Nika Kožar

Photo by Goran Živković

Nika Kožar was born in Rijeka in 1997, where she attends the Ivan Matetić Ronjgov Music School. She gets her high school diploma in 2015 in Music Theory, graduating with honours. During high school, she attends numerous singing seminars, including the AIMS International School of Music in Eastbourne, England, Boris Martinović's masterclass in Zadar, Arena International in Pula, participated in opera productions for young singers in Italy (Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Gilda in Rigoletto, Norina in Don Pasquale) organised by Accademia Lirica Santa Croce. *Content continues below the image.

Photo by Goran Živković

In 2015, she enrols in the undergraduate study of opera singing in Trieste at the "Giuseppe Tartini" Conservatory in the class of prof. Rita Susovsky. During her studies, she attends seminars by Giorgio Surian, Martina Zadro and Linda Hirst and participates in the production of Mendelssohn's oratorio A Midsummer Night's Dream at the theatre in Monfalcone. During her studies, she participates in conducting classes as an optional subject and collaborates with the Mitteleuropa Orchestra from Palmanova as part of the classes. In 2017, she attends the Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland conducting masterclass in Weikersheim, Germany, organised by the Musikakademie Schloss Weikersheim.

She is the author of the music for the short animated film First Step, produced by Zagreb Film, which was released in 2018 and was screened at Art-kino in Rijeka and at several film festivals.

In March 2019, she completed her undergraduate studies with the highest marks and the commission's praise for the performance of the role of Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. After her graduation, she operates as a freelance singer and holds concerts in the area Friuli Venezia Giulia, and in 2020 she starts studying orchestral conducting at Zagreb Music Academy, in the class of Mladen Tarbuk, later transferring to the class of Tomislav Fačini.

She has since conducted many student productions, the most notable of which is Orff’s Carmina Burana in her 2nd year, Croatian contemporary opera The Shoemaker and the Devil by Tomislav Uhlik (in which she acted both as an accompanist during rehearsals and assistant conductor, and conducted multiple performances), the performance of Mozart’s oratorio Davide penitente, and an evening concert “Voices of Europe,” seeking to explore European folksongs in the classical music setting, where she acted as project leader and conductor, and even sang one of the pieces, while conducting it simultaneously.

Outside of her university projects, she makes an effort to be an active member of the classical music community, and seeks to better her skills by attending masterclasses and gaining real-life experience. Since 2022 she has been leading the choir of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, “Capella Juris”, an amateur choir with which she organised and led two major concerts, the most notable of which was a Christmas performance of Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, adapted for a mixed choir. She has worked as an assistant conductor in “Ivan Goran Kovačić” choir in Zagreb. In April of 2023 she attended a conducting seminar led by Maestro Uroš Lajovic in Dubrovnik with Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, and in November of 2023 she attended Maestro Lior Shambadal’s masterclass on Beethoven, where she collaborated with Berlin Sinfonietta. In 2024 she attended a conducting technique masterclass in Belgium held by René Gulikers, and in June 2024 she organised another performance of the concert “Voices of Europe” in Rijeka, Croatia. She also occasionally sings in the Croatian Radiotelevision choir as a freelance singer.

She is currently in her final year of her orchestral conducting Master’s programme at Zagreb Academy of Music. In September 2024 she was selected to attend the Glover-Edwards Programme at Royal Academy of Music in London, under the mentorship of Sian Edwards.

Photo by Goran Živković

Nika Kožar rođena je u Rijeci 1997. godine, gdje pohađa Osnovnu, pa zatim i Srednju glazbenu školu Ivana Matetića Ronjgova. Tijekom srednje škole pohađa brojne seminare pjevanja, uključujući AIMS International School of Music u Eastbourneu u Engleskoj, masterclass Borisa Martinovića u Zadru, Arenu International u Puli. Srednju glazbenu školu završava 2015. godine kao Glazbenik Teoretičar, s odličnim uspjehom. Sudjeluje u opernim produkcijama za mlade pjevače u Italiji u organizaciji Accademia Lirica Santa Croce. Uloge koje u cjelosti iznosi u tom periodu su Zerlina u Don Giovanniju, Susanna u Le nozze di Figaro, Gilda u Rigolettu, Norina u Don Pasqualeu.*Sadržaj se nastavlja ispod slike.

