewish origin and their friends. The primary goal of the orchestra is to present the music of Jewish composers, as well as other composers whose works are inspired by Jewish themes, and the orchestra's interpretation is connected with the tradition, culture, and history of the Jewish community in Serbia.