Academic Choir Collegium Musicum

Thursday, 29 October 2026
Kolarac Endowment Hall at 8 PM
Academic Choir Collegium Musicum – Golden Jubilee
Ensemble Metamorphosis
Conductor: Dragana Jovanović
Soloists: Milena Damnjanović, soprano, Vladimir Andrić, baritone
Programme: Draško Adžić – Verona Songs, premiere of the new version (2018/2026)
Jug Marković – Serbian Love Songs, premiere of the new version (2016/2026)
Marko Nikodijević – new piece, world premiere, commissioned by the BEMUS
With the support of the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung
1000, 1500, 1800

Academic Choir Collegium musicum was founded in 1971, and to date, approximately 500 female students from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade have participated in the ensemble. The choir was established by Professor Vojislav Ilić—at the time the foremost authority in the field of choral performance—while its global renown was fostered by Professor Emeritus Darinka Matić Marović. The choir’s current conductor is D.M.A. Dragana Jovanović, an Associate Professor in the Conducting Department at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade.

Collegium musicum is one of the most prominent choirs in Serbia. In 2017, by decree of the President of Serbia, it was awarded the Gold Medal of Merit for the preservation of the tradition of choral singing and the promotion of Serbian culture worldwide. The ensemble is a regular participant in major events of national significance. To date, the choir has performed over 3,000 concerts across the country and around the world—including Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, India, Mongolia, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Cuba, and the USA.

The choir has a rich catalogue of recordings with broadcasters such as the Radio and Television of Serbia, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, the Italy's public national broadcaster (RAI), and RTV Mexico. Notable masterpieces of choral art have been immortalized on vinyl, such as Hiljaditi koncert ‘Kolegijum muzikuma’ (The Thousandth Concert of Collegium Musicum) and Duhovna muzika Zapada (Sacred Music of the West), as well as on compact disc, including Boje i zvuci Balkana (Colors and Sounds of the Balkans), Sirene (Sirens), and Tri zvuka Mokranjca (Three Sounds of Mokranjac, a complete edition of Rukoveti [Garlands] by Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac, transcribed by Vojislav Ilić).

The choir’s repertoire encompasses works by composers from various stylistic eras, ranging from early music to contemporary compositions. The high professional standard and creativity of this ensemble have inspired many composers to dedicate their works to it. Over its 53-year existence, the choir has presented more than 200 premieres. It has participated in numerous significant cultural events within the country and the region, as well as in projects involving a wide range of vocal-instrumental works. In the course of these activities, the ensemble has collaborated with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTS Symphony Orchestra, the St George Strings, the Dušan Skovran Belgrade String Orchestra, the Niš Symphony Orchestra, the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Faculty of Music (FMU) in Belgrade, the Symphony Orchestra of the Academy of Arts, University of Banja Luka, and conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Emil Tabakov, Michail Jurowski, Uroš Lajovic, Eiji Oue, En Shao, Kevin Griffiths, Michael Pratt, Francesco La Vecchia, Bojan Suđić, Saša Britvić, Grigory Krasko. In recent years, the ensemble has placed particular emphasis on developing a visual and stage identity within its choral performances, creating several concert-performances such as Sirene (Sirens), Dokument: VODA (Document: WATER), Mokranjac 1914–2014, Zmija mladoženja (The Snake Groom), Šklovski (Shklovsky), and Kaleidoskop (Kaleidoscope).

The choir has received numerous accolades and awards, both in Serbia and abroad, most notably:

First Prize Overall for the performance of polyphonic music in Arezzo (Italy, 1971);
First Prize Overall for the performance of polyphonic music and the First Prize in the national music category at the International Competition in Llangollen (Great Britain, 1973);
BBC award (1973);
Two gold medals at the 10th World Festival of Youth and Students in East Berlin (East Germany, 1973);
First Prize Overall and a Special Prize for the performance of polyphonic music, as well as the First Prize in the national music category in Gorizia (Italy, 1980);
First Prize for the performance of polyphonic music and the Best Conductor Award at the International Competition in Torrevieja (Spain, 1988);
First Prize Overall for the best choir of the festival, a gold medal in the Female Choir – Polyphony category and a Special Prize for the best performance of a folk-based composition at the sixth Choral Music Competition in Preveza (Greece, 2000).
Special Audience Award at the 48th Cork International Choral Festival (Ireland, 2002);
First Prize Overall for the best choir of the festival, a Special Prize for the performance of a composition in the Chinese language, and the Best Conductor Award at the sixth China International Chorus Festival in Beijing (2002);
First Prize in the category for musically trained choirs, the Polish National Radio and Television Special Prize for the best choir of the festival, and the Best Conductor Award at the 29th International Festival of Orthodox Church Music in Hajnówka (Poland, 2010);
Gold Medal at the International Choral Festival at Carnegie Hall (New York, USA, 2013).

