Melita Ivković

Guitarist Melita Ivković (born Zadar, 1976) was trained in classical music at the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Professor Ante Čagalj. Her particular combination of an inherent connection to classical music through composing and arranging, solo and chamber music performances, and frequent trips to world music, is what best describes Melita's over two and a half decades of intense music-making. Melita's artistic expression was largely shaped by her work with the Zagreb Guitar Quartet. In addition to having traveled the world with the ensemble from 1993 till today – performing in thirty countries on four continents - she was also the winner of international awards, released two albums, and produced a number of works by renowned contemporary composers. And yet, besides the classical, Melita's musical experience shows layers of influences from other genres, some of which she became enamored with even as a student, such as rock, jazz, bossa nova ... Being a classicist with an open mind, she welcomed all those influences into her world, embraced them, and created her own unique and authentic musical mosaic. Some elements of this mosaic are best reflected today in her collaboration with Dina Bušić, Miroslav Tadić, and Edin Karamazov on the project Nightingale - Forgotten Songs of the Zadar Arbanasi. The language in which she writes her compositions and arrangements can best be described as a measured and stylistically thought out amalgam resting on the foundations of classical harmony, vibrant as the vast traditional musical elements from nations she draws inspiration from - from Brazil to Albania!