Ardea Story

The international seminar of classical music ARDEA, founded in 2017 through the Center for Education and Culture “Akademija” Čapljina, has been offering young and talented musicians the opportunity to participate in master workshops and lectures, cooperation with leading instrumental pedagogues, building their own artistic identity through individual and progressive work, concert activity and interaction with other young people artists from all over the world. It is the fruit of many years of aspirations of ambitious individuals, primarily local music artists, in creating a unique educational platform that would create a synergy of community, but also empower with its diverse artistic and pedagogical content. Such aspirations, led by pianist and the first ARDEA project manager Željka Mandarić, as well as artists including violinist Irena Vučić (now Kaleb) and guitarist Željko Mandarić, were supported by the Center for Education and Culture “Akademija” Čapljina, headed by the president Fra Milo Vlašić and associates, a music professor Gabriel Glavinić and economist Dajana Brajković, as the resident bearer of this unique event in Herzegovina. Driven by the desire to build culture and contribute to higher artistic education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also to the entire Southeast Europe, guided by full enthusiasm and sensitivity towards young musicians and their professional needs, “Akademija” and its partners, among which are the associations “Everything else is music” from Croatia, “Gallus” from Slovenia and the Music School “Ljubuški” from Bosnia and Herzegovina, are working tirelessly to preserve and enrich this, already traditional, musical meeting that has so far been visited by hundreds of young people from all over the world of the world.

Almost a full week of socializing within a working framework filled with workshops and concerts allows young people to immerse themselves in the full and transformative power of music that connects us to each other, but also to the world around us. The mutual dialogue manifested through individual work with ARDEA educators uncompromisingly builds and guides the young person, and the working atmosphere and communication with colleagues from all over the world encourage and motivate them in building them into a better artist and an even better person. Excellent training conditions and consultations with top experts will contribute to the possibility of absolute dedication to interpretive and technical engagement to achieve the best possible result and qualitatively spent “rest” of each participant. It is an honor to mention that during all the past years, including those of the pandemic, the ARDEA International Seminar of Classical Music has tirelessly brought together a multitude of young and talented people, as well as lecturers of world reputation, including: pianists Arnulfvon Arnim, Oliver Kern, Marijan Đuzel, Đorđe Stanetti, Dragomir Bratić, Bartolomej Stanetti Violinists Goran Končar, Irena Kaleb, Evgenia Epshtein, Brian Finlayson, Viktora Bramian, Marco Graziani, guitarists Maroje Brčić, Predrag Stanković, Željko Mandarić, Sanel Redžić, cellist David Grigorian, flutist Marko Zupan, but also many others.

Encouraging dialogue, cooperation and peace-building, through the ARDEA International Seminar on Classical Music, with the project PIECE FOR PEACE was recognized by the European Commission through the support of the Creative Europe program of BiH, the Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Herzegovina-Neretva County, the City of Čapljina and many other institutions that still exist today. loyal patrons of the ARDEA Masterclass. Moreover, the multicultural environment that Čapljina offers, the mild Mediterranean climate and the excellent conditions of group or individual work, make the stay at the seminar pleasant and create an unbreakable spirit of togetherness and friendship among the participants of all ages. This spirit has been recognized by many, and over the past years the International Seminar of Classical Music ARDEA has crystallized into an important and almost unavoidable artistic destination both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond. So far, she has been visited by many important names who have built their careers on numerous concert stages around the world. Only some of them are: violinists Stefan Milenkovic, Marco Graziani, Kaoru Yamamoto, Evgenia Epshtein, Alma Dizdar, pianists Oliver Kern, Marijan Đuzel, Julia Gubajdulina, Yunhee Kim, Ivan Batoš, Matija Dedic, cellists Belma Alić, David Grigorian, Lana Kostic, guitarists Edin Karamazov, Sanel Redžić, Đani Šehu, flautist Marko Zupan, clarinetist Bruno Philipp, organist Neven Kraljić, chamber vocal, instrumental and vocal-instrumental ensembles and many others.

Through its sensitivity towards often marginalized but also vulnerable social groups, the ARDEA International Seminar of Classical Music from the very beginning comes out of the already established, conventional framework of organizing similar master classes, in solidarity, at the most, with young and talented musicians whose financial possibilities do not allow to participate in this kind of indispensable artistic upgrading Something for every serious musician. For the benefit of this, and taking into account the overall economic situation of the country where this seminar was launched, the ARDEA International Seminar of Classical Music provides all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a package of assistance in the form of scholarships in which the total donation amount of application and participation for each individual candidate is reduced by half of its amount. This facilitates the possibility of participation, but also encourages comprehensive care for the promising generations of young and above all talented musicians from all over our country. This privilege has already been taken advantage of by many young participants, including some of today's renowned music educators and artists of profiled music careers, which leaves immense pride, but also a desire to encourage and empower future generations in nurturing their artistic talents.