Academic Choir Collegium musicum has participated in all major festivals in Serbia (BEMUS, the International Review of Composers, BELEF, Harfafest, and the Mikser Festival in Belgrade, the International Choral Festival and the Musical Edict, both held in Niš, the Serbian Spiritual Revival Week at the Manasija Monastery, the International Festival of Chamber Choirs in Kragujevac, Mermer i zvuci (Marble and Sounds) Art Festival in Aranđelovac, the Cinema City Festival in Novi Sad, etc.), as well as in prestigious festivals abroad, such as: the Festival of Flanders in Ghent (Belgium), the Berlin Festival, the Prague Spring International Music Festival and the Festival of Vocal Music in Brno (Czech Republic), the International Festival in Varna (Bulgaria), the George Enescu International Festival in Bucharest (Romania), choral festivals in Toulon and Nancy (France), the Festival of Sacred Music in Palermo and the Days of Music in Trieste (Italy), Greek music festivals in Delphi, Lefkada, Karditsa, Atalanti, Kastoria, Thessaloniki, Corfu, and Athens, the Festival of Sacred Music in Moscow and the Days of Serbian Culture in St Petersburg, festivals in Puebla and Tepotzotlán (Mexico), the World Festival of Youth and Students in Havana (Cuba), the Buenos Aires Choir Festival (Argentina).

Reviews of this ensemble’s performances have always been expressed in superlatives: ‘The magnificent young women of the Belgrade choir Collegium musicum sang exceptionally well. It was one of the best performances in the competition.’ (Great Britain); ‘We marvel at the outstanding diction, breadth, vocal blend, and freshness of the voices.’ (Belgium); ‘A perfect example of vocal technique, combined with highly professional members—achieving a sound, the likes of which has never been heard before!’ (Mexico); ‘The concert deserves every superlative; the flawless virtuosity of these young artists is truly fascinating!’ (India); ‘Never before have we heard a performance by such a perfect choir and its masterful conductor!’ (China); ‘Collegium musicum – the event of the season!’ (Moscow).

Dragana Jovanović, D.M.A., completed her undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies in the Conducting Department at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, under the supervision of Professor Darinka Matić Marović. She holds the position of Associate Professor of Choral Singing and Conducting within the Conducting Department at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, where she also served as Vice-Dean for International Cooperation and Projects from 2019 to 2025.

With the Academic Choir Collegium musicum and the Mixed Choir of the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, she has performed extensively throughout Serbia as well as abroad (in Greece, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Norway, and China).

She began her conducting work with these choirs, as well as the Obilić Choir – the Branko Krsmanović Academic Cultural-Artistic Society, while still a student, assisting in the preparation of numerous vocal-instrumental works (collaborating with Zubin Mehta, Uroš Lajovic, Michail Jurowski, En Shao, Peter Robinson, Francesco La Vecchia, Mladen Jagušt, Bojan Suđić, Saša Britvić, and others). She also served as an assistant conductor on tours across Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Turkey, Russia, Belarus, China, South Korea, Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, and the USA. She has made guest appearances at domestic festivals such as BEMUS, the International Review of Composers, the Jeunesses Musicales International Competition, Belgrade Days, the Documentary and Short Film Festival, Mikser Festival, Harfafest, Choirs Among the Frescoes in Belgrade, Mokranjac Days in Negotin, the International Choral Festival and the Musical Edict, both held in Niš, Stringfest in Leskovac, the Serbian Spiritual Revival Week at the Manasija Monastery, the International Chamber Choir Festival in Kragujevac, SOMUS in Sombor, the Stringfest in Sremska Mitrovica, Lenkin prsten (Lenka's Ring) in Srbobran, the Cinema City festival and Singing Bridges in Novi Sad, Dani Sloge Choir Festival in Sarajevo, the Vlado Milošević Days in Banja Luka, the Tricikl Festival in Zvečan, KotorArt, the Bar’s Chronicles Art Festival, Days of Music in Herceg Novi, the Wild Beauty Art Festival in Žabljak, and the Tivat Music Festival in Montenegro.

