ZAGREB, March 17, 2018 – The Croatian academic choir “Ivan Goran Kovačić” will celebrate the 70th anniversary of its establishment with a concert in Zagreb’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Saturday. The choir will perform Croatian Mass by Boris Papandopulo.
The biggest Croatian amateur choir, which has been led by conductor Luka Vukšić for more than 15 years and which has around 150 members, was established in 1948. It was named after the Croatian poet, essayist, translator, journalist and critic. Ivan Goran Kovačić was born in Lukovdol, Croatia, in 1913. In late 1942, he joined the Partisans and was killed near Foča, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1943, by Chetnik collaborationist forces.
The choir has been led by prominent Croatian musicians Mladen Jagust, Duško Prašelj, Lovro Županović, Adalbert Marković, Dinko Fio, Vladimir Kranjčević and Saša Britvić.
It has performed under the baton of the biggest Croatian and international conductors, including Lovro Matačić, Milan Horvat, Zubin Mehta, Yehudi Menuhin, Krzysztof Penderecki, Lorin Maazel, Ennio Morricone, Noam Sheriff, Gerd Albrecht, Kazushi Ono, Alun Francis, Hans Graf, Kurt Masur, Dmitri Kitayenko, Valery Gergiev and Neville Marriner.
The soloists who sang with the choir include such legends as Vladimir Ruždjak, Ruža Pospiš-Baldani, Ruggiero Raimondi, Jose Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Inva Mula and many others.
The choir has performed around the globe and with many famous orchestras.
