Academy Members

Skender Ivan Josip

Academic titles:

• assistant professor – Academy of Music, University of Zagreb

Membership in Academy:

• associate member – Department of Music and Musicology (5/16/2024. – …)

Curriculum Vitae

The versatile musician Ivan Josip Skender was born in Varaždin in 1981. After graduating in 1997, he enrolled in composition studies at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, in the class of Prof. Željko Brkanović, becoming the youngest composition student in the Academy’s history. In 1999, he began parallel studies in conducting under Prof. Vjekoslav Šutej. He further developed his skills through seminars and workshops in conducting (Klaus Arp, Bertrand de Billy, Zubin Mehta, etc.) and composition (Michael Jarell, József Soproni). He received the Rector’s Award for his composition Heads and Tails. From 2010 to 2012, he attended a two-year postgraduate course in orchestral conducting in Vienna under Prof. Uroš Lajovic.

His compositions have been performed in almost all countries of Western and Central Europe, as well as in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. In 2012, he became the first Croatian composer to represent the country at the European multimedia festival MusMA (Music Masters on Air). He is also the recipient of the Rudolf and Margita Matz Scholarship for young composers. His broad and versatile oeuvre includes around 120 compositions for soloists, chamber ensembles, orchestras, choirs, music for theater plays, musicals, and the opera Striborova Forest, which, with its 27 performances, is by far the most performed contemporary Croatian opera. Additionally, he is engaged in editing sheet music editions and arranging.

As a conductor, Skender has collaborated with numerous Croatian and international ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestra of the Austrian Radio and Television, the Canadian Sinfonietta, the Opera Ensemble and Orchestra of the Staatsheater Braunschweig, the Croatian Baroque Ensemble, the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Varaždin Chamber Orchestra, the National Opera and Ballet Tirana Ensemble, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, the Karlovac Chamber Orchestra, the Zagreb Youth Orchestra, the HRT Choir and Orchestra, the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Bolshoi Festival, and the Academic Choir of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Zagreb (Palma). Under his leadership, the Palma Academic Choir won numerous awards in Croatia and abroad.

In 2012, the members of the contemporary music ensemble Cantus selected him as their permanent conductor. His conducting work is particularly focused on premiering and performing works by contemporary composers, especially Croatian composers. As a conductor, he has performed or premiered hundreds of compositions by contemporary Croatian composers, collaborating with nearly all major ensembles in Croatia, with some performances also being released on recordings.

He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work, including the Award of University Professors and Other Scientists in Zagreb in 2013, the Stjepan Šulek Award in 2017 for his composition Phantasmagoria, and the Milka Trnina Award from the Croatian Society of Music Artists in 2023 for conducting the opera Lennon by Ivo Josipović.

From 2005 to 2014, he was employed as a choirmaster at the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb (HNK) and participated in all opera productions as a choirmaster, assistant conductor, or conductor. In 2009, he became an assistant to Prof. Uroš Lajovic at the Academy of Music in Zagreb. He was the artistic director of the HNK Opera in Zagreb during the 2013/2014 season, and from the 2014/2015 season until the 2019/2020 season, he served as a conductor of the HNK Opera.

He is currently permanently employed at the Academy of Music in Zagreb as an Assistant Professor in both the conducting and singing departments. Since 2019, he has been a member of the artistic council of the Zagreb Music Biennale, and in 2024, he was appointed a vicepresident of the Croatian Society of Composers. He is one of the three artistic directors of the Zagreb Music Biennale for the 2025 and 2027 editions, along with colleagues T. Oliver and D.B. Vincze. Since 2024, he is an Associate Member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.