Dragana Jovanović has served as a professor and conductor of the mixed choir and symphony orchestra at the Kosta Manojlović Secondary Music School in Zemun, conductor of the Symphony Orchestra at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, répétiteur for the Opera Studio of the National Theatre in Belgrade, and accompanist and conductor of the Radio and Television of Serbia Mixed Choir. Additionally, she has held positions as a visiting professor at the Academy of Arts in Banjaluka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and at the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek (Croatia). From 2017 to 2022, she was involved in a project to revitalize the Police Orchestra of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia. As the ensemble's chief conductor, she led numerous concerts in the country, as well as a tour in Dubai.

She is the author of a three-volume work titled „Antologija srpske muzike za dečje i ženske horove kompozitora druge polovine 19. i prve polovine 20. veka” (Anthology of Serbian Music for Children’s and Women’s Choirs by Composers of the Second Half of the 19th and the First Half of the 20th Century). Her discography includes the releases Boje i zvuci Balkana (Colors and Sounds of the Balkans), Sirene (Sirens), and Tri zvuka Mokranjca (Three Sounds of Mokranjac). Furthermore, she has contributed numerous scholarly works and has led various seminars and workshops focused on conducting interpretation and choral singing. She is the recipient of the Predrag Milošević Award for the best conducting student (2001), the Vojislav Ilić Award for the authentic performance of sacred music (2004), the Association of Musical Artists of Serbia Award (2013), the Golden Badge (Zlatna značka) for contribution to Serbian culture (awarded by the Cultural and Educational Community of Serbia in 2014), and the Vidovdanski Vitez (Knight of Vidovdan) Award (2018). She was also the first recipient of the newly established award for an outstanding figure in the field of musical arts from KotorArt (Montenegro)—the Darinka Matić Marović Award (2021)—as well as the Golden Starlet (Zlatna zvjezdica) Award, presented by the Youth Music Institute in Zagreb (Croatia). In 2023, she received the Muzika Klasika magazine award for Concert of the Year for her performance of the multimedia project Tragovi iz sazvežđa Regula (Traces from the Constellation Regulus).

Since 2024, Dragana Jovanović has served as the Artistic Director of the international Tivat Music Festival in Montenegro, and as of this year, she is the permanent conductor of the Zvjezdice children's choir in Zagreb (Croatia). Over the last decade, she has focused on interdisciplinary artistic projects—both as an author and co-author—that explore contemporary choral and conducting performance through an engagement with movement, mise-en-scène, space, lighting, electronics, dramaturgy, and visuals (including Mokranjac 1914–2014, Dokument: VODA [Document: WATER], Zmija mladoženja [The Snake Groom], Inter nos..., African Sanctus, Šklovski [Shklovsky], Ukradeni princ i izgubljena princeza (The Stolen Prince and the Lost Princess), Tragovi iz sazvežđa Regula (Traces from the Constellation Regulus), and Kaleidoskop [Kaleidoscope]). Her most recent undertaking in this field—serving as conductor, singer, and creative consultant—is the international project Balkan Erotic Epic (scheduled for the 2025/26/27 seasons), created by one of the world’s most renowned conceptual artists, Marina Abramović.

