11. HRVATSKA FLAUTISTIČKA AKADEMIJA

The “CROATIA FLUTE ACADEMY”
A Leading Flute Masterclass in Europe

Probably the best-known summer academy for students of flute and their teachers in Southeastern Europe. This event is held traditionally in the first half of July in Karlovac, at the City Theater “Zorin dom”, as part of the annual celebrations of the historical founding of the City of Karlovac.

It is an educational music event at the highest level and is unique in this part of the world. Another similar event lasting a full week, featuring such top-level of international flute teachers and performers, does not exist anywhere else in the territories stretching from Venice (Italy) to Athens (Greece).

Some fifty world-renowned guest professors and six hundred participants from 30 countries have attended this academy dedicated to studying the art of playing the flute and promoting flutists as musical artists.

The founder of the Croatia Flute Academy is Petar Ćurić, in cooperation with the City of Karlovac, the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb, and the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra. The American-Croatian jazz flutist Damjan Krajačić was also crucial in starting and managing the project.

About the origin of the project

At the invitation of the then-director of the City Theater Zorin dom in Karlovac, Srećko Šestan, Petar Ćurić came up with the concept for Croatia Flute Academy in January 2014. Although it had an international feel from the beginning, this event was initially conceived to specialize in jazz flute, with "some classical flute on the side". However, after consulting with Damjan's father, then-director of a local music school, and he advised them "it may not be the smartest thing", the duo decided that all musical genres, from classical and jazz to contemporary music, would be equally represented at the Croatia Flute Academy.
Nowadays, the Croatia Flute Academy is primarily dedicated to classical music.

History

2014.

1st Croatia Flute Academy was held from July 6 to 13, 2014, with lecturers including James Newton from the United States, one of the most awarded and probably the most successful jazz flutists of all time; Pierre-Yves Artaud, a professor at the most famous French music conservatory, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris; Wissam Boustany from the Royal College of Music in Manchester, Boglarka Kiss from Pasadena, and Damjan Krajačić for Afro-Cuban jazz and improvisation classes. Piano accompanist (artistic collaboration) was the great American concert pianist Robert Edward Thies, Winner of the Gold Medal at the Prokofiev International Piano Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the first American to have won a piano competition in Russia since Cliburn in Moscow in 1958.

2015.

2nd Croatia Flute Academy was held from July 5 to 12, 2015. The main guest-professor was the popular Korean-American flute virtuoso Jasmine Choi, along with jazz flutists Andrea Brachfeld from New York and Damjan Krajačić, and classicist Pierre-Yves Artaud from Paris, and Gaspar Hoyos from Lyon.
That year, also the CFA International Flutist Competition was held to win a scholarship to study in Paris, at the prestigious French conservatory Ecole Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot. Croatian flutist Ana Votoupal won the first prize and scholarship. The accompanist for the first time was the amazing Japanese-French pianist Misaki Baba from Paris, a longtime collaborator of P.Y. Artaud at various conservatories.

2016.

3rd Croatia Flute Academy was held from July 3 to 10, 2016, with lecturers including the legendary flutist pedagogue and educator Trevor Wye from England, Orlando "Maraca" Valle from Cuba (Latin-jazz), French flutists Philippe Allan-Dupre (baroque flute) , Pierre-Yves Artaud (classical literature) and Carine Dupre (flute ensemble) as well as Damjan Krajačić for jazz classes. Official accompanist: Misaki Baba.

2017.

From 02 to 09 July 2017, the 4th Croatian Flute Academy was held, and guest professors included the legendary Swiss flutist Peter-Lukas Graf, Principal Flutist with the Vienna Philharmonic Dieter Flury, Frenchmen Pierre-Yves Artaud and Philippe Allain-Duprea, and Italian jazz flautist Michele Gori from the Conservatory in Ferrara. Carine Dupre led the flute ensemble, and Misaki Baba was the standard accompanist, with Marijana Komljenović from the Academy of Music in Zagreb also acting as a piano accompanist for a few days.

2018.

5th edition of the Croatia Flute Academy was held from July 5 to 13, 2018. The main guest was William Bennett (OBE) from the Royal Academy in London. In addition to Sir Bennett, masterclasses were also held by Trevor Wye, and Bennett's former students Zoya Vyazovskaya and Alena Walentin from Russia, and Vytenis Gurstis from Lithuania. A lecture on Croatian musical literature for the flute and flute works by the Croatian composers was given by Marina Novak from the Academy of Music in Zagreb.

2019.

6th Croatia Flute Academy was held from 06. to 14. July 2019. The lecturers were all the major flute professors from music academies in the region: Marina Novak (Music Academy-Zagreb), Karolina Šantl Zupan (Academy of Music, Ljubljana), Luisa Sello (Conservatorio di Musica "Giuseppe Tartini"-Trieste), Laura Levai Aksin (Academy of Arts-Novi Sad) and Ljubiša Jovanović (Faculty of Musical Arts-Belgrade).

2020.

7th edition was realized under special conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A special flute weekend was held in Karlovac from the 10th to the 12th July, with the announced concerts of Lucija Stilinović (flute) and Danijel Detoni (piano) and the Flute Quartet 4SYRINX, while Ana Batinica, Principal flutist of the Zagreb Philharmonic, gave a performance with a lecture that was broadcast live on the CFA social network Facebook.

2021.

8th Croatian Flute Academy was held as a Special edition since Denis Bouriakov, Principal flutist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (previously with the Metropolitan) and probably the most sought-after living flutist in the world, was the only lecturer/professor. This event was held from 01.-07. July 2021, and all places at the masterclass were filled months in advance.

2022.

9th edition of the Croatia Flute Academy was held from 05.-12. July 2022, with the subtitle "Four Principal flutists from the Four leading Philharmonic Orchestras in Southeastern Europe". Among the lecturers were: Matej Grahek, Principal flute of the Ljubljana Philharmonic and professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana; Ana Batinica, Principal flute of the Zagreb Philharmonic; Stana Krstajić, longtime Principal flute of the Belgrade Philharmonic and professor at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade; and Sakib Lačević, Principal flutist of the Sarajevo Philharmonic and professor at the Music Academy in Sarajevo.

Along them also appeared special guests: Marina Novak from the Academy of Music in Zagreb, and Laura Levai Aksin from the Academy of Music in Novi Sad and Principal flutist with the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra.

2023.

10th Croatia Flute Academy took place from July 6 to 13, 2023, and the guest-professors were Herman van Kogelenberg, Principal Flute with the Munich Philharmonic (formerly with the Concertgebouw); Davide Formisano, professor of flute at the University of Stuttgart (formerly Principal Flutist with La Scala in Milano); Matthieu Gauci-Ancelin, professor at the University of Graz and regular guest-flutist with the Berlin Philharmonic); Robert Winn, Professor at the University of Cologne (formerly Principal Flutist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London); Andrea Wild, professor at the Vienna Conservatory and Mindbody Training Specialist; and Marina Novak, professor at the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb. Piano accompanists were Marijana Komljenović from the Academy of Music in Zagreb and Filip Milisavljević from the Art Academy in Novi Sad.