KotorArt
International festival
Tuesday, August 11
Nikola Đurković Cultural Center, 9 p.m.
KOTORARTIĆ: BSO – VIDA MATJAN
The Doll Clinic, a children’s
musical fairy tale by Vida Matjan.
Text: Jovan Aleksić
Arrangement: Ilija Rajković
Stage Adaptation: Dejan Đonović
Lighting Designer: Jovan Džudović
Performers:
ANDREA ŽIVKOVIĆ, flute
MILENA RAJKOVIĆ, violin
LARA BUBANJA, clarinet
MILORAD BALIĆ, percussion
JOVANKA VELJOVIĆ, digital piano
DEJAN ĐONOVIĆ, actor
Children/actors:
Bella Petković. Ema Đonović, Doris Franović, Jovana Radanović, Andrej Krivokapić, Katja Živković, Zoe Nikolić
Members of the Vida Matjan Music School Choir: Lucija Saulačić, Kiara Petrović, Petra Veselinović, Danica Matanović, Đina Crepulja, Sofija Mačić, Nikol Petrović, Žana Milanović, Martin Gledić, Irina Matanović, Teodor Knežević, Nataša Vukašinović
Partner programa
Muzeji Kotor, PAM
During research into the legacy of Vida Matjan, the conductor and music educator after whom the Kotor Music School is named, the score of the children’s musical fairy tale The Doll Clinic, based on a text by Jovan Aleksić, was rediscovered. For this work, Vida Matjan composed the music and also created the choreography and stage direction. More than sixty years after its original performance, The Doll Clinic returns to the stage at KotorArt. The production features an orchestra, choir, and soloists (actors) who bring to life a fairy tale about dolls. While the fairy tale awakens nostalgia and childhood memories in adults, it invites young audiences into a world of imagination and wonder, demonstrating how music and theater can foster creativity, musical expression, and play – the most effective remedies against boredom and apathy. In this production, adults and children from all three primary music schools in Herceg Novi, Tivat, and Kotor perform together, creating a Boka tribute to Mrs. Vida Matjan, who devoted all her passion, love, and knowledge to this Mediterranean region, where every sound becomes music.
ANĐELA HOMEN, conductor
Andrea Živković, flute, completed her primary and secondary music education at the Vida Matjan Music School in Kotor, studying with Professor Jasminka Terzić and Assistant Professor Žana Lekić. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade and earned her master’s degree from the Music Academy of the University of Montenegro in Cetinje under Professor Ljubiša Jovanović. A recipient of numerous prizes at national and international competitions, she has furthered her artistic development through masterclasses with distinguished European flautists, including Peter-Lukas Graf, Felix Renggli, Giovanni Mareggini, and János Bálint, among others. She performs regularly with a variety of chamber ensembles and orchestras and is a member of the Talija Quartet and the ensemble Kotor City Music. Since 2008, Andrea Živković she has been a member of the teaching staff of the Vida Matjan Music School, where she currently serves as Head of the Wind Department. Her students have achieved notable success in competitions and concert performances. She is a co-founder of the NGO Flute Art, through whose projects numerous concerts and masterclasses with eminent artists have been realized. In 2025, she founded the Boka Symphony Orchestra with the aim of fostering and promoting orchestral music in the Bay of Kotor.
Milena Rajković, violin, is one of the leading Montenegrin violinists of her generation. She began her musical education in Kotor and completed her undergraduate studies at the Music Academy in Cetinje under Professor Roman Simović, before earning her master’s degree under the guidance of Professor Vujadin Krivokapić. Since 2007, she has been a member of the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, where she has built a distinguished orchestral career. As a chamber musician, she performs with the Allegria String Quartet, with which she has appeared in numerous concerts in Montenegro and abroad. In the Boka Symphony Orchestra, she serves as Principal Second Violin. Along with her performing career, she is also active as a teacher at the Vasa Pavić School of Music and Ballet.
Lara Bubanja, clarinet, began her musical education in Tivat under Professor Goran Turkalj. She graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz under Professor Wolfgang Klinser before going to earn her master’s degree at the Music Academy of the University of Montenegro in Cetinje under Professor Petar Garić. She has furthered her professional development through masterclasses with distinguished pedagogues from around the world. Lara Bubanja is a laureate of numerous national and international competitions in both solo clarinet and chamber music. As a soloist and member of various chamber ensembles and orchestras, she has performed throughout Montenegro and the wider region – in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split, Rijeka, Graz, and Vienna, among many other cities. She has collaborated with the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, the Guitar Art Festival Orchestra, the Montenegro Festival Orchestra, and the Camerata Herceg Novi Chamber Orchestra. She is a co-founder of the Boka Symphony Orchestra. Lara Bubanja is a long-standing member and participant in the projects of the NGO Boka Kotorska Ars Praesentia, as well as features as a guest member of several esteemed local wind ensembles, such as Tivat Music and Educational Society and Kotor City Music. She teaches clarinet and saxophone at music schools in Herceg Novi and Kotor.