The Belgrade-based Ensemble Metamorphosis, founded in 2005 by violist Saša Mirković and cellist Tatjana Jovanović Mirković, is one of the most prominent Serbian groups performing contemporary classical music. Under the artistic leadership of Saša Mirković, the ensemble—distinguished by the intensity of its performance, expressiveness, and sonic exploration—typically performs without a conductor. Its string core, ranging from a chamber group to a full orchestra, expands according to the project’s needs to include other instruments, vocals, electronics, and staging elements.
Over more than two decades of activity, the ensemble has premiered over 180 works, making a significant contribution to contemporary Serbian music and the development of the repertoire for viola and ensemble. The composers whose works the ensemble performs and with whom it collaborates include Aleksandra Vrebalov, Dragana Jovanović, Svetlana Savić, Ivana Stefanović, Branka Popović, Nataša Bogojević, Vuk Kulenović, Zoran Erić, Ana Gnjatović, Ana Milosavljević, Draško Adžić, Irena Popović, Tatjana Milošević Mijanović, Maja Bosnić, Ana Krstajić, Vladimir Trmčić, Lazar Đorđević, Peter Machajdík, Airat Ichmouratov, Peter Fribbins, and Benjamin Yusupov. The ensemble’s repertoire also encompasses music by David Mastikosa, Darija Andovska, Arvo Pärt, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Benjamin Britten, alongside works by Bach and Mozart, as well as programmes that span classical music, world music, and experimental expression.
Since its establishment, the ensemble has collaborated with Goran Bregović on projects such as Orchestra for Weddings and Funerals, Tolerant Heart, Alcohol, and Memoirs of Queen Margot, performing at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in New York, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Sydney Opera House, the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the Philharmonie in Essen, and the Théâtre National de Toulouse. In 2011, it performed with violinist Vanessa-Mae at the Belgrade Arena.
Since 2010, Metamorphosis has been developing its own independent concert and production activities. The Belgrade ensemble has performed at the International Review of Composers, festivals such as KoMA, BEMUS, BUNT, Mokranjac Days, Days of Organ – Dies organorum, the International Harp Festival, Theatre City Budva, ARLEMM, and BLISS, as well as at the festivals Hudba u Fullu in Slovakia, and Pantopia in Germany. Its programmes have been presented as part of the Concerts at Studio 6 and Lasciar Vibrare series, and at the opening ceremonies of the Jeunesses Musicales International Competition. Thematic programmes such as It Is All about Bach, Nach Bach, New Sensitivity, Premieres… Dedications, La Follia, and Music for the Missing Butterflies reflect a meticulously planned concert dramaturgy, which features spoken word, singing, movement, and theatre music in selected projects.
Its discography includes La Follia, featuring works by Serbian and regional composers, and Music for the Missing Butterflies (Pantopia Music, Berlin, 2023), featuring music by Pärt, Trmčić, Gnjatović, and Shostakovich; the title work by Ana Gnjatović was originally created for the ensemble's concert series in 2021. The ensemble also participated in the album I Talk of Dreams by Draško Adžić (Mascom Classics, 2025), recorded at the Meta World festival in 2022. Metamorphosis has produced a vast catalog of radio and television recordings, including eight concert videos created during the pandemic and presented to an international audience.
In 2022, Tatjana Jovanović Mirković and Saša Mirković founded Meta World, a festival connecting contemporary music with theatre, visual arts, fashion design, and new technologies. The inaugural edition, held from 11 to 15 December 2022, at Bioskop Balkan and the Josip Slavenski Legacy, featured nine concerts comprising Serbian and world premieres. Participants included Alma Su Baute, Aneta Ilić, Vasa Stajkić, Vladimir Gligorić, Milena Petrović, Nina Martinović, Benjamin Yusupov, Draško Adžić, the BLISS Quartet, and the MONK Trio. The second edition, held from 9 to 15 December 2023, at Bioskop Balkan, featured performances by Kayhan Kalhor, the Marc Sinan Company, Duo LAB51 (Johanna Vargas and Magdalena Cerezo), Gabriel Prokofiev, and Dragana Ognjenović. Together with Kalhor—a Grammy Award winner and kamancheh virtuoso—the ensemble performed at the Pantopia Festival in Karlsruhe in June 2023 and at the opening of the second edition of Meta World. Composer Peter Machajdík was also among the festival collaborators.
In 2023, the ensemble launched the Metamorphosis Orchestra Academy, an educational platform providing young musicians with orchestral training and experience working alongside a professional ensemble. It is the recipient of the Muzika Klasika Award for Orchestra of the Year (2016, presented in 2017) and the Composers' Association of Serbia’s Aleksandar Pavlović Award (2022) for the performance and promotion of contemporary Serbian music both at home and abroad. Since 2023, it has served as a creative ambassador for the national platform Serbia Creates.
Through its concert activities, new works, recordings, festival productions, and educational initiatives, the ensemble continuously contributes to the development of the contemporary music scene and its international integration.

