A Press Conference on the Occasion of the EFA Meeting Held at the Composers' Society

At eleven o'clock on Thursday, May 27^th, a press conference was held at the Croatian Composers' Society announcing the first summit of representatives of regional festivals and the leadership of the European Festival Association (EFA) to be held in Zagreb. The summit will be held at ten o'clock on Sunday, 6^th June, at the Croatian Composers' Society, in collaboration with the Music Biennale Zagreb, and at a time when the congress of the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) will already be taking place in Zagreb.  The event was announced by the secretary general of the Croatian Composers' Society Antun Tomislav Šaban, chief producer of the MBZ and the MBZ delegate at the EFA Nina Čalopek, and the artistic director of the MBZ Berislav Šipuš.

Antun Tomislav Šaban pointed out that one of the motives for this event was the fact that Dr. Ivo Josipović, a renowned composer, long-time president of the Musical Biennale Zagreb and the previous secretary general of the Croatian Composers' Society, has been elected president of the Republic of Croatia. On this occasion, the EFA has decided to present him with a special recognition for his long-term contribution to the association at which he was a delegate for the MBZ. He will be presented with the recognition at an informal breakfast on Saturday, 5^th June, at Hotel Palace in Zagreb. Šaban also pointed out the importance of co‑operation among festivals, which will contribute to a better mutual understanding of the festivals in the region, and to which the delegates will also commit in the form of a joint declaration.

Nina Čalopek spoke of the summit of representatives of regional festivals and the leadership of the EFA, and announced the signing of a document on the prominent role of culture in European identity, on which the Association passed a resolution during a recent assembly in Merano (Italy). It was there that the initiative to connect the festivals was started, within the "Open the Door" project, initiated on the occasion of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. The document recommends the development of cultural activities through various forms of EFA-supported networking, co-productions and financing through European funds. During the summit, the document will be signed by the President of the Republic of Croatia Dr. Ivo Josipović, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, Member of European Parliament Tanja Fajon, President of the EFA Darko Brlek and Executive Director of the ISPA David Baile, as well as by all the delegates for the twenty festivals from eleven countries from the region (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Croatia). The document will be signed on 5^th June, whereas the summit of the delegates will be held on 6^th June, hosting discussions on forms of co-operation among the festivals, encouraging mobility of artists and culture workers, and new possibilities for financing. Nina Čalopek also pointed out that the EFA is not made up only of music festivals, which gives the initiative a broader cultural perspective. The objective of the initiative is to stimulate changes in the region, which will then be analysed at the EFA General Assembly in Belgrade in 2014.

Berislav Šipuš invited all present to attend a concert by the Cantus Ansambl at the Small Hall of the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, which will be held at twelve o'clock, after the announced EFA summit at the Croatian Composers' Society, and will be preceded by a celebration of the election of Dr. Ivo Josipović to the office of President of the Republic of Croatia. On the occasion, the audience will be addressed by the EFA president Darko Brlek and its secretary general Kathrin Deventer, ISPA executive director David Baile, director of the Ensemble for Folk Dances and Songs of Croatia LADO Ivana Lušić, and Member of European Parliament Tanja Fajon. Cantus Ansambl will perform the Theme with Four Variations "The Four Temperaments" by Paul Hindemith with the pianist Martina Filjak, who will be performing with Cantus for the first time. After a break, there will be the Croatian premiere of the burlesque tale sung and played "Renard" / "The Fox" by Igor Stravinsky, directed by Mario Kovač, and performed by four singers: tenors Domagoj Dorotić and Stjepan Franetović, and basses Marko Mimica and Goran Jurić.

Aside from the concert, Šipuš also announced the continued co-operation with festivals and ensembles in Graz, Ljubljana, Trieste, Budapest and Belgrade - all over the region, with the aim of forming a true New Music Network.