DSO is absolutely delighted to welcome to its team one of the most performed Croatian composers: Davor Bobić. Throughout his career, he has always been passionate and involved in his multi-layered work. The latter is in fact performed by renowned musicians on domestic and foreign concert stages. And for the year 2022 & 2023, he became a residential composer of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra.
Let’s take a closer look at his remarkable career, filled with work, devotion and talent which led him to the path he’s on today, and to occupy this status at the orchestra which himself qualified as “one of life’s successes”.
Davor Bobić was born in Varaždin, Croatia in which he received his musical education, and then pursued his studies in composition, musical theory and classical accordion at the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Kiev. His first choice was Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) but was sent to Kyiv and never regretted it because he got there the best education he ever could have hoped for. Becoming a student of the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Kiev was a great honor and a source of indescribable joy. On top of that, he ended up working as a professor at the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek for twenty years.
Bobić also initiated the establishment of Osijek Music Wednesday, a concert cycle that began to complement the cultural offer of the city of Osijek, ten years ago. In the previous nine seasons they have performed almost two hundred concerts, including performances of soloists and ensembles such as: The Howard Gospel Choir, Soloists of Catherine the Great, Nikola Fabijanić & Zagreb Soloists, our residency Jazz Orchestra of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, Martina Filjak, Ivan Konev, Pannonian Philharmonic, Brno Cantilena Choir, The Wing Singers Gospel Choir, ZZ Quartet, Oberton String Octet, Borut Zagoranski and Feguš Quartet, Evgenia Koncar with organist Edmund Andler Borić, Varaždin Chamber Orchestra, Camerate Garestin Carnival Concert, Alexei Tanovitski, Cantus Ensemble, HRT Tamburitza Orchestra, Katarina and Vladimir Krpan, Papandopulo Quartet, Marco Graziani and Danijel Detoni, Mario Zlatkaski, Mario Zlatka Peljhan and Mia Elezović, Trio Solenza, Anđelko and Martin Krpan, Zagreb Wind Trio, Ensemble Oktos, Marija Bašić and Petra Gilming, Tamara Coha Mandić and Diana Grubišić Ćiković, Ladislav Vrgoč, Piano Duo Dalibor and Zrinka Cikojević, Capella Zriniana, Edin Karamazov, Konstantin Krasnitsky with the Osijek quartet Opus Mundi…
His Osijek musical story followed many years of experience in organizing Varaždin Baroque Evenings. He is indeed the director of one of the most prestigious and longest-running festivals in Croatia. Varaždin Baroque Evenings are stylistically defined by the Baroque musical epoch, which is based on the authenticity of early music interpretation, intensive care for Croatian musical heritage and, of course, the concept of a partner state that remains prominent worldwide, as it is unique among similar festivals Europe.
Despite the major impact the global pandemic has left on the artistic and cultural aspect of the world and paralyzed the music industry, Davor Bobić didn’t let himself feel discouraged by the situation. Instead, he overcame his negative feelings and started to write every single day “out of spite and defiance”. As a result of this highly productive work, it led him to an amazingly successful year in 2021, with as many as ten incredible premieres, six of which were orchestral compositions.
This year, D. Bobić expressed his sincere enthusiasm of composing the first work he dedicated to the Croatian cellist Vid Veljak and the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, all under the heavy impression of war destruction and human suffering in Ukraine and Kiev. His deep connection to this city explains the fact that he felt terribly impacted emotionally and psychologically. He, therefore, tries to help and contribute to the organization of temporary arrivals of students from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory to continue their studies at higher music institutions in Osijek and Pula, Ukraine.
His new piece will be premiered on Friday, 26th of May at Rector’s Palace (9pm), and conducted by Maestro Marc Tardue.
Get your tickets here.
We hope to see many of you there!