Saša Mirković is a violist, artistic director, curator, and full professor, internationally recognized for his work in the fields of contemporary music, interdisciplinary artistic practices, and conductorless ensembles. He is particularly dedicated to the development and promotion of contemporary repertoire for the viola and chamber orchestra.
Born in 1980 in Čačak, he began his musical education as a violinist before turning his focus to the viola. He completed his primary and secondary musical education at the School for Musical Talents in Ćuprija and graduated from the Faculty of Music at the University of Arts in Belgrade, where he also completed his postgraduate master’s studies in viola in 2008.
Alongside his performing career, he has maintained an active teaching and academic career. He served as an assistant at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, and subsequently at the Faculty of Philology and Arts at the University of Kragujevac, where he advanced through the academic ranks of assistant professor and associate professor. Since 2021, he has held the position of full professor of viola. From 2015 to 2019, he served as the Head of the Department for String Instruments at the Faculty of Philology and Arts, University of Kragujevac.
Mirković has established himself as one of the leading Serbian violists of his generation, particularly in the fields of contemporary music and interdisciplinary projects. In 2005, together with his wife Tatjana Jovanović Mirković, he founded the Ensemble Metamorphosis, serving as its artistic director and principal violist. The ensemble holds a significant place on the regional contemporary music scene; through its work, Mirković fosters international collaborations, interdisciplinary productions, and projects that have been presented across Europe and on the international stage.
From 2012 to 2020, he served as the principal violist of the No Borders Orchestra, and he has also collaborated with the Dresdner Sinfoniker as a guest principal violist. Previously, he held the position of principal violist with the South East Europe Youth Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Youth Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian-German Orchestra in Berlin, Dušan Skovran Belgrade String Orchestra, Ljubica Marić Chamber Orchestra, Schlesinger Chamber Orchestra, and Ensemble for New Music in Belgrade.
As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras and ensembles such as the London Mozart Players, the Lublin Philharmonic, the Radio Television of Serbia Symphony Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonic, the Jena Philharmonic, the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck, the Łódź Philharmonic, the Niš Symphony Orchestra, the Slovak Sinfonietta (Žilina), the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Resonanz (Hamburg), Ensemble Reflektor (Berlin), the No Borders Orchestra, the Ensemble Metamorfozis, the Ljubica Marić Chamber Orchestra, and the Schlesinger Chamber Orchestra, as well as with numerous chamber groups and contemporary music ensembles across Europe. He has also collaborated with the Augsburg Philharmonic.
He has worked closely with composers including Mark Sinan, Lera Auerbach, Giya Kancheli, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Airat Ichmouratov, Dobrinka Tabakova, Branka Popović, Dragana Jovanović, Draško Adžić, Jasna Veljanović, Vladimir Trmčić, Milan Mihajlović, Jug Marković, and Ivan Brkljačić.
He has given the premieres of more than 120 compositions for viola and orchestra, solo viola, viola and accordion, viola and harp, and various chamber ensembles, as well as over 100 works for chamber orchestra and contemporary music ensembles. Numerous pieces were written specifically for him and dedicated to him.
His repertoire spans music from the Baroque and Classical periods to contemporary avant-garde works. A particular focus lies on contemporary viola concertos and interdisciplinary productions that integrate music with theatre, electronics, spoken word, visual arts, and multimedia. In addition to his concert performances, he has also made recordings for CD releases.
As a soloist, chamber musician, and artistic director, he has performed at prominent concert halls and international festivals, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the philharmonic halls in Chicago and San Francisco, the Berlin Philharmonie, the philharmonic halls in Cologne and Essen, the Barbican Centre in London, the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Sala Santa Cecilia in Rome, and the Salle Pleyel in Paris.
Mirković has also performed at festivals such as the Lincoln Center Festival in New York, Beethovenfest in Bonn, the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen), Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, the Festival d’Automne in Paris, the Brisbane Festival, and the Melbourne Festival in Australia, as well as part of the Kampnagel programme in Hamburg, the Operadagen festival in Rotterdam, the Macau Arts Festival, and the opening festival of the Asia Culture Complex in Gwangju, South Korea. His international career includes numerous performances across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States.
Notable performance highlights include his renditions of viola concertos by Krzysztof Penderecki (with the Lublin Philharmonic), Airat Ichmouratov (with the RTS Symphony Orchestra), and Béla Bartók (with the German Philharmonic Orchestra Merck). His interdisciplinary work also encompasses the project Befreiung by Mark Sinan, realized in collaboration with the Ensemble Reflektor and the Augsburg Philharmonic.
He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards, most notably: the Muzika Klasika award for Best Male Performer of 2016, the Aleksandar Pavlović Award from the Composers' Association of Serbia (received in 2016, 2019, and 2023), and the Best Male Soloist award in Serbia for 2017.
Together with his wife, Tatjana Jovanović Mirković, he is a co-founder of the contemporary art festival Meta World, where he serves as artistic director. The festival is an interdisciplinary platform that connects music, visual arts, theatre, film, and contemporary culture. Through his festival and curatorial work, he fosters a space for collaboration among artists from various disciplines and for the presentation of contemporary artistic practices.
His work has been covered by international media, including the magazine The Strad, which featured him in articles dedicated to conductorless orchestras and contemporary artistic practice.
Saša Mirković is represented by the Paris-based agency Schouman Music Management.