Milorad Balić, percussion, completed his primary and secondary music education under Professor Miloš Mićunović. He graduated from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, where he also earned his master’s degree in the Department of Percussion, under Professor Srđan Palačković. He is the first formally trained classical percussionist from Montenegro. He is a recipient of the prestigious Yamaha Music Europe Foundation scholarship (the 2022/2023 academic year), as well as a scholarship from the Fund for Young Talents (2023/2024). He has performed at numerous festivals, including the Belgrade River Fest, BEMUS, NOMUS, Mittelfest, the International Rostrum of Composers, the Operosa Montenegro Opera Festival, and the KOMA Festival, among others. Milorad Balić has gained extensive orchestral experience through collaborations with leading ensembles such as the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTS Symphony Orchestra, the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, the Boka Symphony Orchestra, and others. He has worked with distinguished conductors including Gabriel Feltz, Daniel Raiskin, John Axelrod, Felix Mildenberger, and Marko Korović, and has shared the stage with renowned performers and soloists such as Anna Netrebko, Fazil Say, Ivo Pogorelić, Ksenija Sidorova, and Andreï Korobeinikov, among others.
Jovanka Veljović, a composer, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and cultural organizer, graduated and completed her master’s studies at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade under Professor Svetislav Božić. She also graduated from the Faculty of Management at Adriatic University, majoring in Finance, Accounting, and Banking, where she is currently pursuing postgraduate studies. Her professional activity includes studio work, recording and sound production, musical performance, and composition across various genres. Her works have been performed at numerous festivals and cultural events in Montenegro and abroad. As an author, Jovanka Veljović has participated in projects of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts (CANU), the Europa Nostra pan-European organization, and other related institutions and organizations. She is one of the founders of the Camerata Herceg Novi ensemble and serves as Executive Producer of the Boka Symphony Orchestra. Jovanka Veljović previously served as Director of the Primary Music School in Herceg Novi (2019–2021), where she currently works as a piano and theory teacher. She is the Business Secretary of the Herceg Novi branch of Matica Crnogorska and the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions in the field of music.
Dejan Đonović is an actor and poet and has been engaged as a permanent member of the ensemble of the Podgorica City Theater since 1993. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje with a degree in Theater Production. Over the course of his career, he has performed in more than 100 theater productions for both children and adults. He has also established himself as a notable film and television actor. For many years, he has collaborated with the production teams of KotorArt and the Kotor Festival of Theater for Children. Throughout his distinguished artistic career, he has appeared in productions staged by the Zetski Dom Royal Theater, the Nikšić Theater, the Herceg Novi Theater, the Tivat Cultural Center, and numerous other theaters across Montenegro. Đonović also writes poetry and short plays for children. He is the author of several children’s poetry collections, recognized for their original poetic voice and imaginative interplay of verse and illustration, including Rasprodaja snova [Sale of Dreams], Srce mi je šareno [My Heart Is Colorful], Odlična ideja [An Excellent Idea], Ptice suglasnice [Consonant Birds], Slane pjesme [Salty Poems], and Trema [Stage Fright]. His artistic achievements have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Vasilije Šćućkin Annual Award of the Podgorica City Theater, the Trg od Knjige Award, and the Miloš Šami Award of the Herceg Novi Theater, in addition to honors received at regional theater festivals. His lyrics have inspired more than 100 songs for children and young audiences, as well as numerous songs written for the theater.
Anđela Homen, conductor, completed her primary and secondary music education at the Vida Matjan Primary and Secondary Music School in Kotor. She earned her undergraduate degree in General Music Pedagogy at the Music Academy in Cetinje, where she also specialized in Choral Conducting under Professor Radovan Papović. During her studies and throughout her professional career, she has actively participated in various musical projects, most notably the opera Balkanska Carica (2008), the children’s musical Svoj Djeci Što Muziku Vole, Vrata su Otvorena od Muzičke Škole (2016), the symphonic fairy tale Peter and the Wolf (2019), the musical Bokeška Priča (2024), and the children’s musical Rastimo uz Muziku, among others. Since 2010, Anđela Homen has been employed at the Music School in Tivat, where she works as a teacher of theoretical subjects and as a Choir Conductor. She is an active member of the Bellezza female vocal group in Tivat and leads the church choir of St. Tryphon in Kotor.