Photo by Goran Živković

2015. godine upisuje preddiplomski studij opernog pjevanja u Trstu na Konzervatoriju "Giuseppe Tartini" u klasi prof. Rite Susovsky. Tijekom studija pohađa seminare Giorgia Suriana, Martine Zadro i Linde Hirst, te sudjeluje u produkciji Mendelssohnova oratorija San ljetne noći u kazalištu u Monfalconeu. Tijekom studija sudjeluje u nastavi dirigiranja kao izbornom predmetu, te u sklopu nastave surađuje s Orkestrom Mitteleuropa iz Palmanove. Godine 2017. pohađa majstorski tečaj dirigiranja Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland u Weikersheimu, Njemačka, u organizaciji Musikakademie Schloss Weikersheim.

Autorica je glazbe za kratki animirani film Prvi korak u produkciji Zagreb Filma, koji je izašao 2018. godine te je prikazan u Art-kinu u Rijeci, kao i na nekoliko filmskih festivala.

U ožujku 2019. završila je preddiplomski studij s najvišim ocjenama i pohvalom komisije za izvedbu uloge Donne Anne u Mozartovu Don Giovanniju. Nakon diplome djeluje kao slobodna umjetnica, te kao pjevačica djeluje na području Friuli Venezia Giulia, prvenstveno u duu s pijanisticom Jovanom Vučević.

2020. godine upisuje studij orkestralnog dirigiranja na Muzičkoj akademiji u Zagrebu u klasi Mladena Tarbuka, a kasnije prelazi u klasu Tomislava Fačinija.

Od tada je dirigirala mnogim studentskim produkcijama, od kojih su najznačajnije Orffova Carmina Burana na 2. godini studija, hrvatska suvremena opera Postolar i vrag Tomislava Uhlika (u kojoj je sudjelovala i kao korepetitor na probama i asistentica dirigenta, te dirigirala više izvedbi), izvedba Mozartova oratorija Davide penitente, te cjelovečernji koncert “Glasovi Europe”, projekt koji istražuje europske narodne napjeve u okvirima klasične glazbe, gdje je djelovala kao voditeljica projekta i dirigentica, a čak je i otpjevala jedno od djela istovremeno ga dirigirajući.

Izvan svojih sveučilišnih projekata, trudi se biti aktivan član zajednice klasične glazbe i nastoji poboljšati svoje vještine pohađajući majstorske tečajeve i stječući iskustvo u struci. Od 2022. godine vodi zbor Pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu “Capella Juris”, amaterski zbor s kojim je organizirala i dirigirala dva velika koncerta, od kojih je najzapaženiji bio božićna izvedba Brittenove Ceremony of Carols, prilagođene za mješoviti zbor. Radila je kao asistentica dirigenta u zboru “Ivan Goran Kovačić” u Zagrebu. U travnju 2023. pohađala je seminar dirigiranja pod vodstvom maestra Uroša Lajovica u Dubrovniku s Dubrovačkim simfonijskim orkestrom, a u studenom 2023. pohađala je majstorski tečaj maestra Liora Shambadala fokusiran na Beethovenove simfonije, gdje je surađivala s Berlinskom Sinfoniettom. Godine 2024. pohađala je masterclass tehnike dirigiranja u Belgiji kod Renéa Gulikersa, a u lipnju 2024. organizirala je još jednu izvedbu koncerta “Voices of Europe” u Rijeci. Djeluje i kao vanjski suradnik u zboru Hrvatske radiotelevizije (sopran).

Trenutno je na završnoj godini magistarskog studija orkestralnog dirigiranja na Muzičkoj akademiji u Zagrebu. U rujnu 2024. odabrana je za pohađanje programa Glover-Edwards na Royal academy of music u Londonu, pod mentorstvom Sian Edwards.

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