Croatia comes to Carnegie Hall

Croatia will make its debut at Carnegie Hall with the October 9, 2008 performance of Oliver Dragojevic and the accompaniment of a chamber orchestra from Croatia (Solisti di Zagreb) along with jazz musicians from the United States.

According to the press release from The Doors Art Foundation, "The promotion of Croatian culture has made significant progress over the past few years, and the Doors Art Foundation believes that this concert by the first Croatian musician to independently perform at world renowned Carnegie Hall will provide even more opportunities for future collaborations."

~

About Oliver Dragojevic:

"Oliver Dragojevic needs no major introduction in Croatia and in much of Europe. His songs and character has been a part of most Croatians’ lives, their culture and memories for several generations.

"A recipient of the most prestigious festival and recording awards, Oliver was also the winner of the first Croatian music award, the Porin, which he received for his performance of Gibonni’s 'Cesarica.'

"Oliver Dragojevic has been closely tied to music since the early days of his childhood. He was born in Vela Luka and attended music school in Split. He started out learning the piano, followed by the clarinet and the guitar. Since the mid-60s he has been a singer and an organist with the Split-based group 'Batali' with which he achieved local renown. At the 1967 Split Music Festival, Zdenko Runjic entrusted him with interpreting his song 'Picaferaj.' By this time Oliver had already chosen music as his life’s calling and left Split to spend the next few years performing internationally in the style of his great role models Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder."

Read more about Oliver Dragojevic here.

~

About Solisti di Zagreb (the Zagreb Soloists):
From their website: "The world-renown Zagreb Soloists chamber orchestra was formed in 1953 under the artistic guidance of famous violoncellist and conductor Antonio Janigro. The Zagreb Soloists have held more than 3000 perfomances on all 7 continents. They have amassed numerous prizes and awards from great world centers and prestigious concert halls. All members of the orchestra display the utmost passion and enthusiasm for chamber music."

More information can be found at the Solisti di Zagreb website.

~

For additional information about the concert and to purchase tickets, please visit the event website.

Image sources: Oliver Dragojevic by Mario Lalich and Zagreb Soloists in the Klović Palace, 2002.